Elmhurst College alumni, faculty, staff and students came together on April 20 for the College’s first Day of Giving, raising $121,000 to support scholarships, faculty development and more.

The Day of Giving opened with the annual Scholarship Breakfast, an opportunity for donors to meet the students who benefit from their scholarship support, and closed with a dodgeball tournament and a potluck dinner in the chaplain’s home.

By the end of the day, the College had received an impressive 657 gifts from alumni and friends, unlocking a $25,000 challenge gift issued by Board of Trustee member Gina Prochaska ’88. The College also met and surpassed challenge grants issued by President Troy and Dr. Annette VanAken and Susan Swords Steffen, A.C.Buehler Library director.

Elmhurst’s Day of Giving activities built on a successful year for fundraising that kicked off with the October announcement of $2.5 million in gifts to support scholarships and the Center for Professional Excellence. To date, the College has raised more than $7 million in fiscal year 2017.

• In October, President VanAken announced that longtime Trustee Russell Weigand ’64 and his wife, Joyce Slone Weigand, will give $2.25 million to the College to enhance the work of the CPE. In honor of the Weigands’ gift, the Center will be renamed the Russell G. Weigand Center for Professional Excellence.

• Also in October, President VanAken announced two substantial scholarship commitments: a $150,000 pledge from Trustee Edward Momkus ’74 and his wife, Betsy Goltermann; and a $100,000 gift from Trustee Hugh McLean and his wife, Mary Beth.

• In December, the College met and surpassed its $100,000 Scholarship Challenge, unlocking $100,000 in additional funding in only two months.

• Also in December, the College announced that it will receive an $850,000 estate gift to support endowed scholarships.

• Ralph Pechanio, a longtime Elmhurst businessman, civic leader and community volunteer, donated $100,000 to establish an endowed fund to support internships for Elmhurst College students at the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

• Elmhurst residents Robert and Marcia Goltermann made a $100,000 gift to enhance the College’s popular lecture series. Longtime supporters of the College, the Goltermanns were awarded the College’s Founders Medal in 2006. In 1999, the couple established the Sandra Jorgensen Memorial Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to female art students at Elmhurst.

• In April, an alumna who wishes to remain anonymous pledged $750,000 to support Honors Program students with demonstrated financial need who want to study abroad.

“I’m so gratified to see the commitment on the part of our alumni and the campus community to Elmhurst College and its success,” President VanAken said. “One of our key messages this academic year has been The Power of Many, and the results from our Day of Giving demonstrate how that message will help us reach our goals and dreams.”