Vanessa Awando completed her Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminology and Sociology last fall and will graduate this Spring in the Class of 2023. Vanessa joined St. Michael’s Advancement department as an Advancement Officer, Development Programs, in November, 2022 and she is excited to support St. Mike’s philanthropic goals. This piece was written in collaboration with Ana Maria Faria, who is Director of Development at St. Michael’s.
Giving Days, including Giving Tuesday, have become a common fundraising practice at universities across the border and in Canada for more than a decade. The creation of a sense of urgency, leveraging a matching opportunity, and strong messaging around building and supporting a community, has produced strong results for many organizations, not only in terms of donor loyalty, but also for new donor engagement.
Recently, the University of St. Michael’s College joined and participated in the University of Toronto’s inaugural Giving Day, held on Tuesday, March 28, with a goal to inspire the culture of giving within our St. Michael’s community, including alumni, faculty and staff and students. During this month-long campaign, we hoped to achieve a strong awareness of this campaign that will continue in subsequent years to build on this traditional day of philanthropy.
We are proud to announce that due to overwhelming support from the members of the St. Mike’s community, we were able to raise a total of $10,298. Funds raised through this campaign were matched dollar for dollar and are going to support St. Michael’s Being Well fund. This wellness fund serves as a comprehensive reflection of St. Mike’s commitment toward fostering a strong sense of community and an inclusive environment. Within the scope of this fund, we aim to help students discover and support themselves holistically (physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually) by supporting ways of learning, coping, adapting, and getting the most out of the university experience in a meaningful way within and around a supportive and caring community.
After having worked on this campaign for the last five months, I am inspired by the wonderful response we have received and the number of new staff and alumni donors who participated in the campaign. Together, we harnessed the power of our collective generosity to help create a better world and help St. Mike’s students thrive in an environment of belonging and inclusivity.
This campaign also gave me a great opportunity to connect with some of our donors. In speaking with one donor, he shared that “I feel good knowing that the amount I give to St. Mike’s can really do some good for somebody else.” When people believe their gifts matter, collectively this creates a sense of community and amplifies the overall impact of their donation and, more importantly, inspires hope for a bright future.
When I spoke with Joshya Singh, a Commuter Don at St. Mike’s who leads the wellness program that supports the physical and mental wellbeing of more than 5000 students, she mentioned that she was profoundly aware of the unique struggles inherent in student experience on campus. She is grateful and appreciative of donor support as she believes it goes a long way to allowing student leaders to be able to meet student needs adequately while also allowing her to positively contribute to the St. Mike’s community. The Being Well fund enables leaders like Joshya to organize activities such as weekly mindfulness activities, a Wellness Walk, and a “Wellness on the Go” workshop to help students overcome everyday challenges and engage and interact with other members of the St. Mike’s community.
Together with my advancement colleagues, we would like to take the opportunity to thank the St. Mike’s community for donating and supporting the Being Well fund during this inaugural Giving Day. We look forward to coming together again next year!
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