Montgomery County Community College’s (MCCC) fourth annual Day of Giving raised more than $24,000 in support of the future success of students.

MCCC’s Foundation hosted the 24-hour event Thursday, Dec. 8, with the goal of raising $5,800 in celebration of the College’s 58^th anniversary. In total, the fundraiser collected $24,897 from 109 gifts this year, exceeding the goal by 329 percent. Faculty, staff, alumni, students, friends, family and community partners all joined in this unforgettable event.

“This year’s Day of Giving highlighted Montco’s culture of philanthropy,” said Executive Director of the Foundation Jay Browning. “By creating awareness around philanthropy, participants were able to see that they could make an impact through volunteering, spreading the word, creating fundraising pages and monetary donations. This was eye opening, especially for our students. Many even stated they just ‘wanted to help.’”

“It gives us a lot of pride that we have such a strong Montco family and community, who see the value in giving back and paying it forward,” he continued. “People putting others before themselves. The focus was about coming together to support our students and programming here at Montco.”

Unlike in past years, where donors had only one option to direct their gift, this year through crowdfunding sites, they could select from a menu of nine different funds, allowing them to give to areas of the College that were meaningful to them.

The nine options included: Blue Bell Campus General Scholarships Fund, Pottstown Campus General Scholarships Fund, Blue Bell Campus Student Technology Fund, Pottstown Campus Student Technology Fund, Blue Bell Campus Student Emergency Fund, Pottstown Campus Student Emergency Fund, the Student Wellness Center Fund, the Athletic Excellence Fund and/or the Greatest Needs of the College Fund, which received the majority of donations.

Also new this year was the Student Impact Challenge, created to foster a culture of philanthropy among students. Student donors were given the ability to launch individual fundraising pages and ask for support from their network of friends and family to donate in their honor to their fundraising pages directly.

This year’s Day of Giving saw record participation in the form of personalized fundraising pages. Thirty-seven pages were established, including 13 student pages, 23 employee pages, (two faculty members and 21 administrators) and one alumni board member page. The largest student donor raised $995 from 16 supporters. The largest faculty/staff donor collected $931 from nine supporters.

“This was the first year we used crowdfunding sites for Day of Giving and it was a huge success,” said Browning. “Through crowdfunding alone, we surpassed our initial goal of $5,800 by raising over $9,000.”

Anyone who may have missed Day of Giving but would still like to give a gift to the College is encouraged to visit the landing page. The Foundation is also seeking volunteers to assist with day-to-day operations including the Foundation Board, programming, operations, and advocacy.

Established in 1983, the Montgomery County Community College Foundation provides: scholarships for deserving students, grants for faculty projects, equipment and technology, emergency funds for students in need, support for cultural enrichment activities on campus and financial resources for other college programs and activities. The Foundation is able to make a difference in the lives of our students thanks to the generosity of alumni, parents, community friends, private foundations and corporations. To see how you can make a difference and discuss how your gift can be most meaningful to you, contact the Foundation or call 215-641-6324.