The Long Blue Line put their hearts into the 2024 Day of Giving Campaign — and it shows! This year, alumni and friends raised $403,176 within 24 hours —surpassing the previous record of $283,595 by more than 42 percent.
“It was a team effort, and it was really about what inspires us all: our continued love and passion for Marietta College,” says Nancey Kaplan McCann ’76, Chair of the Marietta College Alumni Association Council (MCAA-C) Development Committee.
This year, the Day of Giving team focused on 16 different donor programs: Area of Greatest Need, Student Aid; Go WCMO; ARC Student Academic Coaching Program; Bridge the Gap — From College to Career; Serving Student Veterans; Theatre Upgrades; the Big Blue Thrift Store; Connecting the Dots — Undergraduate Research; the Pioneer Club; the Dr. Barbara Diggs Lyles — Multicultural Center; Heard Around Campus; Esports Center; Softball Fields Renovations; Student Teacher Support; and SGA and Aunt Flow.
“Renée Bailey Gallagher ’84 was responsible for the Tiered Campaigns, Laura Stange Regan ’94 focused on the Greek Challenge, Honnie Gordon ’84 spearheaded the Sports Challenge, and Kennedy Clyde ’16 came up with our theme: What is Your Why? — why alums continue to give back and support Marietta and rallied those alums who graduated in the last decade,” McCann says.
Kat Gloor, Senior Director of Annual Giving, lauds the commitment of Nancey and the Council Development Committee, as well as MCAA-C Chair Maureen Morgan ’93, for their tireless and remarkable work leading up to and during the Day of Giving.
“Members of the Council, as well as our campus partners, really put their hearts into championing this year’s Day of Giving,” Gloor says. “From special videos they created to serving as ambassadors — we had more than 130 volunteers, and each of them contributed to making this year very special and successful.”
McCann’s group also worked very closely with the MCAA-C Engagement Committee led by Douglas Spencer ’87 to get the word out leading up to the campaign and throughout the Day of Giving, encouraging alums to contribute and to record videos expressing why they give back.
McCann was also grateful for the All Alumni meeting with President Margaret L. Drugovich to discuss the state of Marietta College.
“Of course, none of this (Day of Giving success) would have been possible without Kat. She is a true rock star, and we are so lucky to have her on our team!”
Gloor says the Advancement team is already hard at work planning the 2025 Day of Giving efforts and says alumni and friends can continue to support the College in various ways.
“Time, talent, and treasure are all ways that our alumni can really make an impact on Marietta College and our students,” Gloor says. “I encourage anyone who wants to get involved or is looking for unique ways to support our students to reach out to the Advancement Office.”