Virginia Tech’s annual Giving Day fired off at noon on February 21, and for the following 24 hours the many schools, departments, and groups ‘competed’ in raising funds. The inaugural Giving Day event occurred in 2018, where 4,300 donors raised an unbelievable 1.62 million dollars. Giving Day has continued every year, save for 2020, and each year the number of donors and total funding has skyrocketed even higher.
So, what happened on Giving Day 2024? A total of $13 million was raised, just over $3 million more than the previous year. This is the single greatest jump in funding between years. Similarly, there was a massive increase in donors: 18,900 from the 17,000 of the previous year.
These are certainly impressive numbers, but we all want to know is: How did the Marching Virginians do? The total fund numbers for the amount the MVs raised is unavailable. However, we can see the donor numbers!
This year, 521 friends of the MV family contributed on Giving Day. This is a remarkable number; 171 more than the previous year. Much of this was possible due to the efforts of our very own MVs who, over the 24 hours, reached out to friends, family, and alumni. On nearly all social media websites there were calls to support the MVs, by both current members and alumni.
Through the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design, the Marching Virginians sought to knock down several funding challenges. One, the aptly named ‘Spirit of Tech Challenge,’ asked the band to reach over 425 donors, which unlocked the Jim Sochinski Spirit of Tech Award. Jim Sochinski was the second director of the MVs (1976-1981) and arranged many beloved pieces for the band. The MVs were also the recipient of the Ambassador Donor Challenge, which was awarded to the group with the highest number of donors!
For Giving Day, the Marching Virginians set up several giveaways. For those donors first in line, 10 MV swag items were given away. This included MV beanies, gameday baseball caps, or a bag of merch! After the first hour, drawings commenced for more item giveaways, most notably some retired MV uniforms. By the conclusion of Giving Day, 16 swag items and 9 uniforms were given to our amazing donors! The director of the MVs, Dr. Polly Middleton, posted a short video on the MV Facebook page thanking everyone who was a part of Giving Day 2024.
MVs4Lyfe is an expression the band uses to say that a person will always be an MV, even after their time in band. The display of gratitude seen on Giving Day shows that MVs4Lyfe is more than words we say, it is in the actions we take. Thank you to everyone who made Giving Day a success for the MVs.