The McGill24 fundraising campaign held on March 10 surpassed all expectations as the global McGill University community raised a record $3,810,861 during a 24-hour digital campaign for the sixth edition of the University's annual day of giving, to support the next generation of students, athletes, researchers and future leaders.
A record number of student-led projects were featured on McGill's crowdfunding platform, Seeds of Change. Athletics and Recreation led all units and faculties in this venture, with about 1,200 individual donations compared to about 1,000 last year.
The Athletics totals raised more than $170,000 -- with donations still being counted -- highlighted by a first-ever "team match" for McGill24, a matching grant of $15,000 made by basketball benefactor George Lengvari, who challenged alumni to contribute to the men's hoops program. When the dust settles and other matching grants are tabulated, the total for all varsity teams is expected to exceed $200,000.
"We had a 20 per cent increase in total number donations from last year and couldn't be happier with our results on McGill24," said Athletics senior development officer Ryan Kelly of the campaign. "To receive the most number of donations speaks volumes to the efforts of our varsity teams and to the passion that exists from our alumni and supporters. We are fortunate to have such a strong supportive community, especially after such a difficult year where our programs were shut down due to the pandemic."
Overall, groups representing 55 projects used McGill24 to raise much-needed funds to support student research and initiatives. A combined 16 Athletics teams from the varsity and club programs participated in the crowdfunding event, each with their own Seeds of Change page.
Leading the way was the men's rugby club, which raised over $40,000. Other leading programs that raised over $10,000 each included basketball, hockey, lacrosse, swimming and football.
"From the moment the day started, to when the clock hit midnight, both of us could not believe the effort put forward by our McGill rugby community," said William Goodman who was recently elected co-president of the rugby team along with teammate Owen Cumming.
"McGill24 is so important to us... but this year felt so uncertain with the evident consequences of the pandemic," Cumming added. "Yet, our friends and alumni proved otherwise by supporting us in full force and we are beyond grateful. They truly are the backbone of the program."
Not to be outdone, this year a recreation group launched their first-ever, McGill Virtual Rec Ride, which featured over 40 participants hopping on their bikes at home and following along in the virtual world of "Watopia" on the Zwift e-biking platform. Participants were encouraged to visit the event's, Seeds of Change page in order to support.
"It went extremely well, we surpassed what we were expecting in our first year," said Ryne Bondy, assistant manager of the intramural sports program. "Now we have something to build on as we look towards 2022."
All funds raised during McGill24 will also count towards Made by McGill: the Campaign for Our Third Century, the multi-year, $2-billion fundraising drive that McGill launched in fall 2019 to support its bold ambitions as it celebrates its 200th anniversary.
