Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, has announced that it received $110.8 million in donations during its recent Purdue Day of Giving.

This year’s annual 24-hour online, social media-driven fundraising effort inspired 27,855 gifts, including a $17 million commitment from alumna JeanAnne Chaney and her husband Jim in support of pharmacy scholarships and a $10 million gift from alumni William and Barbara Rakosnik in support of the School of Mechanical Engineering, the Department of Psychological Sciences, and University Residences. During the event, a leadership-level gift from alumni Drew and Brittany Brees matched gifts from 356 donors at three different giving levels in support of the Tiller Tunnel initiative in honor of former head football coach Joe Tiller, who died in 2017.

“Excellence at scale relies on the support from many. Thank you all for your extraordinary support that made this Purdue Day of Giving a truly historic one, with the milestone results of $110.8 million that shattered our single-day fundraising record by a margin even larger than we ever anticipated,” said Purdue president Mung Chiang. “It is an honor to represent the Purdue University system and thank the generous alumni, students, families, colleagues, and organizations across the globe. I was particularly privileged to have the ‘investiture run’ and host a ‘community cookout’ on such a meaningful day for our university.” 

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Purdue9394)