Patrick Fergus
@Fergus5Fergus
A competitive spirit is evident in the many facets of life at Springfield College. Steeped in an extensive history of sports innovation and physical exercise, consistently performing at a higher level is nothing new for the entire campus community.
It even expands to giving back to the school, which typically culminates on a single day every year in March, Giving Day. The tradition is always a staple on the event calendar, and gives current students, alums, parents and others the chance to donate to a fund of their choice.
In 2022, over 2,000 donors gave substantial donations to the college, with about $430,000 raised. The success continued in 2023, with fewer donors but more money raised, surpassing $548,000 at the end of the campaign.
Funds this year include the Springfield College Fund, Friends of East Campus, Friends in Humanics Scholarship, the Social Work Student Scholarship Fund and the Friends of Springfield College Athletics (FSCA). Ongoing projects are also featured; donors can contribute to specific athletic teams or additional scholarship funds.
Dr. Craig Poisson, the executive director of athletics since 2015, has overseen an increased effort to participate in his department’s fundraising period, especially after allowing donations to specific teams last year.
“We were still building FSCA and wanted to put a spin on it,” Poisson said. “We had the most successful Giving Day we’ve ever had in athletics…there’s a direct pipeline between a former student-athlete and a donor with an affinity for a particular team.”
The spin is that this year, all the teams have been broken down into two sides, Maroon and White. Each team will compete to garner the most donors for their side, with the ultimate goal of 300 donors for each and 600 overall.
“We’re playing off the competitiveness because that’s what we do in intercollegiate athletics and play off that competitive nature of student-athletes,” Poisson said.
Sibling teams like men’s and women’s volleyball, baseball and softball as well as cross country and track and field are kept together on the same side. It’s not exclusive to traditional sports either, as the strength and conditioning and athletic training programs are included on each side.
The teams will work with the athletics office to contact sport-specific alumni and other notable donors. They will also work to create social media posts to tap into the already established donor base.
“The good thing is people are already accustomed to what Giving Day is, and there’s a good number of donors to this institution that eagerly await it,” Poisson said.
The athletics office is working on the challenge that the first side to get to 200 donors first would receive a challenge gift. The gift would be split among the teams that make up that side and would further motivate the student-athletes.
For Poisson, Giving Day continues to be an important bookmark for athletics, and the school as a whole.
“In general, I think philanthropy is important,” said Poisson. “The college operational budget meets the needs of the programs, but there’s always wants and desires that Giving Day allows.”
Whether you want to give to athletics, or the many different programs available, Giving Day is quickly approaching on March 21st. A donation center will be set up in the campus union and online payment methods like a credit card, PayPal or Venmo are also available.
Photo Courtesy of Flickr/SpringfieldCollege