The totals are in, and the Spoon River College Foundation’s #GivingSPOONday campaign received 248 gifts from our supportive community.  The 24-hour campaign last week raised $60,154.

As part of the larger Giving Tuesday movement to create a worldwide day of giving, the SRC Foundation challenged all friends of SRC to “make an impact” and donate funds to benefit SRC in the 24-hour period of December 3.

Donations ranged from $1 to $10,000, with a median gift of $50.  The SRC community reaches much farther than western Illinois since gifts came from 12 states and 53 zip codes. Gifts came from as far away as Florida, New York, California, and even Canada!

What started with a goal of $5,000 in 2015 has grown to raising 10 times that amount this year.  Dozens of new donors get involved annually, and it takes the efforts of the Foundation Board, local businesses, SRC employees, and other friends of SRC to keep this campaign running.  Since 2015, the campaign has raised over $450,000 to help benefit SRC students.

As always, donors had the option of directing their gifts to be used however they saw fit.  While some directed funds to specific scholarships, facilities, student or community programs, or the Student Emergency Hardship Fund, many donors made unrestricted gifts, which help the Foundation quickly meet the needs of SRC and students as the needs arise.

People who were unable to participate in #GivingSPOONday but still wish to help local students at SRC can visit www.src.edu/give or call (309) 833-6083.  The college is closed for winter break from Dec. 23 through Jan. 3, but gifts are tax-deductible in 2024 as long as they are postmarked via USPS by December 31.

“This is my first GivingSPOONDay, and those involved with the Spoon River College Foundation have done a wonderful job building up this event,” said Dusty Berg, Foundation Director. “While we didn’t reach our one-day goal for GivingSPOONDay this year, I’m proud of the work my team put in leading up to the day. We still have gifts coming in via mail, and we’ll be updating the count as we progress. You can still get your donation in for the campaign until the end of the month if you haven’t done so already!”

“What’s great about #GivingSPOONday is how the whole SRC community – even if it’s just by sharing information about the campaign on social media or making a gift of a dollar – joins in on the campaign to better students’ lives.  It’s been a rough year for folks and the SRC Foundation is beyond thankful for those who took the time to make a positive impact on our students in need.”