Alma Day success

JORDAN FOX
COPY WRITER

3/24/2025

Alma Day, Alma College’s annual day of giving, was on March 13 this year. The day was a huge success for the school, surpassing the donation goal of $150,000 to generate $175,287.

In total, 588 people — alumni, community members, parents, etc. — donated to the college. A major part of the success can be attributed to alumni, whose donations were key to raising 116% of the goal. 

“The runway for Alma Day runs about three [to] three and a half months and we start planning on what we want it to look like, the donors we want to reach out to… [and] what the theme is going to be. I work with our colleagues in Communication and Marketing to design all of the awesome logos and then we work together to come out with the social media plan,” said Anna Greiner, Assistant Director of Annual Fund. 

“We lean pretty heavily on our coaching staff. They have a fabulous relationship with their alum and so we start there; we ask them to get their folks involved, and then I put together an Alma Day committee of some representatives from athletics and some representatives from the faculty and staff side and we sit together and talk about what our goals are [and] what they want to fundraise for,” said Greiner. 

There were six individual “initiatives” that donors could choose from: Greatest Need, Academics, Athletics, Campus Life, Scholarships and Endowments and Visual and Performing arts. Greatest Need and Athletics generated the most donations, with the former bringing in $66,335 and $58,757 for the latter. 

“We are targeting budget relieving dollars in annual giving, so the more money we can get to support current programs and current dollars… Our annual fund goal this year is $2 million. We have never raised $2 million in unrestricted dollars here at Alma College before, and this is our year to do that. So we are doubling down… to make sure that we’re doing everything in our power to help offset some of those budget cuts and the reductions in that financial space,” said Bob Murray (‘88), Vice President for Advancement.

Alumni donations form the backbone of the institution, and their willingness to fund their alma mater years after graduation is a testament to the immense impact of the Alma experience.

“We work with the Alumni Board… A lot of these Alumni Board members want to know what’s happening on the campus, so they want to be a part in any way, whether it’s mentoring students and also giving whatever they can to make an impact on a student’s life and their career field,” said Yaw Poku (‘26), Vice President of the Student Advancement Association.

Alma Day is an opportunity for those touched by the college to give back and create an even greater atmosphere for current and future students, faculty and staff. 

“We do Faculty Appreciation Day on Alma Day, and so this year we had a big ‘Number One Professor of Alma’ designed cups… and they were very appreciative. They had little notes… and some candy to go along with it and then we had cookies,” said Poku. 

From a sticker for first-time givers donating $30 or more, to hidden Highland Cows around campus for students, the fun and interactive nature of this year’s Alma Day was a success and hopefully encouraged alumni to continue donating and current students to donate in the future.

“There isn’t anything more important than a current student learning the importance of philanthropy and how it impacts Alma College. Because [for] everything you do every day on this campus, there is someone that helped support that financially through their gifts,” said Murray.