What a difference one day makes. On April 4, Boston University celebrated its fourth annual Giving Day, a 24-hour fundraising drive that raises support for the BU Annual Fund, which helps support the University’s schools and colleges, clubs and organizations, athletics, libraries, Study Abroad experiences, and other areas. Once again, the event made history, raising over $2.3 million from more than 11,598 gifts from students, alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends of BU—an increase of $800,000 over last year. Totals were tracked throughout the day on the Giving Day website.

“Year after year our community comes together in support of BU, breaks records, and impacts the lives of current and future students,” says Dan Allenby, the University’s assistant vice president for annual giving. “I’m in awe of what we’ve accomplished this year, and collectively, through this event.”

Students, faculty, and staff celebrated across campus, gathering in over a dozen locations to encourage others to support BU before the day ended. Live streaming from Athletics headquarters, the GSU, and the BU Pub allowed Terriers to reconnect no matter how distant from Comm Ave. Many used social media to share stories and tell why they chose to give back, using the hashtag #BUGivingDay. Giving Day was a trending topic on Twitter throughout the day. Overall, the donor pool consisted of people from 51 countries supporting over 207 different funds.

There were dozens of Giving Day celebrations on both the Charles River and the Medical Campus, but the largest was at the GSU, where Rhett the Terrier encouraged givers and danced to beats provided by WTBU’s student deejays.

For the third year, men’s and women’s varsity athletics teams competed to win a share of bonus funds. Friends of men’s and women’s rowing took the top slots, but men’s hockey, men’s and women’s lacrosse, women’s lightweight rowing, women’s soccer, and men’s swimming and diving took a share of the winnings. Over $20,000 was awarded to the winners, and more than $1 million was raised for Athletics from 3,552 gifts as a result of the challenge.

“Our varsity athletes show their spirit in so many ways both on and off the field,” says Mary Buletza (Questrom’80), Athletics Giving Day chair. “As an athletics donor, I’ve been able to witness how our support has helped grow these student athletes into our future leaders.”

A special challenge for students, sponsored entirely by recent graduates, fostered friendly competition among a wide range of clubs and organizations. “Giving Day gives me the opportunity to fundraise for clubs and organizations so that future Terriers can enjoy their time here at BU,” says Victoria Olakojo (Questrom’17), cochair of the 2017 Class Gift campaign.

The BU chapter of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority won the student challenge for the second year in a row. Overall, Giving Day represented a great day for Student Life. Over 1,300 students contributed a total of $26,075, many supporting their favorite clubs and organizations on campus. And by surpassing the goal of 1,000 parent donors, the Student Life Fund received a bonus $11,500.

Find more information on the Giving Day website. Leaderboards and challenge pages have been updated to reflect winners of the daylong and hourly challenges; view student challenges here. You can review photos and video from the day by searching the hashtag #BUGivingDay on social media platforms or by visiting the BU Alumni Association on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Lindsay A. Roth can be reached at liroth@bu.edu.