Beginning Sunday, 911 student organizations will attempt to raise money for their causes as part of Year 9 Notre Dame Day. The annual fundraiser begins at 6:42 p.m. EST and will run until 12:11 a.m. EST on Tuesday.
Notre Dame Day is packed with a plethora of events and fundraising opportunities. Students can get involved with Notre Dame Day in many different ways, such as: B. by calling previous donors, reaching out to their networks to make a donation, and entering a referral contest where they can win items like a gift card to a bookstore.
One of the core elements of the fundraiser is the live broadcast, which runs throughout Notre Dame Day. The show runs from 6:42 p.m. to 12:11 a.m. on Sunday, then again from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Monday from 6:42 p.m. to 12:11 a.m. In this show, people can participate in group competitions.
“We’re going to have a lip sync battle, we’re going to have a 40-meter dash, we’re going to have a hummus-making contest and a sandwich-making contest,” said Katie Kerby, senior associate director of annual fundraising programs. “This year there will be more interactive things on the show.”
A competitive aspect of Notre Dame Day is the Challenge Fund. For every single donor who donates to a cause, that cause earns a portion of the $250,000 fund.
“The Challenge Fund makes it a little bit more of an incentive and a little bit more worth participating in,” Kerby said. “It really helps, especially smaller groups, to actually get the funding they need going forward.”
This isn’t the only prize money organizations can compete for. Groups identified by the Student Affairs Organization (SAO) as having diversity and inclusion-focused causes are eligible to participate in the We Are All ND Challenge. The 25 groups in this category with the highest percentage increase in individual donors from Notre Dame Day 2021 will win an additional $1,000.
In 2019, the last “normal” year of Notre Dame Day, 32,418 gifts were donated, according to Kerby. The last few years have been a bit different because of the pandemic. Due to the suspension of face-to-face classes due to COVID-19 in spring 2020, the past two Notre Dame Days took place in consecutive semesters. Individually, both brought in less than an average Notre Dame Day. Combined, the two days raised over $4 million for 733 different causes.
Kerby said that because Notre Dame prides itself on traditions, it hasn’t been easy to forego the regular Notre Dame Day format in recent years.
“There’s just been a lot that’s been missing in the past few years, and Notre Dame, the whole community, has come through it stronger and better,” she said. “But at the same time, in many ways this is our comeback year and we just want to be able to acknowledge all the good things that have been able to happen on campus this year.”
In this returning year, SAO has not announced a set target that they plan to raise. They believe it depends more on each club and they just hope to raise as much as possible for the organizations that need it, Kerby said.
Kerby added that Notre-Dame Day is a great way to see Notre-Dame’s mission to be a force for good come to life.
“The money raised on Notre Dame Day touches every corner of campus, the South Bend community and even the world,” she said.
Notre Dame Day is more than just a fundraiser, Kerby said.
“Notre Dame Day is a celebration of all things,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to share some of the best stories we see on campus and from Notre Dame alumni or parents.”
She stressed the importance of Notre Dame Day, not just for the money, but for its importance to the Notre Dame community.
“I think Notre Dame Day is the epitome of how you can celebrate as a student and then after graduation and be part of the Notre Dame community,” said Kerby.
