Students to give thanks to donors

February 5, 2015

Students send a message to donors thanking them for the their support during 2014’s Love-a-Donor Day. (Photo provided by the Office of Public Affairs)

Oswego State’s Future Alumni Network and the Alumni and University Development Office are sponsoring Love-a-Donor Day to let students thank the school’s supporters Friday Feb. 13.

Tables in the Marano Campus Center will be decorated for Valentine’s Day. Students can stop by for free candy, take a selfie and post it to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag OswegoLove and learn how donors make a positive difference in students’ lives.

“Thank you” cards will be available for students to sign during Lakeside Late Night on Feb. 12, and between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Marano Campus Center on Friday, Feb. 13. Over 800 cards were collected and sent to donors last year for this event.

Five students who submit thank you cards will be randomly selected to win Dining Dollars.

Oswego State senior Matthew Chrostowski participated in the first Love-a-Donor Day last year.

“SUNY Oswego would not be the excellent university it is today without the amazing support from its donors,” Chrostowski said.

Donors bridge the gap between students’ tuition and funds from the state. New York supplies only about 20 percent of Oswego’s operating budget, and more than one-third of freshmen at Oswego State receive renewable merit-based scholarships.

Gifts from donors support more than 250 scholarships in addition to dozens of programs and events on campus, such as the Media Summit and Business Symposium.

In 2014, more than 7,000 donors gave more than $12.8 million, including the largest gift in Oswego State’s history–a $7.5 million bequest from the estate of Lorraine and Nunzio Marano.

Love-a-Donor Day raises awareness about philanthropy’s impact on Oswego State’s campus, according to Michelle Tackett-Spinner ’98, associate director of stewardship for the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations.

“Participating in Love-a-Donor Day is a fun and celebrative way to learn why donations to SUNY Oswego are important and how students are affected by them,” Tackett-Spinner said. “It’s also a great, and rare, opportunity for students to say thank you and show their appreciation directly to our donors.”