The Central Methodist University community came out in force this week for the first CMU Giving Day on March 26, raising thousands of dollars to contribute to Central students’ futures.

Organizers within the office of advancement and alumni relations set goals of raising $50,000 from 200 donors in just 24 hours, and the community responded to meet and exceed those goals. At the end of the day, CMU received 205 gifts for a total of $76,474 raised, including matching gifts from other donors.

“We are so grateful to our loyal donors for the participation and generosity they’ve shown on our first Giving Day,” said Dr. Bill Sheehan ’84, executive vice president. “It’s abundantly clear that our alumni, faculty and staff, and community truly care about our students’ success, and we’re very thankful for their contributions.”

Donors contributing through the Giving Day site had the opportunity to choose from a number of options for how their gift would make an impact. The Central Annual Fund received 85 donations, while Central athletics and fine arts each received dozens of gifs as well, distributed across specific areas of donor interest.

Anyone still wishing to contribute to the success of the fundraising day may visit the Giving Day site or donate to Central at any time at givetocentral.org.