Thiel College’s Match Day Passes $1M Raised

GREENVILLE, Pa. – On its eighth annual Match Day, Thiel College set records for its annual fundraising day and surpassed a total of $1 million raised over the event’s history. 

In total, 559 donors gave a combined $209,000. The number of donors increased from last year, marking six straights years of growing support.

This year’s theme was March Madness and students, faculty, staff and supporters pledged to walk 550 laps at the college’s track. More than a third of students participated and, overall, participants tread about 563 miles, more than a mile per donor.

“What an amazing accomplishment! Each member of the Thiel College community, whether it was walking a lap, making a donation, volunteering at the warming stations and check-in table, made this day possible,” Thiel College President Susan Traverso said in a statement. “From the first cold steps early Thursday morning to the last laps being counted at dusk, from the early-morning East Coast donations and late-night West Coast contributions, I was humbled by the commitment of the members of the Thiel family.”

Gifts on Match Day go to the Thiel Fund, the college’s largest source of unrestricted funds. The Thiel Fund is used to support the areas of greatest need of the college, funding need-based scholarships, academic programming, athletics and campus improvements. The fund provides for the challenges such as unseen expenses, student needs and special opportunities. 

Match Day is also spurred by fundraising competitions between fraternities and sororities on campus and other organizations, clubs and academic programs. Donors also took Match Day as a chance to support the endowed scholarship created for Professor of Business Administration and Accounting and David Miller Endowed Chair in Accounting Gary Witosky ’79.

Since 2016, Thiel College has been recognized by Forbes magazine three times for the generosity of its donors.

“So often we hear about the intangible ideas of camaraderie, teamwork, togetherness, unity, but for Thiel College, these are more than just platitudes,” said Thiel Fund director Mark Batt. “They are living, breathing things that we can point to, to prove that Thiel College is a unique place forever connecting people to each other and the institution.”

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.