BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech Athletics Department's first annual Drive for 25 Day was a huge success, as fans, students, alumni, faculty, staff and others combined to give nearly $900,000 during a 25-hour period that started Tuesday at noon and concluded Wednesday at 1 p.m.
Officials from the Hokie Club – the fundraising group for athletics – encouraged members of Hokie Nation to donate either to their favorite sports or to the Hokie Scholarship Fund, which helps the athletics department pay for the scholarships of more than 550 student-athletes. Led by spokesperson Frank Beamer, the athletics department and the Hokie Club launched the Drive for 25 in 2016, with the goal being to increase membership into the Hokie Club to 25,000.
The Drive for 25 Day enabled both the athletics department and the Hokie Club to take a step toward that goal, as officials expect membership to be at approximately 16,000 once new gifts are processed and uploaded into the Hokie Club's system over the next couple of weeks – an increase of more than 7,000 members since the launching of the Drive for 25 in 2016.
More than 2,300 people donated during the Drive for 25 Day event, a group that included current members of the Hokie Club and new members. They combined to give a total of more than $870,000, which also includes the generous donation of 1998 Virginia Tech graduate Mehul Sanghani, a Board of Visitors member, and wife Hema, a 1999 graduate, who agreed to match up to $250,000 worth of gifts.
"On behalf of the Hokie Club, I'd like to thank every single individual who made a donation during our Drive for 25 Day," said Bill Lansden, senior associate athletics director for development and executive director of the Hokie Club. "Those donations will have an impact on each of our more than 550 student-athletes and also future student-athletes, and we, as a staff, will be good stewards of your gifts, so that together we can make a difference in the lives of those student-athletes.
"We're also going to continue to work hard to reach our goal of having 25,000 members in the Hokie Club. We're not there yet, but Hokie Nation realizes that we can get to where we want to go if we're working together, and we're taking steps in the right direction."
Hokie Club officials had secured $5,000 matching gifts for each of the Hokies' varsity sports – and those matches were met within the first six hours of the event.
In a look at other numbers, nearly 65 percent of donors on Drive for 25 Day are Virginia Tech alumni, and more than 10 percent of donors are recent graduates of Virginia Tech (Classes 2015-18). Nearly 15 percent of donors are former Virginia Tech student-athletes.
"I thought Drive for 25 Day was a big day for Virginia Tech Athletics," Director of Athletics Whit Babcock said. "I certainly want to thank all of our current donors who decided to take part and also to all the new donors who decided to step up and get into the game. We're still working to get to 25,000, and there is room for those who didn't take part on Drive for 25 Day. I hope those people will consider joining us and help us continue the momentum that we're building."
Giving day events are normally 24-hour online fundraising challenges that universities, departments, and/or organizations sponsor to rally supporters and inspire donations. The Drive for 25 Day, though, lasted 25 hours– a tribute to the importance of the No. 25 worn by Beamer, the former head football coach and pending College Football Hall of fame inductee whose contributions to the department and university have been well documented.
The athletics department's Drive for 25 Day also was unique in that numerous current members of the Hokie Club served as Drive for 25 Day Ambassadors. These ambassadors reached out to friends and colleagues through email and social media, educating them on how their contributions make a difference in the lives of student-athletes.
More than 1,000 gifts came from Drive for 25 Day Ambassador links.
"I want to thank all of those who volunteered to be Drive for 25 Day Ambassadors and graciously helped us encourage fans to be a part of what we're building in Blacksburg," Lansden said. "They were fantastic. As Coach Beamer often says, 'We're all in this together,' and we couldn't have done what we did during this event without their support.
"I certainly would say those same things about my staff as well and want to thank them for the time and effort that they put into this event – and really the time and effort that they put in every day to help our coaches and student-athletes. We have a great group of people here in the Hokie Club office, and I'm proud of all that they do."
Though Drive for 25 Day has concluded, Tech fans still can be a part of the Drive for 25 initiative. For more details, please visit www.drivefor25.com.
