A late-month surge led to the Graduates Of the Last Decade surpassing the 200-donor goal by over 100 donors in the annual March Matchness GOLD Giving Challenge. The month-long challenge resulted in a total of more than $48,500 being raised forThe Fund for Oswego.
“We are so grateful to all of our GOLD donors who stepped up and made this challenge successful,” said Barbie Fike, director of annual giving. “We are particularly thankful to our challengers, Liz and Brad Bernstein ’89. Their commitment inspired many of our most recent alumni to make a gift, including many who had previously never made a gift to SUNY Oswego before. We hope the challenge created a great sense of pride in the whole Laker community. When we pool our resources toward a single goal, we can make a big impact.”
A total of 305 donors made gifts totaling $8,641.24 to 16 funds throughout the month. The Class of 2022 brought in more than 64 gifts –- the most of any class in the decade, followed by the Class of 2023, who had 47.
The majority of the gifts during the challenge -- 90 percent -- came in through the Telefund, which had 17 students making calls to GOLD alumni for 16 days throughout the month.
Assistant Director of Annual Giving and Telefund Manager Halle Wells ’23 described the atmosphere of the Telefund Room on the third floor of Sheldon Hall as being very spirited and fun, as the student callers reached out to GOLD alumni and competed with each other to see who could secure the most gifts. The winning Telefund caller, Paris Shwamle ’25, received a GOLD Gift Basket, full of goodies and prizes.
“Callers were excited to speak with our GOLD alumni and eager to win the prize,” Wells said. “It was a fun competition that ultimately benefited SUNY Oswego.”
The Bernsteins also enjoyed the competitive nature of the challenge. While some were tracking the men’s and women’s basketball scores, the Bernsteins were watching the number of GOLD donors climb on the online tracker.
“It’s so inspiring to watch the number of GOLD participating in giving back to SUNY Oswego increase, especially while the basketball tournament is going on,” Brad Bernstein said. “These recent graduates get excited about SUNY Oswego, and they are very proud of Oswego.”
Serving as the March Matchness challenger is the most recent among many ways that Bernstein has supported his alma mater. He currently serves as a member of the Oswego Alumni Association Board of Directors and chair of its Audit Committee. Brad and his wife, Liz, are also the parent chairs of The Fund for Oswego.
Bernstein was also proud that their daughter Sara ’18 M’19, an accounting and MBA graduate, was among the first to support the challenge and also recruited several of her Oswego friends to make gifts as well.
Their son, Matthew ’24, will graduate with a bachelor’s in finance and minors in accounting and entrepreneurship in May. Brad Bernstein will serve as the alumni speaker at the Commencement Eve Torchlight celebration.
"Thank you to all who participated and made this challenge a win for SUNY Oswego," Fike said. "Your philanthropy strengthens the Laker community."
-- Submitted by University Advancement