Gifts to La Salle on the global day of philanthropy totaled $350,000 

The La Salle University community embraced the season of giving in a big way.

On Giving Tuesday, Explorers everywhere made nearly 570 gifts exceeding $350,000. As of Wednesday, Dec. 1, these represented the largest Giving Tuesday totals of any Philadelphia university, according to their publicly available dashboards.

Giving Tuesday is recognized each year on the Tuesday immediately following Thanksgiving, just on the cusp of the holiday season. It’s a global day of philanthropy that bridges millions of people for countless worthy causes, celebrating giving, collaboration, and generosity.

La Salle students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and others came together in support of academic scholarships, Division I athletics programs, the University’s fund for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and more.

“Making a gift to La Salle isn’t simply a gesture of a person’s generosity. It’s a demonstration of their commitment to our University and their belief in our students and our mission,” said Vice President of University Advancement Daniel P. Joyce, M.A. ’01. “For these reasons, I am humbled by our community’s steadfast embrace of Giving Tuesday.”

Giving Tuesday contributions helped the University unlock two match-based gifts. Vincent P. Anderson, Esq., ’61, pledged a dollar-for-dollar match of every gift up to $30,000 in support of the Honors Program Scholarship Initiative, which had accumulated nearly $80,000. And the parents of one University alumna promised to match gifts from other La Salle parents, up to $20,000. (All told, parents’ gifts totaled more than $50,000.)

Also of note, Joyce said, were the three class years atop La Salle’s Giving Tuesday leaderboard.

“Current students, those in the graduating classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025, reached into their pockets and accounted for more total gifts than any other classes,” Joyce said. “What a remarkable measure of their shared love of and support for our University.”

Lately, Explorers and friends of La Salle have demonstrated a strong desire to support the University. Gifts to La Salle from unique alumni donors during the last fiscal year reached a highwater mark for the previous five-year period, with nearly 4,500 Explorers contributing. And last March, more than $1 million in gifts to La Salle helped establish a single-day fundraising record during the University’s eighth-annual Day of Giving.