CofC Day 2025: A Creative Success

In honor of the year of the College of Charleston’s founding, the sixth annual CofC Day, themed Level Up Your Impact, kicked off with 1,770 minutes of giving at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, and ended at 10 p.m. on Thursday, March 20.

CofC Day creates a forum in which alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff and friends can come together in support of the College and the stellar student experience it offers. The myriad opportunities students have would not be possible without donor support. During this CofC Day’s 29.5 hours celebrating philanthropy, 1,524 donors gave $710,533, impacting 150 areas of campus.

To incentivize giving, donor challenges unlocked at certain levels.

• Mark ’81 and Judy Buono ’22 (M.Ed.) encouraged donors to give through a $50,000 gift at the 1,000-donor milestone.
• The Zucker Family Challenge awarded $100,000 to the College when the number of donors reached 1,500.
• Laurie Minges ’83, president of the Alumni Association, supported the Alumni Greek Life Scholarship with a matching gift once donations reached $5,000.
• Edward Tuccio ’91 provided a match and a challenge for recent graduates (within the last 10 years) that totaled $15,000. The first $5,000 in donations was matched to the donor’s designation, and $10,000 was unlocked when 150 recent graduates made a gift.
• Johnnie ’92 and Michelle Baxley’s matching gift of $8,000 to encourage faculty and staff giving was completed within 30 minutes.
• In honor of the decade Johnnie graduated, the Baxleys supported the ’90s Happy Hour Power Hour with a gift of $3,000 when 100 alumni who graduated in the ’90s donated.

The Baxleys also supported CofC Day’s inaugural student scavenger hunt. Ten plush Clyde the Cougar toys were hidden around campus, and the students who found one could direct $250 to the area of their choice. The first three Clydes were turned in within 30 minutes of the start of the scavenger hunt. Students enjoyed finding the Clydes and giving back to their area of interest.

Justin McLain ’98 continued his support in funding a friendly competition among schools and units for the second year. In recognition of their outstanding results on CofC Day, the following schools and units received gifts to their excellence funds:

• The School of the Arts was awarded $30,000 for the largest number of donors and the most dollars raised: 189 and $65,235, respectively.
• The School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs was awarded $15,000 for the highest percentage of alumni participation: 3.28%.
• College of Charleston Libraries received an honorable mention and was awarded $5,000. Libraries hosted a daylong gaming event for students, faculty and staff and had the highest number of student donors.

This year’s CofC Day schools and units enlisted some creative ways to engage their donors.

The School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs identified how to play on the CofC Day theme, Level Up Your Impact, in a way that was unique to LCWA. They hit on Carmen Sandiego, a video game character who travels the world and answers geography-related questions.

With cooperation from LCWA Dean Aimee Arias, Megan Oldak, LCWA communication and marketing coordinator, created the social media game Where in the World is Dean Arias Sandiego, posting teasers a week in advance of CofC Day and creating levels at which donations would unlock hints about Arias’ location. Dressed like Carmen Sandiego, Arias hid in four locations. When she was found, she left a flyer saying she was on the run again and to scan the QR code for a hint about her next destination. Students won CofC swag when they found “Arias Sandiego.”

“It really was a team effort,” says Oldak, noting that the efforts increased LCWA’s number of donors by 89% and built their social media audience. “We were able to get everyone involved. It was nice to see how many people were willing to join in on the fun. We’re definitely excited about the next CofC Day.”

At the Addlestone Library, students could go to a retro gaming room to play ’90s computer games including Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Nintendo Classic, Nintendo Switch, Mario Party and Mario Kart.

Addlestone Library also held a raffle for students, where they could win a Reading Day study room and Chick-Fil-A for four, a parking spot and study room at the Addlestone for all of Reading Day or double study-room time during finals week.

“Thanks to the raffle and the increased student participation, overall donors to the library increased from 49 donors last year to 153 donors this year,” says Elena Rodriguez ’09, interim head of research and instruction, adding that, to celebrate the Addlestone Library’s 20th birthday, students also wrote birthday cards to the library. “We had a great time with the students and were truly wowed by the birthday cards they wrote.”

In addition to the events around campus, CofC Clubs were active on CofC Day. Along with the Lowcountry CofC Club holding a celebration in the Cistern Yard, seven CofC Clubs around the country hosted parties with around 450 alumni, parents and friends attending.

“CofC Day continues to serve as a fun way to engage with the College and give back to the areas that mean the most to you,” says Dan Frezza, chief advancement officer. “We are so grateful for the philanthropic spirit of our alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff and friends. Our day of giving makes it possible for the College to continue to provide students with an excellent liberal arts and sciences education.”