South Dakota State University Foundation is all set to host its 7th annual One Day for STATE on Thursday, Sept. 7.

One Day for STATE is a 24 hour campaign that invites students, faculty and community members to join together and celebrate SDSU and the impact made through philanthropic giving. 

“One day for state started seven years ago and the very first time we did it, we had about 1100 donors over a 24 hour period and raised $298,000 and we were thrilled,” said Steve Erpenbach, president and CEO of the SDSU Foundation.

Last year, the campaign had 5,882 donors which raised around $2.4 million from all 50 states and 15 different countries. 6,825 gifts were unlocked, of which 449 students donated $8,657 and 555 faculty and staff members donated $105,425. 

“The growth that we’ve had over the last six years has been amazing and a lot of it is just because of our campus partners, students, faculty and staff, athletics and alumni association where everyone rallies together,” said Erin Glidden, director of Pipeline Strategy.

This year, the goal is to achieve 5,000 donors in 24 hours to unlock $700,000 from challenge donors. There are chances to support more than 110 different opportunities, including scholarships, academic programming, athletics and more. 

“If you are a current student and make a gift of $5 or $10, you have the opportunity to help us unlock $170,000 in gifts because you potentially become a student challenge,” Glidden said. “So if we get 100 students to make a gift that unlocks $5000 in scholarships and if you’re a first time donor, you will help unlock $14,000 for scholarships.”

The Jack’s journey will kick off the One Day for STATE campaign on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 6 p.m. and will continue the following day to spread the word on philanthropy. The Student Patio Party will take place on Thursday, Sept. 7 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the SDSU Student Union west patio to engage students and educate them about philanthropy along with giveaways, music and yard games. The campaign would conclude with the Yellow and Blue Block Party from 5 p.m.-8 p.m. at the Alumni Green with performances by the Pride, Dance, and Cheer teams. Attendees can expect free SDSU ice-cream, activities, food trucks and more.

“In the school of communication and journalism, our focus this year is raising funds for student organizations within the school like the Collegian, KSDJ and Jackrabbits Forensics,” said Erica Quam, professional adviser at School of Communication and Journalism (COJO).

Funds raised through this campaign help sponsor student costs while traveling for a conference or any matter that can enrich the lives of students and faculty members. 

“It is fun to celebrate SDSU, our school and our programs, and the generosity of people who feel very passionate about it,” said Quam. “If you can’t donate but like and share our posts, people can become social advocates for free where you’re an ambassador and help spread the word about COJO programs and opportunities.”

Students can get involved by signing up as social advocates on onedayforstate.org, where a unique URL would be provided and tracked to see how much social activity brings in donors for the campaign. 

Social ambassador toolkits, graphics, and sample post emails would be provided to help spread the message of student experiences that impacted them and their passion to as many people as possible. The more content shared on social media, higher are the chances to climb the leaderboards to earn great prizes.