online giving event draws record participation Columbia Giving Day is an exciting 24-hour online event that takes place once a year. For one day, Columbians around the world come together to give back and share the experience that truly defines the University. This one-day program includes online events with President Lee C. Bollinger and other Columbia innovators and a healthy donation competition among all 16 schools at the University. October 23, 2013, marked the second annual event, and it proved even more successful than the first, with a noteworthy increase in both the number of gifts made and the amount raised. This year the Giving Day program prompted 9,759 donations, up from 5,356 in 2012, for a total of more than $7.8 million raised, versus $6.8 million in 2012. Gifts came from 53 countries and all 50 states in support of 24 schools, units, and major programs at Columbia. Giving Day 2013 was a particularly successful for SIPA, with almost $90,000 tallied for incoming gifts to be used exclusively for student financial aid. This represents a 90 percent increase over 2012. On Giving Day and throughout the year, contributions to the Annual Fund provide indispensable fellowship support for SIPA students, allowing them to focus on their studies rather than on the financial burden of tuition. In her thank-you note to those who participated, Dean Merit E. Janow wrote, “Building resources for current-use financial aid is SIPA’s highest fundraising priority, and we look forward to benefiting an increasing number of students in the years ahead.”
From top: Dean Merit E. Janow with Joe Lemaron Sadallah MPA ’15 and Jessi Jou Tseng MPA ’14, who spoke at the Global Leadership Awards dinner Columbia President Lee C. Bollinger with honoree Joan E. Spero President Bollinger with honoree Judith Rodin; Dean Janow; David Rockefeller Jr., chair, board of trustees, Rockefeller Foundation; and his wife Susan Rockefeller, television producer and director s i pa s u p p o r t e r s
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