Year-End Fundraising Challenge Pushes FY21 Giving Total Past $6.3M

HANOVER, N.H. – The sixth annual Varsity Alumni Challenge, which closed on June 30, proved to be among the most productive ever and contributed to a successful year in fundraising for Dartmouth Athletics.

From the start of the challenge on June 7 through its conclusion, Dartmouth Athletics received over 1,500 gifts totaling more than $1.2m across all 35 varsity sports, Dartmouth Athletic Sponsors and the Athletic Director's Fund for Excellence. The generosity shown during the Challenge was the highlight of a year-long effort that allowed athletics to eclipse its 2021 financial year (FY21) fundraising goal and finish the year with over $6.3 million raised in current use funds. It marks the fourth-straight year that annual support of athletics has surpassed the $6m mark.

"First, congratulations to the winning programs for their efforts during the Challenge and thank you to each and every donor for your investment," said Interim Director of Athletics and Recreation Peter Roby '79. "It is important to acknowledge that, in the end, all of our student-athletes win because of the collective generosity we received this past year. These results are incredibly humbling given the difficult circumstances and I continue to take great pride in leading this department. This level of support puts us in a great position as we return to competition in FY22 and allows us to make significant and strategic investments in all our programs."

This year's Alumni Challenge awarded points for participation percentage and for each individual donation, with additional credit for young alumni donations and recurring gifts. The winners among the four divisions were as follows:

Granite Division – Rowing
Lone Pine Division – Ice Hockey & Skiing (tie)
Green Division – Sailing
Bonfire Division – Volleyball

Each of the five programs listed above will receive an additional $5,000 of unrestricted support in FY22 from the Athletic Director's Fund for Excellence.

"We are so thankful for the generous and loyal support from our donors," said Pat McBride, Managing Director of Athletics Fundraising. "Their continued investment affects virtually every aspect of our programs, provides an important margin of excellence and allows coaches and administrators to deliver a first-class athletic experience to our student-athletes."

Highlights from FY21 include:

Volleyball won or shared first place in its division of the challenge for the fifth time in six years and set program records in total dollars, total donors, and alumni giving participation (42%).
Football once again raised over $1 million to lead all athletic programs.
Rowing had the highest number of young alumni gifts and won its division for the first time, thanks to $488k in giving during the month of June.
Swimming & Diving raised 43% of its FY21 total during the challenge.
Lacrosse set a program fundraising record for the second-straight year.
Equestrian, field hockey, sailing, soccer, swimming and diving, volleyball and lacrosse all had best-ever years in fundraising.

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