Lights Out for Philanthropy on March 15

Posted By: Ellen Heydon On: 2022-03-10
Posted On: 2022-03-10
Lights Out Day is taking place on March 15 in conjunction with Saint Mary’s Day of Giving. Lights Out Day represents the importance of the Saint Mary’s Fund and philanthropy on campus. Most students don’t know that tuition only covers about 75% of our education leaving philanthropy to cover the rest of it. We ask that you turn the lights off for a few minutes today to bring awareness to the importance of philanthropy.

Philanthropy is extremely important and highly prevalent on our campus. Central to philanthropy at Saint Mary’s is the Saint Mary’s Fund, which provides flexible, accessible support for critical and ongoing needs like scholarships and program investments.  99% of all undergraduate students receive some type of scholarship, mostly funded by philanthropy. On average, $1.5 million is awarded to students through scholarships each year. If we didn’t have philanthropy, we would not have the campus experience that we do. 40% of faculty and staff donate back to the university, and many alumni and students do as well. Donations come in many sizes with 56% of donations in the last year being $100 or less.

Without donations from alumni and friends, Saint Mary’s would not be able to keep the lights on past March 15th. As a university, we rely on these contributions to support the clubs, events, sports on campus and so much more. Help support philanthropy on campus by turning your lights off for 1 minute in class on March 15 and share the importance of philanthropy on campus.