Pride, gifts, and $250K challenge made Great Day ‘extraordinary’

More than 3,600 donors participated in the annual Great Day to Be a Bobcat fundraising effort during the month of March, securing a $250,000 gift to the college, announced Sarah R. Pearson ’75, vice president for college advancement.

“I want to thank everyone who made Great Day gifts to Bates,” Pearson said. “We have much to celebrate: an extraordinary month of giving and a tremendous demonstration of pride by Bates alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students, and friends.”

Pearson added a special thank-you to the alumni family whose $250,000 challenge gift provided extra motivation during the giving campaign. “This display of Bates spirit is deeply appreciated.”

Now in its fourth year, the 2016 Great Day campaign netted 3,679 donors, nearly half of whom made their gift during the festive, livestreamed campaign finale on March 31.

The college raised a total of $3.17 million over the course of the month.

The campaign, which gets a boost from a social-media outreach that celebrates everything from Bates friendships to Bates gear, has become a giving tradition for Bates donors.

“I love letting my Bates flag fly.”

Pamela Batchelder Johnson ’91 of Charlotte, N.C., is co-chair of the Mount David Society, the college’s leadership giving group, and she says that the Great Day campaign benefits her as a donor and volunteer in three ways.

For one, she says, “I love being part of the worldwide alumni enthusiasm during March and letting my Bates flag fly.”

Second, “writing a check to Bates is always an act of joy, but knowing that my gift goes further because of the challenge makes it that much more fun.”

As a volunteer, Johnson says that Great Day “helps me make the case to other prospective donors. Being able to say ‘please join me’ is the most effective ask!”

Nearly 1,000 young alumni — Bobcats of the Last Decade — made gifts during March, including Bill Prins ’09, who lives and works in New York City. He says that Great Day is both “an important tradition and an entertaining way to feel connected to Bates.”

He adds that it is “rewarding to give back to a place that opened so many doors for me and to help current and future students have those same opportunities.”

The campaign-concluding livestream held in the Ronj coffeehouse on March 31 was seen in 43 countries by 2,010 people, a 14 percent increase over last year in terms of unique viewers.

The annual Great Day campaign spotlights the powerful role that Bates donors play in strengthening the college. The name is drawn from the popular Bates cheer “It’s a great day to be a Bobcat,” a Bates rallying cry coined in the early 1970s by retired football and men’s lacrosse coach Web Harrison ’63.