Recap: Day of Giving 2020

The ZTA Foundation's inaugural Day of Giving exceeded every expectation.

Zeta Tau Alpha remains strong even in these challenging times, thanks to the commitment of our sisters. On our 122nd Founders’ Day, we reinforced that commitment as we honored our Founders, supported each other and strengthened our future.

The generosity of our sisters and friends who donated to the ZTA Foundation was overwhelming. We are so grateful to say that 1,402 people donated, 220 of whom were first-time donors. In total, these amazing donors gave $192,285.70!

Donations like these help the Foundation fund important programming, like My Sister, My Responsibility®, leadership academies, breast cancer education and awareness efforts, scholarships, and more.

The campaign had some exciting challenges. As donors completed each one, they unlocked some very generous donations and a few fun surprises!

FOUNDERS CHALLENGE

The initial goal was to reach 50 donors per Founder. When we reached that goal for each Founder, we revealed a little-known fact about her and unlocked a $1,000 donation from a generous sister. Check out those Founders facts on our Facebook album! Thank you to these sisters for their Founders Challenge donations: Malaea Nelms Seleski, Dinah Jackson Laughery, Keeley McDonald, Marlene Dunbar Conrad, Alicia Patten Williams, Cynthia Byars Courtney, Kay Dill Kreutzer.

When we reached 50 donors for all nine Founders, totaling 450 donors, we unlocked a wonderful donation of an additional $9,000 from former National President Laura Ladewig Landers. Combined with the nine $1,000 donations, we unlocked $18,000 for completing the Founders Challenge.

FIRST-TIME DONORS CHALLENGE

Another important goal for this campaign was to reach 20 first-time donors. We reached that goal as of 12 p.m. EDT, just three hours into our Day of Giving, unlocking a $1,000 donation from ZTA Foundation President Carolyn Hof Carpenter.

Since we met that goal so quickly, we set a more aggressive goal of 150 first-time donors. We didn't just reach this goal—we surpassed it in a big way, ending the day with 220 first-time donors. That achievement unlocked a $2,000 donation from sisters Nan Barkley Boettcher and Ann Barkley Manning.

1,000-DONOR CHALLENGE

After our sisters and their friends and family helped us reach 450 donors, we announced a new goal of 750 total donors. That goal was smashed within just one hour, unlocking a $5,000 gift from Kelley E. Moulton, a former Leadership Consultant!

Next, we set our sights on a new, more ambitious goal of 1,000 total donors before 12 a.m. EDT on Friday, Oct. 16. Once again, our sisters made quick work out of this challenge! Achieving 1,000 donors unlocked a new gift of $6,000 from the following sisters: Vice President Collegiate II Laura Moak Redman, Mardee Coyle Austin, Executive Director Meghan Vicinus Parker and two anonymous sisters.

100-IN-ONE CHALLENGE

Toward the end of our Day of Giving, we set a lofty challenge to get 100 donors in just one hour (from 8-9 p.m. EDT). In just over 45 minutes, 150 donors knocked this goal out of the park. As a reward, we shared a special episode of the “What the HEC?” YouTube series featuring everyone’s favorite Archivist, Patti Cords Levitte, giving new insight into the Mystifying Picture.

FINAL CHALLENGE: $10K FOR 1,275

A previous challenge donor upped the ante at the end of the day. Kelley E. Moulton pledged an additional $10,000 if our Day of Giving donor total reached 1,275. Again, our donors came through and unlocked this generous gift for a final donor total of 1,402!