On April 14, Minot State University held our annual MSU Giving Day. This is an online, 24-hour event through the MSU Foundation to raise funds and support over 50 programs across campus. Our Giving Day event began in 2018 and occurred again in 2019. Last year, it was shifted to a singular focus by raising funds for our Student Emergency Fund during the early days of COVID, and so it was exciting getting back to the original focus and format with this year’s Giving Day.

Thanks to the generosity of many of you reading these words, this year’s results were truly amazing. Nearly $270,000 was raised in just one day on April 14! The funds raised will support a range of activities at MSU including supporting a variety of academic programs and specialized equipment needs across campus, Beaver Athletic teams, Music and the Fine Arts, the Summer Theatre renovation project currently underway, student scholarships, the Northwest Arts Center, the MSU Alumni Association, student clubs and organizations, the Student Emergency Fund, and many other worthy campus initiatives. These funds help ensure student success and keep education affordable.

During the course of Giving Day, we received over 2,000 gifts from approximately 1,300 unique donors (some donors gave multiple gifts). These donors came from every state in the nation except two (we need to find someone in Vermont and Maine!), from six Canadian provinces, and from five countries. This was truly a campaign with support not only from throughout the United States, but from across the globe. The MSU Development Foundation also generously supplied $50,000 in matching funds providing additional incentives for our supporters. As we near the end of the academic year, this successful Giving Day is a terrific way to cap off what has been a most unusual year on campus given the COVID crisis.

Speaking of the end of the year, and looking forward to resuming traditional events, we are now putting the final touches on plans for MSU’s Commencement Exercises on Friday, May 14 at the MSU Dome. In addition to our undergraduate students, we will also be celebrating our graduate students with a Hooding Ceremony on that day. For the first time in many decades, we did not hold graduation ceremonies last Spring. Thus, we are looking forward to celebrating both the graduating classes of 2021 and 2020 in a few weeks.

I have said many times over the past seven years that Minot is better off for having Minot State University in its backyard, and, likewise, Minot State University is better off for existing in a community as supportive as Minot. The support, generosity, and kindness of this community was on full display last week during MSU’s Giving Day! My sincerest THANKS to all who supported MSU and our students through the Giving Day campaign.

Best wishes, and as always…..Go Beavers!