CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State Athletics Department participated in Cleveland State University's 12^th annual 'Giving Day', with over 2,027 individual donors supporting 365+ student-athletes with a total of over $360,000 in donations.

"Our student-athletes, coaches and staff are incredibly grateful for the significant support provided to CSU Athletics on Giving Day as we focused on participation and engagement with our Viking Family," said Director of Athletics Kelsie Gory Harkey. "Continued success on CSU Giving Day is a vital element to our focus on developing unprecedented community support, allowing us to strategically invest these gifts directly into the Viking student-athletes' transformational experience." 

Support from former student-athletes, family, friends, and Cleveland community members accounted for 72% of University Giving Day engagement including spectacular effort by the Lacrosse program who recorded the largest amount of gifts directed in sole support of one program in the 12-year history of Giving Day (589 donors).

Six athletics programs saw financial record-breaking support; Volleyball, Men's and Women's Tennis, ESports, Spirit Squads, Men's and Women's Swim & Dive, while Cross Country and Track Head Coach Jason Hudson led the University in most gifts achieved through an ambassador link.

The 24-hour day of giving is successful due to the commitment of the Viking Family and special appreciation goes out to The Robert F. Busbey Foundation for their commitment to driving philanthropic support for the Swim and Dive community in memory of Mike Lehto.

The day of giving was driven through an emphasis on social media promotion and an online crowdfunding platform. Cleveland State University raised over $648,000+ across multiple colleges, student activity programs and other special projects including student scholarships, facilities, technology, and more. 

All gifts to Viking Athletics, in collaboration with coaching input, were designated to a specific sport program need and the Viking Fund. The contributions will be invested in continued improvements in scholarships, team apparel, travel, recruiting operations, facilities upkeep, student-athlete nutrition, personal development programming, and more. 

Those interested in future contributions to CSU Athletics may visit CSUVikings.com/vikingfund or contact Brandon Longmeier at b.longmeier@csuohio.edu.