CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland State University enjoyed another successful Giving Day thanks to committed members of the Viking community including, family, friends, and fans of Viking Athletics. Athletics received donations from more than 1,800 individual donors totaling over $453,000 on CSU's 13^th  Annual 'Giving Day' which took place on Thursday, February 26. 

"Our student-athletes, coaches and staff are incredibly grateful for the significant support provided to Cleveland State Athletics on Giving Day" said Director of Athletics Kelsie Gory Harkey. "Fostering community support is a vital element to our success, 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 68% of University Giving Day engagement.  One tenet of CSU Giving Day stresses the importance of donor participation and involvement which was evident within the Athletics unit including spectacular effort by the men's golf program who led Athletics with a ratio of 22 gifts committed per every member of the golf program.

Athletics programs who saw financial record-breaking support included Men's Basketball and Men's and Women's Tennis, as Director of Tennis and Men's Head Coach Brian Etzkin led the University as an ambassador with the most gifts achieved on Giving Day.  The Lacrosse program under the direction of Head Coach Andy German continued their program success by leading the University with 412 gifts directed to the lacrosse program.

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 continued commitment to the Swim and Dive program and the Busbey Natatorium along with a special thanks to Tom Yablonsky, Class of '77 for his commitment to the Men's Basketball Excellence Fund.

The day of giving was driven through an emphasis on social media promotion and an online crowdfunding platform. Cleveland State University raised a record of $940,535 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.