Each year, Trinity University’s 1869 Challenge asks for your help in supporting current and future Trinity Tigers.
And each year, the alumni, faculty, staff, parents, students and friends of this University do more than they have to: they shatter records through their generosity.
The 2021 edition of the 1869 Challenge, held from September 21-22, set all-time highs in total amount raised at $827,904, and number of donors at 3,340. This breaks the previous record for donors by more than 7.5 percent, set in 2019 at 3,109; and it breaks the previous high for giving totals by more than 25 percent, set in 2020 at $667,441.
Trinity supporters blew past the original challenge goal of 3,000 donors hours in advance, unlocking an additional $100,000 donation. Then, they went on to meet many other challenges, reaching across academic departments, athletic teams, student orgs, and more. There’s not a corner on campus that didn’t feel the love this year.
There’s never a way to thank you enough, but we’re going to try anyway:
Your support is already making a crucial difference for students. Not only are you providing the resources that bring incredible minds to Trinity, you’re strengthening the excellence and access that helps keep these Tigers here.
When we keep pushing ourselves - through our generosity, our time, or even simple words of encouragement - we expand the possibilities for our next challenges. And when we challenge ourselves, our friends, and our families to continue supporting students on every step of their Trinity journeys, we expand possibilities for these students directly, all the way through graduation.
Bringing the best students to Trinity is just the start: your generosity keeps bringing the best possible Trinity experience to all Tigers.
Enabling Excellence
Through both matching donations and individual gifts, alumni donors stepped up to support the faculty and academic departments that provide memorable experiences for students inside and outside the classroom.
Thanks to Justin McMorrow ’93, every $1 given to the entrepreneurship program was matched with $3, reaching $15,000.
President Danny Anderson also pledged a $5,000 challenge (split $2,500, $1,500, and $1,000) for the top three academic departments with the most donors.
| Place | Donors |
|
1. Sociology and Anthropology |
94 |
|
2. Classical Studies |
76 |
| 3. Chemistry | 66 |
Competitive spirit
Trinity’s athletic teams always bring a fighting spirit. This year, President Danny Anderson pledged the team with the most dollars raised an additional $2,500.
|
Place |
Amount Raised |
|
1. Baseball |
$28,590.00 |
|
2. Swimming and Diving |
$20,266.69 |
|
3. Football |
$19,104.00 |
Orgs leading the way
The fraternity or sorority that raised the highest dollar amount was promised a Taco Tuesday with LeeRoy for current student members.
|
Place |
Amount raised |
|
1. Omega Phi Fraternity |
$17,001.05 |
|
2. Bengal Lancers Fraternity |
$16,380.00 |
|
3. Chi Delta Tau Fraternity |
$14,146.11 |
The top 3 fraternities and sororities that secured the most donors each received 25 Bonus Standards points to apply towards their Fall or Spring Standards.
|
Place |
Donors |
|
1. Omega Phi Fraternity |
61 |
|
2. Kappa Kappa Delta Fraternity |
59 |
|
3. Bengal Lancers Fraternity |
47 |
|
Place |
Donors |
|
1. Spurs Sorority |
121 |
|
2. Gamma Chi Delta Sorority |
101 |
|
3. Chi Beta Epsilon Sorority |
97 |
The student organization that secured the most number of donors received $500, with the second netting $250, and third getting $100.
|
Place |
Donors |
|
1. Black Student Union |
80 |
|
2. Catholic Student Association |
47 |
|
3. Mock Trial Club |
40 |
Developing a legacy of philanthropy
Trinity’s students, young alumni, reunion classes and families all stepped up to engage with the 1869 challenge this year like never before.
Trinity’s Student Cause & Young Alumni Challenge brought together student leaders, who selected the Raymond Judd Student Emergency Fund as the "student cause" for their challenge. Then nine young alumni, (Kyle Argueta '17, George Brandon Douglas '15, Katie Ogawa Douglas '14, Jacob Hall '15, Lauren Krummel '15, Ashley Poston '15, Ana Ruiz-Zavala '16, Ben Whitehead '15, and Clare Burch Whitehead '14) challenged Trinity students to make a gift, with 200 student gifts unlocking $1,200 for the Judd Emergency Fund.
Trinity’s reunion class challenge, always a close contest, promised the reunion class with the most donors special recognition during Alumni Weekend in October. This year, the class of 1981 led the way with 51 donors.
Legacy families also got in on the action, as an anonymous alumna whose child also graduated from Trinity matched all gifts from legacy family members up to $10,000.
Parents Armando and Madeline Nunez made a matching $15,000 donation to gifts made to the Trinity fund, while 50 individual parents and guardians made gifts, which unlocked an additional $17,000 donation from the Trinity University Parent Council.
Head to https://givingday.trinity.edu/ to see the complete list of challenges, and the impact your donations have made!
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