The most generous day of giving in the history of Cal Poly Pomona raised $679,462 on April 24 and 25.

Scholarships, programs, clubs and numerous initiatives across the university received an abundance of support from the 760 people who donated, a 135 percent increase in the number of donors from the previous year’s Giving Day.

“Their donations are an investment in our students,” University President Soraya M. Coley said. “Many times you may not know the particular student, but know that it is having a significant impact on their development and their success.”

A total of 835 gifts were made to 27 different campaigns, including one for each of the eight colleges. Other campaigns included student clubs and co-curricular experiences that have been staples on the Cal Poly Pomona campus for years, such as Rose Float, the Formula SAE race car and Concrete Canoe.

The College of Engineering alone raised $20,000 while the Collins College of Hospitality Management raised $21,200 and the College of Environmental Design raised $9,390.

“We really depend on support from alumni and also people in the real world who have no connection to the university to support what we do,” said Michael Woo, Dean of the College of Environmental Design.

Two people who are closely tied to Cal Poly Pomona, an alumni couple from the College of Business Administration, made a $500,000 donation to college’s Big Data Analytics Initiative. It was one of 68 donations to the college, which received $510,000 in all.

“The gift from the alumni couple is remarkable,” said Kayhan Ahmadi, director of Leadership Annual Giving. “Their gift highlights the polytechnic advantage made possible by philanthropy. ‘Learn by doing’ is all about solving real-world problems, and their gift enables our students to address the way businesses work with data at a pivotal time.”

The Giving Day results can be viewed in detail at givingday.cpp.edu. Anyone who wishes to donate to Cal Poly Pomona at any time can make a gift at www.cpp.edu/give.

By Clay Fowler
Published May 17, 2018