BSU Day of Giving Seeks Donations for Scholarships, Campus Programs

Kari Kantack Miller, a donor who has participated in every Day of Giving since the campaign began in 2019, took part once again in Bemidji State University’s Feb. 19 Day of Giving to back scholarships and student programs on the university’s lakeside campus. Miller said the event shows “all gifts matter,” urging small-dollar donations as a practical way for alumni and community members to support students.

The Day of Giving is organized by the Bemidji State University Alumni & Foundation (BSUAF) as a 24-hour online fundraising campaign intended to mobilize “Beavers around the world”, alumni, students, parents, friends, faculty and staff, to contribute to scholarships, student programs, academic and athletic programs and other designated funds across campus. Adrian Dunn, BSUAF director of development, described the power of a single-day push: “It’s pretty powerful to see how many people can come together on one day collectively to try to reach our goal unified together. Be it the campus with athletics and academics, and just … across the board, everyone coming together for one day in 24 hours is pretty powerful.”

BSUAF officials use the Day of Giving to highlight a range of campus needs and give donors choice in where their gifts land. Gwenia Fiskevold Gould, BSUAF director of annual giving, said the campaign “offers us the opportunity to highlight so many different areas that people can make an impact on campus,” citing nursing, TAD (Technology, Art & Design), accounting and athletic teams as examples donors can support.

The campaign has built measurable momentum since its 2019 launch. By 2024 the Day of Giving had surpassed $1 million in all-time donations, and the 2025 event set a single-year record of $321,000 raised after a pre-event goal of $300,000 and more than 600 donors was announced. Organizers have previously run the 24-hour window from 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM for the 2025 event; BSUAF materials for 2026 reiterated the 24-hour structure for Feb. 19 but did not publish explicit clock times in the provided materials.

Donations for the Day of Giving are accepted online through the BSU Alumni & Foundation’s Day of Giving page, and mailed gifts were accepted at BSU Day of Giving, 1500 Birchmont Dr. NE #17, Bemidji, MN 56601. The Alumni & Foundation’s FAQ states mailed gifts must be postmarked by the date of Day of Giving to count toward that day’s totals; gifts postmarked after the event still benefit students but will not be tallied for that day. In prior years BSUAF also allowed a brief late-giving window of a few days after the event for donors who missed the deadline.

On-campus materials stress both immediate student supports, including the Random Acts of Kindness emergency fund for students facing sudden financial need, and long-term program investment across BSU’s offerings, which include 60 undergraduate programs and eight graduate degrees. Final, itemized totals and donor counts for the Feb. 19, 2026 Day of Giving were not released in the materials reviewed; BSUAF typically publishes post-event results and breakdowns after the campaign concludes.