04/22/2025
The 2025 Cortland Challenge was one for the record books, raising $633,714 from 4,104 generous donors in a single day.
Both of those numbers set new records for the Cortland College Foundation’s yearly 24-hour fundraiser, according to Natasha McFadden, director of annual giving.
“This level of support is unbelievable, and if you’d have asked me a few years ago I would have said it was impossible,” McFadden said of the April 9 effort. “But we did it!
“I wish I had the capability of putting my immense gratitude into words right now because there’s no 'thank you' big enough to share how much I appreciate each and every person on our team for helping us get to this incredible accomplishment.”
The record fundraising effort was led by $230,000 in matching gifts, unlocked every time a new fundraising benchmark was hit.
Participants could specify what they wanted their gift used for. Athletics led the way with $283,652 in designated gifts, followed by the Cortland Fund with $123,463 and university academic departments with $120,273. A total of $43,859 was raised for scholarships and awards.
More details are available online.