Sweet Briar reaches new heights for 7th Annual March Days of Giving

The bells are ringing once again at Sweet Briar! For our community, the commitment to March Days of Giving has been part of our reaffirmation of Sweet Briar’s mission for the last seven years. Whether it was luck or repetition, everyone clearly embraced the call to action—the total amount raised through these 10 days in 2022 is $2,929,908—the highest total since March Days of Giving began in 2016.

“I am profoundly grateful to everyone who contributed to Sweet Briar during the March Days of Giving,” said President Meredith Woo. “This outpouring of generosity demonstrates the love that the College’s family and friends feel for this institution, and the pride they take in supporting Sweet Briar’s mission to educate women leaders.”

The celebration kicked off on March 1 with the campus community gathering in the Quad to plant a new Sweet Briar rose bush, students, faculty and staff taking a turn at the shovel. Students signed a banner saying thank you to our Sweet Briar family and also picked up some freshly-baked rose cookies as the bells rang for lunch.

That evening, alumnae and friends met and exceeded the first $500,000 goal, raising $517,447 in less than 24 hours. As in previous years, this unlocked a challenge for March 2-10. This challenge would not have been possible without our challenge donors. This year, our challengers were six alumnae spanning five decades: Cornelia Long Matson ’58, Pamela Hellmuth Weigandt ’64, Frances Kirven Morse ’68, two who prefer to remain anonymous from the 1970s, and Meg Price Bruno ’83. These generous alumnae committed a total of $500,000 to match up to an additional $500,000 between March 2 and March 10.

This year, alumnae and friends stepped up to March Days of Giving with 1,359 gifts from around the world. Our donors reached across the United States, and many international alumnae even mailed their checks well in advance. Supporters ranged from alumnae to faculty, staff, parents (both current and former), students, and friends. Among alumnae, we saw a 6.2 percent increase in our participation rate during March Days of Giving, a metric that is so important and that we track carefully during each year, especially as we strive to reach our 30% goal.

All gifts to the College during March Days of Giving truly make a difference to our current and future students. With recent events on our minds, we recognize the tremendous power that philanthropy can have in helping make the world a better place. Thank you for showing your support of Sweet Briar to help make a significant difference.