How Employee Gifts Empower CSUN Students on Giving Day
Every day, Lisa Cheby sees the contributions of student employees at the University Library as they work the desks, answer patrons’ questions and organize collections.
When she read a 2024 CSUN Giving Day fundraising email appeal to donate to scholarships for library student workers, she was moved to help.
“We couldn’t run without student workers,” said Cheby, the library’s Dr. Karin J. Duran and Richard Nupoll Education Librarian. “I just know how hard our students work, and I know most of them are working here — while working really hard in their classes — because they need that extra financial support.”
The university’s 2025 Giving Day campaign arrives March 5-6, packed with similar opportunities to boost student success. The 36-hour fundraising campaign invites Matadors and friends everywhere to support the colleges and causes nearest and dearest to them. These include a wide range of areas, such as student clubs, the CSUN Food Pantry and scholarships in each of our nine colleges.
CSUN faculty and staff played a critical role in the success of the first two CSUN Giving Day campaigns (2023 and 2024). The number of Giving Day gifts from employees is on the rise, as is the amount they contributed — reaching nearly $55,000 in 2024, thanks to individual gifts as well as challenge funds provided by staff, faculty and emeritus faculty.
Many employees, like Cheby, contribute to their own area or department, lifting up the people closest to them.
Nicole Mills, executive assistant to the chief of staff in CSUN’s Office of the President, also finds personal connections to her gifts. Mills, who played violin with orchestras in middle school and high school, has given many times over the years to The Soraya’s Arts Education program, which provides K-12 students in the region and CSUN students with enriching exposure to the arts.
On Giving Day last year, Mills was inspired to give to CSUN’s Black Scholars Matter program, a merit-based initiative that recruits high school students and connects those selected with holistic support. Mills appreciated the opportunity to expose high school students to the power of a college education and support those who attend CSUN as part of the program.
“This is my little way that’s personal, that I can support the mission of the university,” Mills said. “This, to me, added value to my own personal, professional and social goals, to help society and to do good in the world. It’s very practical, because I see what my gift does firsthand.”
CSUN Giving Day is March 5-6. See all the Giving Day opportunities across campus and watch for Giving Day updates March 5-6 on the Giving Day website, as well as on CSUN’s social media channels. Donors will be invited throughout Giving Day to take part in special matching-gift opportunities and challenges established by other generous donors, as a way to multiply their gifts. We’re also enlisting Giving Day ambassadors to help spread the word to friends and family.
The post How Employee Gifts Empower CSUN Students on Giving Day first appeared on CSUN Newsroom.
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