On April 4–5 from noon to noon, Drake Bulldogs around the world are invited to take part in the sixth annual All In Giving Challenge. All In celebrates Drake University and is a call for students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents, and friends to share and celebrate their love of Drake and support its future. The 24-hour giving challenge is also an opportunity to demonstrate commitment to the University and its mission.
All In is a widely celebrated fundraising event and gifts support the work of the University. Drake relies on philanthropic support to fulfill its mission with alumni helping to lead the way. For 2019, Drake aims to bring in gifts from 1,350 donors during All In. If that number is met during the 24-hour period, Doug Zinser, AS’96, and Dick Sussman, LA’51, will give an additional $65,000 to the Drake Fund.
Alumni are also invited to participate in a new Ambassador program. Ambassadors are given exclusive resources to help spread the All In message and track their impact. As alumni, your connections and endorsement will help All In achieve even more in 2019. Sign up to be an Ambassador here.
At its heart, All In celebrates Drake. Participants are encouraged to not only give, but to share why they love Drake—on their social media feeds, face-to-face with others, and at All In events. Happy hour gatherings, hosted by Drake Alumni Relations and local regional alumni boards, will take place in Des Moines, Chicago, Kansas City, and Minneapolis on April 4 in the evening.
“We are excited to meet Kansas City area alumni and friends at Kansas City’s most fun restaurant and bar and to continue supporting Drake University and current and future students of Drake University,” said Lucca Raventinkie, AS’11, JO’11 and co-chair of the Kansas City RAB.
Clayton Kelly, BN’13 and also a Kansas City RAB co-chair echos and said, “I’m excited to reunite with local Drake alumni and share our Bulldog support at the one-of-a-kind experience, Bar K, on Drake All In Day!”
Two of this year’s happy hour locations hit on the Drake theme: Bar K is a restaurant and dog park in Kansas City and Minneapolis Drake fans will gather at The Bulldog. Although not Drake-themed, the Des Moines and Chicago locations (Gilroy’s and Katana Chicago, respectively) promise to be just as celebratory.
Don’t live near one of these cities? Gather your own local Drake alumni group and celebrate together: wear Drake gear, reminisce over old yearbooks and photo albums, and share in what makes this University so great: the people and community at the heart of an exceptional learning institution.
No matter where you are, share how you go All In for Drake by posting on social media with the hashtag #DrakeALLIN and tag Drake Alumni (@drakealumni on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) so the community can see how you go All In. It could be a memory or photo from your college days, a tribute to a favorite professor, a photo from a recent visit to campus, or a story about what Drake means to you.
This year, the Drake Alumni social media communities will also be an integral part of All In. The alumni accounts will serve as the social home base for All In and where updates, challenges, fun videos will be shared. Follow the accounts here: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
A brand new website also adds to the excitement of this year’s giving challenge. On the website, you can make donations, get real-time updates of number of donors and dollars raised, view a heatmap indicating which states have the highest number of individual donors, and a social media feed people showing their love for Drake.
Mark your calendars for noon to noon, April 4–5 and stay tuned for more as we go All In and share, celebrate, and support Drake.