Introducing more competition into the mix for Giving Day 2023 has netted historic support for the Chico State Department of Athletics and its student-athletes, thanks to you! It started with an unprecedented number of matching gifts—cheers to Stuart and Kimi Casillas, Matt O'Sullivan, Jay Gilbert, Jeff Spence, Ken Krumpschmidt, and Fleet Feet Sports—that helped motivate our student-athletes, coaches, and staff, and most importantly, a record number of donors. The fun continues today for those who have not yet had a chance to contribute as we attack another of the department's Giving Day records and make sure we leave no matching dollar on the table.
 
As of 10 a.m. Thursday, more than 1,100 donors had combined to give $179,000 to athletics! It means so much to us on an emotional level. But more importantly, it makes a huge difference to our student-athletes and their Chico State experience. That smashes previous record for donors. The record for dollars raised is $182,392, set in 2021. We're close!
 
"I'm so grateful to our generous alumni and supporters for championing this Giving Day effort through matching gifts," said Chico State Athletics Director of Philanthropy Ellie Larronde. "Those gifts helped ignite the competitive spirit that lives within our donors, alumni, student-athletes, coaches, and staff, setting the stage for our most successful Giving Day ever."
 
Our teams, student-athletes, and coaches—some of the most determined competitors around—have gone toe-to-toe, and right now they're on a final sprint to the finish line.
 
Again, as of 10 a.m., Carson Zarate of the men's soccer program and women's soccer coach Kim Sutton are slugging it out (in a friendly and fun way) for the ambassador title, which comes with an additional $1,000 in funds for their program. Zarate has generated 64 donations through his link, and Sutton 62.
 
Women's soccer, women's cross country, and men's cross country have all eclipsed the $20,000 dollar mark, and our athletics programs occupy six of the top seven slots in terms of dollars raised during Chico State Giving Day. Women's soccer also leads the way in donors with 297. Men's soccer (199) is second, and our programs boast five of the top six slots. In each of these categories, the winning fund receives an additional $2,000, while second place gets an additional $1,000, and third place another $500.

CHECK THE LEADERBOARDS
 
Competition windows close at 5 p.m. and the giving links close at 11:59 p.m.
 
Gifts to men's soccer are especially valuable right now as $3,565 in matching funds are still available. So, for example, a gift of $5 turns into $10. Or put another way (in case you're curious), a gift of $1,500 to men's soccer would automatically double and help cement a new Giving Day record for dollars raised.