The Rensselaer community came together on Saturday, March 14 to celebrate the second annual R-PI Day Pi-K, a five kilometer race to commemorate RPI’s annual Giving Day. Organized in partnership with the Rensselaer Running Club, the Pi-K served as the pièce-de-résistance for the institute’s largest fundraising campaign, which had a $1,000,000 push goal set by the Office of Annual Giving. This goal was pushed beyond its limit as $1,066,035 from 3,029 donors was raised by the end of the day.
RRC’s very own Jacob Walker ’28 led the race with a blazing 18:27, while Natalie Schmitt ’28 topped the women's student division at 21:38; among alumni, Mason Buttaci ’25 and Charlotte Peterson ’25 took first place honors. Faculty, staff, and community members rounded out the field, with Drew Babitts and Maria Roberts claiming the top faculty and staff spots and Kristopher Showers and Malina Afzal winning their respective community categories.
R-Pi Giving Day traces its origins back to 2014, when the Office of Annual Giving first aligned fundraising with the worldwide celebration of Pi Day, every March 14. The event encourages alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, and friends to give in support of current students, tapping into RPI's more than 110,000-strong alumni network across the globe.
Trustee Paula Simon ’68 matched all gifts to the Rensselaer Annual Fund starting at midnight, up to $10,000, while Trustee TJ Wojnar ’80 and his wife Sue offered a 2-to-1 match on Annual Fund Scholars Program gifts, up to $10,000. When 20 alumni gave to the Rensselaer Annual Fund Scholars Program, an additional $20,000 was unlocked thanks to Trustee Gary DiCamillo ’73. The Rensselaer Alumni Association's 1869 Challenge, honoring the year it was founded, was also completed, unlocking $40,000 once 1,869 gifts were received.
Sigma Phi Epsilon's support fund aimed to unlock a $25,000 gift from their alumni board if 88 unique donors gave in honor of the chapter's 88th year at RPI. RPI Habitat for Humanity, celebrating its 25th anniversary, had alumni founders matching gifts up to $8,500. RPI Ambulance had a $6,000 match available toward their new first response vehicle, and the RPI Dance Team had up to $2,500 matched to support their trip to Nationals.
On the academic side, David Walker ’71 unlocked a cheeky $31,415 gift to the School of Engineering once 50 donors gave to the Dean's Excellence Fund. The MANE Excellence Fund had a $10,000 match from Gene Grecheck ’74, and the Parents Council unlocked $20,000 for the Student Experience Excellence Fund once 200 parents donated.
Donor support this year powered scholarships, research, athletics, student programs, and more. All of these gifts count toward RPI Forward, a comprehensive campaign targeting an additional $1.5 billion in support of RPI's future. Find a detailed list of gifts here.
