Northwestern State fans and supporters splashed into the giving season by donating nearly $19,000 to Demon athletics on #GivingTuesday, which was held Nov. 28.

Donors chose to give directly to a specific sport, to NSU athletics in general, to start a scholarship or to enhance an existing scholarship.

“This surpassed last year’s nearly $11,000 raised by athletics, so we’re very excited to see so many donors, both new and renewed, embrace this day and what it means to our university and across the glove,” said Dr. Haley Taitano, associate athletic director for external affairs. “A heartfelt thank you to the many faces of NSU who continue to show your love and support for our university through your generosity.”

Twenty-two different NSU donors contributed to a successful #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving which entered its sixth year and follows Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Nine of those donors are new. Specific sports which generated donations or were the recipients of donations include men’s basketball, women’s basketball, track and field, cross country, football, softball and baseball.

Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, NSU’s official healthcare provider, awarded a grant to sports medicine to beef up medical care offered to student-athletes.

Other highlights include donations to the Ginger Craig Softball Scholarship, the Leon Johnson Track Scholarship, the David E. Pittman Jr. Football Scholarship and the Burke Family Athletic Scholarship.

Through the Perpetually Purple program, individuals or groups can establish scholarships with an outright cash gift, a stock transfer or property sale, a life insurance policy or as a provision in a will or bequest.

NSU athletics would like to thank the following people for their contributions on #GivingTuesday: Don Barker, JW Beck, Janice Bolton, Bill Brister, Greg & Susu Burke, Tommy Chester, Erin Crane, Dejon Griffin, Julie Lessiter, Bill & Dawn Johnson, Leon & Elaine Johnson, Lindsay Maggio McElwee, Galen Mudd, Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, Angela Ortega, David Pittman, Beau Russell, Cammie Thompson, Clint Stuart, Buddy Wood and David & Kim Wright.

More than $50,000 was donated to Northwestern State University in total contributions.

Taitano said athletics is aiming to raise more than $200,000 before the end of the fiscal year to meet the department’s annual fund budget goal.

Donations support student-athlete scholarships, travel costs, equipment and salaries among other operation costs. All gifts are 100 percent tax deductible.

For more information, contact Taitano at blounth@nsula.edu or by phone at 318-357-4278.