On April 9, students, staff and community members came together to raise funds for Ferris organizations and teams.
One Day for Dawgs is a yearly spring-time tradition that allows past and present Bulldogs and others to donate money to teams of their choice to show their support for Ferris.
Some of the organizations that helped raise money for the university were the Fund for Ferris, College of Pharmacy, Black Alumni Association Scholarship Endowment, women’s volleyball, men’s basketball and Ferris Foundation Need-Based Scholarship Endowment.
Executive Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving Brandi Behrenwald was grateful for the results of the donations.
“We are happy to report that One Day for Dawgs brought in a total of $288,494,” Behrenwald said.
Every person involved in bringing the day together shared their joy and pride for the success of One Day for Dawgs and the number of gifts received. Many of those involved in the fundraising took to social media to share their joy for donations as they came in.
“We couldn’t be happier with the results and are so thankful to our Bulldog family that spoke up and showed up on April 9,” Behrenwald said. “We had over 90 teams this year raising money. From the general Ferris Fund to women’s volleyball to even our own beloved Brutus Mascot program, those funds will be sprinkled throughout campus in numerous ways. Many teams met their fundraising goals and some even exceeded their goals.”
Staff members expressed gratitude to those who contributed to the day and shared their hopes for continued support. Ferris President Bill Pink took to the university’s YouTube page to publicly thank those involved in the success of this year’s day of giving.
“Thank you for what you have done with us to make One Day for Dawgs a big success. It was so good to get all the support with everything you do for us with your donations, our One Day for Dawgs was awesome.” Pink said. “It’s because of our Bulldogs that we get these things done. So, thank you.”
The specifics of how much each individual group made were not released, but in an Instagram post by the College of Pharmacy, it was stated that the college doubled its goal this year and raised 26,930 dollars.
Annual Giving Manager Jennifer Yontz-Barger wrote about the results on the One Day Giving homepage on Ferris’ website.
“The fund goal was set for 260,000 dollars,” Yontz-Barger said. “Bulldog Nation came out in full force to show off Ferris State pride and help build Bulldog champions.”
Barger’s public statistics showed just over 1,300 people donated, with around 400 being first-time donors. A total of 845 alumni donated, and of those, 142 were first-time donors. The day’s total money exceeded prior goals set, and all gifts donated to Ferris and its teams allowed for financial bonuses to be earned by a small number of groups and applied to their funds.
All funds raised go towards scholarships, programs, athletics, and student needs. One Day continues to prove its importance to Ferris and all Bulldogs. The impact donors have throughout Ferris’ is hard to ignore. President Pink believes that the hard work and support of students and faculty help Ferris thrive.
One Day for Dawgs is expected to take place again on April 10, 2026. Students and faculty hope the day continues to surpass any and all goals set.