By: Alex Boyda

On Giving Tuesday, Penn Staters raised their voices in support of over ninety fundraising campaigns on Dec 3. The Libraries celebrated this day of Philanthropy by heading the campaign for the Textbook and Educational Resources Endowment. 2019 marks the fifth Giving Tuesday campaign for the University Libraries. The Textbook and Educational Resources Endowment began as a response to a student need for more affordable textbook options.

This year’s event was a success with the Libraries garnering $34,340 overall in gifts from 144 donors! This makes the Libraries 5th overall for number of gifts out of 90 campaigns,
and 3rd overall for total money raised!

The University Libraries started funding for this project beginning in 2015 through Penn State’s Giving Tuesday pilot program. The money raised on this first Giving Tuesday created the momentum needed to establish the endowment officially in 2016. In 2017, Penn State University recognized the need for more affordable course materials for students and gave a $1 million match to the endowment. Since 2015, $169,410 in generous gifts has been raised on Giving Tuesday to aid the expansion of the Course Reserves for students.

The legacy of the the Textbook and Educational Resources Endowment, spurred by the efforts of the Libraries community on Giving Tuesday, will impact students for years to come. Thank you again to everyone who helped make this year a success! Check out our Giving Tuesday 2019 Impact Video to get a glimpse of how critical the Course Reserves are to students and their education.