I Heart Fisher Giving Day 2025 Raises $720K

This year, 1,013 donors raised more than $720,000 during the sixth annual I Heart Fisher Giving Day. Held on Thursday, March 20, the celebration of philanthropy supports students and programs at St. John Fisher University.

Several generous donors leveraged their philanthropy to help I Heart Fisher Giving Day reach new heights. Dan ’79 and Shelley Boyce, Mike ’82 and Chris Haefner, and Mike ’80 and Karen Moran, matched $85,000 in gifts for the Fisher Fund challenge. The John and Elizabeth ’11 Leonard Family Foundation matched 2:1, donating $50,000. Additional matches and challenges were met by Dr. Christine Birnie and George Jegadesh ’14 (MBA); Britt and Lisa Vitalone ’91; Bob and Tarri Heerkens; Ryan ’01 and Carly Lancer; Marty Keating ’75 and Jake Latchman; Mark Cleary ’81, John Mealy, and the staff at City Blue Imaging; and an anonymous member of the Class of 1970.

A $300,000 gift from Dr. Lucy Malmberg in support of the Wegmans School of Pharmacy played a large role in the success of the day.

During the 24-hour giving day, 20 new donors joined the Spire Society. Spire membership is granted to donors who give $1,000 or more annually to the Fisher Fund, committing to that minimum level of giving for three years.

Nearly 100 employees made gifts to Fisher throughout the day, and 98 students pledged their support, including 50 members of the Class of 2025 who gave to the Senior Class Gift.

On the athletics leaderboard, the football program took first place in both dollars raised and number of donors, and women’s soccer came in second in both categories.