The green lawn of Cassel Theatre is studded with orange flags, each representing $150 donated to Doane University over the course of 24 hours. On the cement stage at the center of the amphitheater, five giant white letters spell out D-O-A-N-E.
Small orange pennants that say "One Doane" speckle the first two rows of Cassel Theatre. After the 24-hour One Day. One Doane. giving day event, 1000 pennants were placed in the lawn, each representing a $150 donation made during the event. By the end of the event, that number ended up being short — by more than 100! — of representing the final donation total.

In just 24 hours, more than 600 people came together in support of Doane University, surpassing a goal (400 donors) that unlocked not only a $75,000 donation from the Board of Trustees, but an additional $25,000 gift from the Board once 450 donors contributed.

From that alone, it’s pretty clear that the 2023 One Day. One Doane. was a successful event.

What’s even better is that the initial goal — receiving donations from 400 donors — was met in just nine hours.

This year, One Day. One Doane. began at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 29 and wrapped exactly 24 hours later. This is the fifth year of the giving day event, which has continued to grow in participation and donations over that time.

The 2023 event sets a completely new precedent, though. Compared to numbers recorded on One Day. One Doane. 2022, the total number of participants jumped by nearly 70% to 619 donors. And the campaign total (donations did continue to trickle in after 10 a.m.) was $174,416 — around 40% higher than the recorded total in 2022.

Additionally, a $7500 challenge goal was met, donated by Doane’s Leadership Team once 150 employees — which includes faculty and staff from both Doane campuses in Crete and Lincoln, and the Omaha campus location — made a gift during the event.

In short, it’s incredible. These donations, and all donations made to the Doane Fund, benefit every part of the Doane experience: financial aid and scholarships, faculty and staff salaries and development opportunities, academics, athletics, fine arts and campus life. And it’s thanks to so many people from across the Doane, Lincoln and Crete communities, and even beyond, that we were able to accomplish this feat.