Hey everyone, the annual VALPO DAY fundraising event is Wednesday, April 8.
I hope you'll consider making a gift, at any amount that works for you. And if you're excited and hopeful about President Konkol's presidency of the University, and recognizing the financial challenges facing VU, then I ask you to consider digging deep if you can.
FWIW, I sense that Rev. Konkol is energizing the VU community in ways reminiscent of how O.P. Kretzmann breathed life into a very struggling VU in 1940. If you wish to support Valpo, now is the time to step up, instead of holding back to see if somehow the ship will right itself. I think it's up to us to be part of the turnaround.
David
I am convinced President Konkol is the right person at the right time for VU. I can feel the enthusiasm and energy from 380 miles away here in Iowa.
I would not be surprised if the Valpo Day fundraiser exceeds $1.5M.
Paul
I am convinced President Konkol is the right person at the right time for VU. I can feel the enthusiasm and energy from 380 miles away here in Iowa.
I would not be surprised if the Valpo Day fundraiser exceeds $1.5M.
Paul
Coming from 78, a highly respected member of our membership, it means a lot. 78 has always been extremely loyal to Valpo.
Roger and Tara Powell announced that they will be matching up to $100,000 of gifts made to the Valpo Men’s Basketball Excellence Fund on Valpo Day. It’s not often you have a HEAD COACH of a team decide to donate money to help with their team's NIL, nutrition, and other basketball-related needs.
Other areas have matching funds and challenges going on tomorrow as well. Here is the link the athletic department published regarding Valpo Day.
https://valpoathletics.com/news/2026/4/7/valpo-athletics-announces-valpo-day-challenges.aspx
Roger and Tara Powell announced that they will be matching up to $100,000 of gifts made to the Valpo Men’s Basketball Excellence Fund on Valpo Day. It’s not often you have a HEAD COACH of a team decide to donate money to help with their team's NIL, nutrition, and other basketball-related needs.
Other areas have matching funds and challenges going on tomorrow as well. Here is the link the athletic department published regarding Valpo Day.
https://valpoathletics.com/news/2026/4/7/valpo-athletics-announces-valpo-day-challenges.aspx
Appreciate this, if 100 of us donated $1,000 we would hit Roger's amount. I don't believe we have 1,000 members here but if we do each of us could throw in 100.00. To be honest I think the men's excellent fund makes 100K tomorrow. I will be committing $$$ tomorrow and hope others will as well.
I hope that today's Valpo Day is a rousing success.
Here's the link to the overall portal:
https://giveto.valpo.edu/portal/valpo_day_2026?tab=About
Made my gift!! Thankful to everyone else who did the same or support the team in other ways. It takes all of us.
Really insipired by Powell's donations. He is the real deal.
Hit 105 percent of goal! (Whatever that means!)
Hit 105 percent of goal! (Whatever that means!)
That's okay, but Valpo has to do better.
Among other things, it needs to post its $ goal, rather than simply reporting on what % of an unspecified goal has been met.
It also needs to send a reminder on the actual Valpo Day to give. Multiple email reminders spread over a couple of weeks are fine.
Any word on results? It’s been a week.
It's a great exercise for waving the flag.
But I think I have mentioned before that a LOT of schools contrive these giving day results with money pledged or given way ahead of the actual day, and sweep in late ones. Then they set the goals, and select totals that surpass that post-day expectation. So Valpo likely joins its their peers in that strategy. The slowness to publish results is just one signal among many. In this day and age, information compilation is almost instant.
So.....year-over-year comparisons and trends don't mean anything. I watch for clear momentum in other matters like our dynamic new president! AND...the personal gift from Roger Powell is VERY powerful no matter what "hook" you hang it on and when you publish it!
@realist77 From what I seen online yesterday they are counting the final amounts and will release the numbers soon.
VU used to publish the total goal as well as a running count and the names of the donors (with the option of donating anonymously). I emailed the folks in charge and told them the new system of only publishing the percentage (which is vague - percentage of what?) actually suppresses giving - it is better to watch the running count, which would show where VU is in relation to the goal, ahead or behind. Either way, it would inspire folks to give and might encourage some of those who have given already to make another gift. Plus I like to see who has given, not to mention seeing my name up on the list.
Paul
I think we can safely declare this Valpo Day a bust. No numbers reported tells me that the air is out of the balloon.
Hopefully Rev. Konkol can revitalize fundraising at Valpo. From what I hear, he has been transparent on campus about the failures of the development office. Time to clean house.
Why doesn’t Valpo report the numbers? Let’s get the facts so we can better understand the situation.