About The Day Of Giving

Wabash has proudly sported the Scarlet since 1886. To honor the color we love so well, we’ll make 04.29.26 A Scarlet Banner Day as we continue raising the standard for our students, professors, and campus community with our philanthropy. We’re encouraging you to raise the banner by providing support to our students, sharing your Scarlet Banner Moments, and giving a good old Wabash yell to a classmate or friend you haven’t connected with in a while. When we raise the banner and the standard on the 2026 Day of Giving, our gifts honor a name held dear and a color we cheer.

All gifts made on 04.29.26 will count toward our Lead Challenge goal. Wabash stands to receive $700,000 for students and their life-changing education from a group of leaders when alumni and friends make 5,000 gifts in a single day.

In addition to counting toward the Lead Challenge, each gift can also contribute toward an Affinity or Class Challenge. By issuing these challenges, individuals and groups are putting their personal philanthropy on the line to inspire other members from the community to support Wabash on the Day of Giving. You can select one Affinity Challenge per gift using the dropdown menu while on the Day’s giving form. You can make up to five gifts with Affinity or Class Challenge codes as part of a single transaction.

While the 2026 Day of Giving is primarily an online effort (wabash.edu/banner), the College will include checks or IRA/QCD gifts received via postal mail before, on, or after the Day with 04.29.26, Day of Giving, or A Scarlet Banner Day noted on a memo line. The College will also count gifts that donors make through Donor Advised Funds or via appreciated securities.

Alumni and friends can let the College know they are making these gifts by sending an email to banner@wabash.edu or by calling 877-743-4545 on or in advance of 04.29.26. We will include these gifts in the totals on the day, but individual donor names may not appear on the real-time honor roll of donors until after the gift has arrived.

We will allocate gifts made on the 2026 Day of Giving to the Annual Fund unless otherwise noted in the comments section on the online giving form. The Annual Fund supports the College’s highest financial priorities, scholarships and financial aid, faculty and academic programs, and student experiences. The College will allocate gifts with Athletics challenge codes to the Athletic Director’s Fund.

Yes. If you take the standard deduction on your 2026 Federal tax return, you can claim up to $1,000 for single filers or $2,000 for joint filers for your 04.29.26 Day of Giving gifts to Wabash. Additionally, Indiana residents are eligible for the state tax credit. The State of Indiana will credit up to 50% of a donor's gift to Wabash against their state income taxes. Individual filers receive a $100 credit for the first $200 contributed to Wabash, while joint filers receive a $200 credit for the first $400 contributed to the College.

Yes, many companies offer programs that will match contributions to Wabash. Your 2026 Day of Giving support to the Annual Fund will meet most matching requirements and can multiply your impact on Wabash students. Companies will often match gifts from spouses, parents, retirees, or partners. Contact your human resources office or visit wabash.edu/matching to find out if your employer has a matching gift program.

An affinity challenge is a pledge made by an individual or group that “challenges” others with whom they are associated to make a gift on 04.29.26. If the challenge terms are met, they will give an additional gift. For example:

“Bob Donor ’95 was a proud member of the Pep Band while at Wabash in the 1990s. Bob will make an additional $1,000 gift when this challenge reaches 100 gifts on our 2026 Day of Giving.”

Affinity challenges can represent any group of the Wabash community. You can lead one for a class, living unit/fraternity, a group of spouses or partners, metropolitan area, field of study, sports team, student club, scholarship fund, memorial fund, or in honor of a professor/coach/student.

Each gift made to meet an Affinity Challenge goal also automatically counts toward meeting the overall Lead Challenge.

Often, an Affinity Challenger will join others to issue a challenge. Advancement will develop a challenge based on giving in previous years to construct a goal and description. Some examples include:

• Gift Goal: Wally Wabash ’83, Adam Always ’99, and Fred Fights ’04 will give a total of $1,000 when this challenge receives 100 gifts today.
• Tiered Gift Goal: When this challenge reaches 50 gifts, Wally Wabash ’83 will give $200. At 75 gifts, Adam Always ’99 will give $300. And at 100 gifts, Fred Fights ’04 will give $500.
• Dollar Match: Wally Wabash ’83, Adam Always ’99, and Fred Fights ’04 will match every dollar given to this challenge up to $1,000. 

Contact us at banner@wabash.edu to issue or join a challenge. Once active, your challenge will be listed in an Affinity Challenge table on the main wabash.edu/banner page. Also, the challenge code will appear on the giving form dropdown menu. Throughout A Scarlet Banner Day, spread the word to your social media contacts, by email, and phone, and tell everyone you know that your challenge is on!

Either the Dean for College Advancement, the Dean of the College, or the Director of Athletics will review Affinity Challenges that request gifts be allocated to a restricted designation (non-Annual Fund). We recommend submitting these as soon as possible for review and approval.

Send us an email at banner@wabash.edu and tell us who you would like to contact. We’ll send you a list of classmates, teammates, and other Wabash connections to reach out to and help raise the banner.

The 2026 Day of Giving is a great way to raise the Scarlet Banner and cheer on all that you love about the College and our time-honored mission. If you have given this year, thank you! Making another gift on 04.29.26 will count toward the 5,000-gift goal for the day and will help the College achieve the Lead Challenge of $700,000. In addition, celebrating Wabash on 04.29.26 adds to the momentum as we approach the College’s bicentennial in 2032.