Pirate Nation to celebrate milestone day of giving
Since 2017, Pirate Nation Gives has raised more than $50 million for East Carolina University initiatives. On March 4, supporters can cap that decade of success by participating in the 10th annual 24-hour fundraising event.
Alumni and friends have shown incredible support for university initiatives during each year’s day of giving. Through Pirate Nation Gives (PNG), donors have invested in scholarships, created professorships, enhanced student-centered programs and shaped initiatives that have transformed ECU and the region it serves.
Summer Edwards, right, director of university scholarships, helps students with philanthropy honor cords during Pirate Nation Gives at the Main Campus Student Center in 2024. (Photo by Rhett Butler)
“This milestone year has provided us an opportunity to celebrate the incredible generosity of Pirates and highlight the impact we’ve built during this decade,” said Christopher Dyba, vice chancellor for University Advancement. “It is remarkable to see how PNG has grown and how giving back to ECU is a way for every Pirate to be involved in the mission of this university with their support of students, our region and the world.”
University Advancement launched the first event — Pirate Nation Gives Back — as a stand-alone 24-hour period focused on philanthropy and service. A new online giving website was created for the effort. The first year, the university raised $273,000 through online gifts.
With only one exception, PNG has been held in March in connection with ECU’s founding in March 1907. The day is designed to engage alumni, students, friends, faculty, staff and parents through giving and to connect them with any ECU priority that is important to them.
“PNG is a time for us to connect with each other in support of ECU,” Dyba said. “Since the founding of our great university, Pirates have remained dedicated to supporting the institution. Every gift, large or small, makes an impact, whether it helps enhance programs and facilities, supports our hard-working faculty or increases students’ access to a top-tier education.”
Inspiring PNG Support
Dyba said generosity and dedication to ECU is front and center during PNG. Over the past decade, donors have answered the call to be all-hands-on-deck for the university. Gifts and the number of donors participating has increased through the years.
The excitement and celebratory focus of an annual day of giving has engaged new participants and sparked new dedication of long-time donors.
Pat ’67 and Lynn Lane are among the donors who have demonstrated unwavering dedication to ECU and were inspired to also be active participants in PNG.
“PNG has created an opportunity for alumni, friends and donors to reconnect and support their area of interest. It is a reminder of the important work the university does every day,” Pat Lane said. “It has created a highly visible vehicle for giving back. For us, it is a way to remind our Pirate friends to support ECU financially.”
Throughout the decade, they have made gifts during PNG and led as champions of the event, providing leadership gifts designed to inspire others to support ECU.
“There is strength in numbers and every dollar counts,” Lynn Lane said. “We hope that as awareness spreads about PNG, more Pirates will use that day and some of its incentives to give to ECU and that existing donors will be motivated to increase their giving.”
The Lanes believe ECU has many great causes to support. “Find one you like and pitch in,” Pat said.
Building on a Decade of Giving
Since the first day of giving, dedicated Pirates have built PNG into a powerhouse, generating $50,060,300 over nine years.
Donors nearly doubled their giving in 2018, and $500,000 was raised in the second year. Actress and alumna Emily Procter ’91 (“The West Wing,” “CSI: Miami”) joined the growing ranks of PNG donors. She made a gift and encouraged her fellow classmates to give.
ECU also received the first endowment to support Voyages of Discovery: The Ms. Harvey S. Wooten Voyages of Discovery Endowment.
In 2019, the PNG effort raised $805,000. Two anonymous donors led the day, pledging substantial gifts that they wished to be counted for PNG. The first was a $100,000 gift to be split between athletics and the Honors College, and the second was a $500,000 gift for the STEPP program (Supporting Transitions and Education through Planning and Partnerships). The College of Business had a strong showing as well, including a $10,000 gift to the accounting department.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought challenges for the fourth day of giving. ECU classes were online, dormitories were closed, and most staff and faculty teleworked during March 2020. PNG was postponed until June. Pirate Nation once again showed their unwavering support, and the event raised $3.1 million.
The largest gift of the day was a $1.8 million commitment from an anonymous faculty member. Nearly $1.1 million was donated for accounting faculty recruitment and retention, and $720,000 supported the Students’ Treasure Chest, a student-led group that supports students’ immediate needs, including financial hardships caused by COVID-19.
Record Participation
PNG returned to March in 2021 and coincided with the arrival of ECU’s 12th Chancellor, Dr. Philip Rogers. University Advancement began tracking the number of donors meeting its 1,200-donor goal. The event also set a giving record, raising $6.5 million for priorities including student scholarships and pandemic response and research.
Steven Wright ’78 created a giving challenge in honor of his mother, Ledonia Wright, a former ECU professor and namesake of the Ledonia Wright Cultural Center in the Main Campus Student Center. Wright matched all gifts to the center up to $3,000.
Donors continued to break records in 2022. PNG supporters celebrated the installation of Rogers with more than 1,500 participants raising $8.4 million.
Dr. Diana Haytko, professor and chair of marketing and supply chain management, pledged $1 million gift in her will that will establish two professorships — one focused on teaching, the other on research — and a study abroad scholarship program.
PNG 2023 coincided with the final year of the university’s Pursue Gold Campaign, and drew historic support. More than 2,300 donors helped ECU raise $11.8 million.
The generous support shown by all of Pirate Nation was led by leadership gifts supporting the Brinkley-Lane Scholars Program and the Honors College. Student participation and campus activities grew substantially in 2023 driven by the addition of philanthropy honor cords for graduating seniors. Students accounted for 20 percent of the day’s donors.
Building Momentum
The eighth annual day of giving in 2024 surpassed expectations, raising more than $8.6 million in support of university priorities, including student scholarships, health care initiatives, athletics, and faculty and program support. In the first minute of the day, 64 donors made gifts, setting off donations from on campus and across the country as more than 2,800 Pirates gave during the 24-hour fundraiser.
In 2025, more than 2,300 alumni, friends and students took the opportunity to support ECU, giving more than $10 million. More than 600 donors answered the call to support ECU for the first time. The day was led by a leadership gift from Chancellor Philip and Dr. Rebekah Rogers.
Dean Bim Akintade engaged support for the College of Nursing by accepting a cake to the face if at least 100 donors made a gift. Anticipation grew as donors aimed for the goal. With a few hours remaining in the challenge, the college surpassed 100 donor gifts. Two nursing students maneuvered for the toss and planted Akintade’s face in the cake.
“You can see that Pirate Nation Gives has been a monumental success. Advancement staff and campus partners are planning for our 10th PNG to be the most successful yet,” Dyba said. “It’s going to take all of Pirate Nation to help grow this effort. Mark your calendar for March 4 and get ready to make the greatest impact for our students, faculty and staff.”