Although results from the ninth annual One Day One KU are still being tallied, KU School of Medicine-Wichita raised at least $143,000, part of the $5,137,966 that was raised for the University of Kansas overall on April 28-29. KU reported receiving more than 7,000 gifts, a record for the annual 24 hours of giving. In Wichita, gifts came from KU and KU School of Medicine-Wichita alumni, faculty, staff and friends.

“One Day One KU celebrates the extraordinary power of community,” said KU Chancellor Douglas A. Girod. “Thousands of alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends united to invest in our shared future, and we are deeply grateful for their generosity. This day is more than a single moment. It is a powerful reminder of what we can achieve together.”

In preparation of the KU School of Medicine-Wichita campus expansion in 2027 to the new Wichita Biomedical Campus, there were three major areas of focus for Wichita’s One Day One KU fundraising efforts: student scholarships, student and resident research and the Simulation Center.

Giving vehicles included cash, checks and credit cards, but also supporters chose to use Donor Advised Funds as well as Qualified Charitable Deductions from IRAs. Additionally, this is the first year KU School of Medicine-Wichita received a documented planned gift on One Day One KU! Stay tuned for the official announcement.

“Giving days usually have a focus on the here and now,” said Brad Rukes, KU Endowment senior development director-Wichita, “but through planned giving they can also help ensure our future.”

One Day One KU highlights

• A Sweet match: Every dollar donated to the Donna Sweet, M.D., Educational Fund was matched, dollar for dollar, up to $30,000. Amid her busy clinic schedule seeing patients, Sweet paused to take a photo with Dean Laura Tatpati, M.D., who once worked as a resident physician with Sweet in the Internal Medicine Midtown Clinic at KU School of Medicine-Wichita.
• James Walker, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at KU School of Medicine-Wichita, offered a match of up to $13,000 to each of his department's two funds supporting residency education and faculty scholarly activity, making up to $26,000 available in matching support.
• All One Day One KU donations to the Department of Family & Community Medicine at KU School of Medicine-Wichita could be matched, dollar for dollar up to $100,000, thanks to an anonymous donor.
• Alumni for the win: Obstetrics & Gynecology residency classes of 2015 and 2025 teamed up to offer a $5,000 match during One Day One KU. Donors could help meet the match by contributing to the Wichita Educational Resources - OB-GYN Fund or the Michael P. Brown, M.D., and Janet M. Brown Wichita OB-GYN Endowed Support Fund.
• One Day One KU challenges: Dr. Matt & Mrs. Katie Macaluso offered to generously contribute $2,000 when 20 donors make a gift of any amount in support of student research at KU School of Medicine-Wichita. Lynn Fisher, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Family & Community Medicine, offered to generously contribute $1,000 when 25 donors make a gift of any amount in support of the Simulation: Immersive Learning Support Fund.
• Video support: Special messages were shared by Dania Jumpa, fourth-year medical student; Jonathan Liu, M.D., internal medicine resident physician; and Tatpati in support of One Day One KU.

Final numbers from One Day One KU will be shared when they become available. Thank you to everyone, near and far, who contributed on One Day One KU or helped share the message in support of KU School of Medicine-Wichita! If you missed the day, but still want to make an impact, please contact Rukes at brukes@kuendowment.org.

Above, right: Dean Laura Tatpati, M.D., and Donna Sweet, M.D.