Knox College celebrated the importance of philanthropy during the last week of February. Donor Thank You Days, February 26-28, marked when students' tuition and fees stop paying for the cost of their education and private gift support kicks in.

"The goal of  Donor Thank You Days is to help current students, as well as the entire campus community, better understand the impact that gifts from alumni, parents, and friends have on their education and their daily Knox experience," says Julie Layer, director of the Knox Fund, the College's annual giving program.

To celebrate Donor Thank You Days, more than 200 students wrote thank you notes to Knox donors and hundreds more signed a huge card to thank donors for their gifts to the College.  In all, more than 500 students thanked donors to the College and received special Donor Days sunglasses to commemorate the occasion.

The celebration also included the posting of tags across campus highlighting various college operational costs, including the amount to run the College for a single day and the daily grocery bill to feed Knox students.

More from Knox College Donor Thank You Days 2014. Full-screen and captions available in a set at the Knox College Flickr channel

Last year, donors helped Knox set a fundraising record, recording $17.7 million in gifts from alumni, parents, friends, and private organizations to support Knox faculty, students and the College's educational mission. Of that $17 million, $3.6 million was raised for the Knox Fund, or gifts that support the annual operations of the College. Private gift support represents the College's second largest source of income behind tuition and fees.

For more information on giving to Knox College, visit www.knox.edu/give.

Click on the image or use slider below to view signatures on the card signed by students