24-Hour Challenge

College of the atlantic

Save the date for our next challenge: February 23, 2027

The 24-Hour Challenge is COA’s annual giving day, when we challenge alumni, parents, students, trustees, friends, staff, and faculty to help us meet an ambitious fundraising goal in support of the COA Annual Fund.

Gifts to the COA Annual Fund provide essential support for:

  • Merit- and need-based aid to secure the brightest and most curious students
  • Field-based coursework and global study
  • Faculty innovation
  • Campus facilities and technology improvements
  • Partnerships with local and international organizations

Last year’s 24-Hour Challenge

On February 10, 2026, our community—stretching across the globe—came together in extraordinary fashion. We can’t thank you enough for helping us reach—then exceed—our participation and fundraising goals. The challenge successfully raised a grand total of $322,712 from 728 generous donors! In addition, 60% of faculty and staff participated—a powerful demonstration of our community’s shared commitment to COA’s students and mission.

We are always so touched by the many supportive and heartwarming notes we receive throughout the day

Alumni voices

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without COA’s scholarships.”
~Elizabeth Signore ’19

“I attended COA decades ago as a visiting student but I still feel the impact of my time there. COA is a special place.”
~Pam Bolton (’79)

“I’m happy to celebrate COA, a place that showed me my potential and inspired me to pursue my passions.”
~Corrie Ingall ’16

“I am grateful every single day for my time at COA. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.”
~Jennifer Harris ’94

“The world needs institutions like COA more than ever!”
~Charles Bishop ’07

Community voices

“Excited to champion incredible students who are going to change the world.”
~M. Hudson

“We need colleges like COA now more than ever!”
~Elizabeth Harriman

Current & alumni parent voices

“We are grateful that our daughter has found a special learning community where she can thrive!”
~Amy McLeod

“Our son Stuart said … if he had been anywhere else, he would have quit college. Now, 14 years later, he’s a PA in the surgical ICU. COA was critical to helping him start his journey.”
~Kate Weymouth

Faculty voices

“COA students inspire me.”
~Martha Donovan, Lecturer, Writing

“Students are my collaborators. They bring up perspectives and hypotheses that I would have never thought about.”
~Brittany Slabach ’09, Kim M. Wentworth Chair in Environmental Studies

Student voices

“You all make it possible for students like to me to succeed at COA.”
~Tyler Hebert ’27