Campaign to save St. Joseph's College raises $2.5 million

They wound up raising nearly $2.5 million from 825 donors by their April 1 deadline, reaching about 12.5 percent of their goal.

The $20 million figure represented the amount school officials initially said would be needed to continue operating for the next several years.

"I'm very impressed and grateful that we were able to raise that much money in such a short amount of time and I feel like it really proves that the alumni do care," said Elysse Hillyer, an alumna who leads the "Involved for Life" website that's dedicated to saving the college.

The Alumni Association Board of Directors launched the campaign shortly after the college's board of trustees voted to temporarily suspend operations at the 126-year-old Catholic institution due to its grave financial outlook.