3.14: See What's Happening at MIT Today

Update: This year's 24 Hour Challenge came to a close with 7,976 donors raising more than $2,099,289 for the Institute! Final numbers are still being tabulated and there will be more news to come regarding what micro challenges met their goals. 

Do you know why March 14 is an unofficial MIT holiday?

Maybe because today—March 14—is Pi Day, which numerically represents the mathematical constant that is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter (at approximately 3.14159…). Perhaps because it's the day that hundreds of deserving students receive word that they were admitted to MIT and begin a lifelong journey of infinite inquiry. Or it could be also that today marks the second annual MIT 24-Hour Challenge, bringing together thousands from the global MIT community to help make great things happen at MIT. The correct answer, though, is that it’s because of three.

March 14 is a day that has brought many math enthusiasts together for years, and, this year once again, the MIT community came together for the annual day of giving. Collaboration is this year’s theme, since it takes the collective effort from everyone at MIT to help make—and fund—the initiatives that make a better world.

This year's 24 Hour Challenge came to a close with 7,976 donors raising more than $2,099,289 for the Institute! Final numbers are still being tabulated and there will be more news to come regarding what micro challenges met their goals. 

Watch this year’s 24-Hour Challenge video to hear more about the collaboration and to see some community members describe their own micro challenges, which total more than 70.

“On planet MIT, we love hard problems,” says Institute President Rafael Reif in the video. “And we know that if you’re working alone, you’re most likely doing it wrong,”

Collaborate with the MIT community today to reach the Tau-inspired 6,283 donor participation goal and unlock a pi-themed $314,159 challenge gift from an anonymous donor.

You can also watch the giving progress—and the countdown—at MIT 24-Hour Challenge.