In case you haven’t noticed, online giving days have become kind of a big deal in higher ed. The million dollar+ day is no longer the miracle campaign only the best and most prestigious schools can accomplish. Nope, seven-figure online campaigns are becoming common place. Assuming, of course, the organization planning the campaign knows what they’re doing.
We’ve said on this blog many times – to have a successful online giving day, you need three things:
- Good online infrastructure (campaign landing page and giving forms).
- A solid, established, and consistent online and social media strategy driven by good content.
- A coordinated online ambassador effort.
Below are 10 of the best campaigns of the past three years. Seven of them had a version of an ambassador program, nine of them had elaborate and long-running social media strategies behind them (the only one that didn’t have a long-running strategy did have a powerful ambassador effort), and every single one had excellent online infrastructure. So without further adieu, 10 higher ed online giving days or fundraising campaigns to model your efforts after… (And I’d love to know which campaigns you think I missed. Please let me know in the comments)
Georgetown City Challenge – 2013
Purpose: Scholarship support and regional alumni engagement.
Duration: 27 hours.
- Donors: 1,514
- Dollars: $529,000
Gamification was the driving force behind Georgetown’s successful City Challenge campaigns.
Notre Dame Day – 2014
Purpose: Scholarship support.
Duration: 24 hours.
- Donors: 4,049
- Dollars: $918,518
UMass Amherst’s UMassGives – 2013
Purpose: Increase student giving and the overall culture of philanthropy in support of UMass Amherst.
Duration 36 hours.
- Donors: 1,588
- 626 students gave over the 36 hours.
- In the entire year prior, 529 students gave.
- 626 students gave over the 36 hours.
- Dollars: $84,000
For a blog post recap of UMassGives, click here.
Washington and Lee’s Give Day — 2014
Purpose: Online giving event.
Duration: 24 hours.
- Donors: 4,300+
- Dollars: $1.4 million.
Major gift donors played a huge role in Washington and Lee’s Give Day’s success by giving $650,000 in challenge grants to drive participation.
For a blog post recap of Give Day, click here.
University of Texas at Austin 40 for Forty – 2014
Purpose: Student engagement and annual giving.
Duration: 40 hours.
- Donors: 2,104
- Dollars: $128,000
Boston University Giving Day – 2014
Purpose: Annual giving online campaign.
Duration: 24 hours.
- Donors: 2,872
- Dollars: $1.11 million
Arizona State University – 2014
Purpose: Donor engagement and annual giving.
Duration: 36 hours.
- Donors: 908
- Dollars: $3.059 million
For a blog post recap of ASU’s campaign, click here.
Colgate’s WRCU Radio campaign – 2013
Purpose: Raise money for the school’s communication program.
Duration: 24 hours.
- Donors: 5,683
- Dollars: $5.1 million
For a blog post recap of Colgate’s campaign, click here.
Columbia University’s Giving Day – 2012 and 2013
Purpose: Online fundraising campaign for annual and major giving programs.
Duration: 24 hours.
- Donors:
- 2012: 4,940
- 2013: 9,700
- Dollars:
- 2012: $6.8 million
- 2013: $7.8 million
For a blog post recap of Columbia’s 2012 campaign, click here.
Average numbers for all schools:
Average donor number: 3,423
Average dollars raised: $2.69 million
Average duration: 29.5 hours
Are you ready to celebrate a successful online giving day? At BWF_social, we have experience building giving days and a consulting package to ensure success for your school. Learn more by clicking here.
The Social Side of Giving 
Great list, Justin! Purdue University (my alma mater!) just had their first giving day in April and raised $7.5M. They had a great multi-channel campaign and rallied studies, families, alumni, and community alike (Of course, I’m a little biased!)
Wow …that’s an incredible campaign! I’m going to have to look into that …it definitely belongs on this blog. Thanks for the heads up!
Great job pulling this list together! You may want to take a look at Wabash College’s 4/30 Day of Giving. For a small school they posted $465,421 from 2329 total gifts. https://www.wabash.edu/430/home.cfm
Thanks, Andy! As a matter of fact, I have a call with Wabash tomorrow morning to learn more about their giving day. So expect a post on that in the near future!
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