Pivoting Your School, College or University’s Giving Day
Colleges, Universities, and K-12 schools are facing the direct implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, many of GiveGab’s education partners have pivoted their Giving Days to create virtual events and emergency relief funds in order to support their campuses.
GiveGab’s CEO, Charlie Mulligan, recently joined our K-12 and Higher Education Engagement Team, Amy Irwin and Lou Licari, for a discussion on the trends, shifts, and pivots we are seeing in the fundraising space for education institutions this spring and beyond. Through collected data paired with case study examples from D’Youville College and California Lutheran University, we were able to take a deep dive into Pivoting Your Giving Day During A Crisis.
Key takeaways from this recording include:
The Current State of Fundraising:
- How and where you connect and engage with your students, parents, alumni, and faculty and staff have changed
- Fundraising goals still need to be met but how you communicate this has changed
- Donors now know the ease and efficiency of online giving and their new learned behaviors will stay with them past the COVID-19 crisis
- Although there is increased competition for funds, there is also an increase in innovation and creativity when it comes to online fundraising.
- We have seen an increase in online giving following COVID-19
How to Pivot Your Giving Day:
- Recognize that the time to engage with your donors is now
- Pivot celebratory messages to highlight the need for community support and togetherness
- It is okay to continue to ask for support at this time
- Focus on digital strategies like P2P, videos, and pivot in-person events to virtual when possible
Giving Day Success Stories:
- Returning GiveGab Higher Education partners that ran their Giving Day during the COVID 19 pandemic saw a YOY growth of 36.26%, a 14.29% YOY increase in donors, and a 16.72% YOY increase in gifts.
- D’Youville College saw 86.74% of its donations coming in online, which is a 20% increase over last year’s online donations.
- Cal Lutheran rebranded their Giving Day, #callutherancaresday, in response to Covid-19 by extending their donation window and asking supporters to share their stories – which the GiveGab platform was able to facilitate.
“When challenges strike, communities band together, and also entire universities band together in ways they haven’t before, leading them to collaborate and fundraise in different ways.” – Charlie Mulligan, CEO and Co-Founder of GiveGab
We hope that this recording of our “Pivoting Your School’s Giving Day” webinar provides you the information needed to make impactful decisions around your upcoming Giving Day and encourages you to consider the importance of online fundraising in this time where donor support and engagement is needed most for your school’s future.
