Today John Templeman is feeling the flip side of exceptional success: pressure to repeat the feat.
As Case Western Reserve’s annual fund leader, Templeman directs the yearly All [in] Day of Giving, when alumni and other members of the campus community rally to encourage university contributions. This year’s event officially began just after midnight.
Last year’s total of 1,112 gifts obliterated the previous giving day record by nearly 30 percent—which felt terrific then.
But now?
“Our supporters established an entirely new higher level for participation in 2016,” Templeman said. “So yes, it will be a challenge to do it again. But we’ve decided to take last year’s tally as inspiration—wouldn’t it be amazing to be able to beat that number?”
Templeman and his team have worked with annual fund offices across the university to build on some of the 2016 initiatives that appeared to help engage more donors. These included financial incentives for schools that reached individual giving goals, opportunities for individuals to issue challenges of their own, and a live video stream thanking individuals who made gifts during the workday.
Each of these elements continues in 2017, plus individuals whose efforts on the giving page inspire others will be entered to win Visa gift cards of $50 to $100. Also this year, students will call donors to thank them for their support. Finally, members of the campus community are invited to attend a celebration from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the Jolly Scholar.
This year marks the university’s fifth Day of Giving. Since its launch in 2013, the event has drawn nearly 3,600 individual gifts totaling more than $1 million. Annual fund support goes directly into operating budgets, meaning gifts can have immediate impact.
Ways to participate:
- Make a gift to an area of campus that is meaningful to you;
- Engage others by posting messages and sharing the giving webpage on personal and departmental social media accounts using the hashtag #CWRUALLIN;
- Visit the volunteer resources page and change your profile picture on your social media accounts for the day;
- Personally reach out to your contacts to ask for support;
- Share various posts from the main university, Alumni Association and school Facebook and social media accounts.