The Giving Day handbook

Essentials for planning, executing + analyzing your success

Why host a university Giving Day?

While fundraising is traditionally a “slow cook” process that you engage in year-round, focusing giving around a 24-hour digitally-driven campaign which rallies an institution’s whole community behind a particular cause builds a level of excitement, interest and energy that draws new donors and rekindles relationships with existing ones.

Creating a culture of philanthropy

Your Giving Day may just be one day out of the year, but if done right, the excitement it generates will lay the groundwork for relationships you’ll cultivate with donors year-round. In addition to being a source of year-round gifting opportunities, Giving Day is an opportunity to enrich your university’s community. A rise in volunteer efforts and promotional campaigns leading up to a Giving Day can contribute to a sense of community and camaraderie that enriches your school’s culture.

In this robust handbook, we delve into the varied experiences of our 2,500+ Advance from Gravyty clients for a rundown of university Giving Day best practices and how-tos so you can exceed all of your fundraising goals.

It’s all about the team

Planning your Giving Day early provides an opportunity to generate excitement for your Giving Day among staff, donors and volunteers. The earlier in the process you start generating excitement around your Giving Day, the more motivated and committed everyone will be to the success of it.

We also recommend ensuring your digital fundraising solution provider has a dedicated team to guide you through the process from start to finish. When partnering with a provider, keep in mind that it’s never only about the software. You are investing in a commitment to the shared goal of your success.

Best practices for university Giving Days

• Broaden your reach—Include representatives from different departments around campus for maximum involvement and reach
• Establish your team—Compose a unified steering committee that incorporates staff and volunteers responsible for managing promotions, social media, matches and challenges, content collection and stewardship
• Set expectations—Clearly establish all team member roles, expectations and time commitments to avoid any misunderstandings
• Set the date—The sooner you have that date in the calendar, the sooner you can create a timeline for Giving Day
• Keep up momentum—Schedule standing meetings and send regular communications to keep everyone updated
• What’s your KPI?—Set an overall goal for your Giving Day success and let this goal drive all activities
• Define your cause(s)—Remember that people support causes they are passionate about. Consider setting cause-related goals that your community can get excited about.

Get your copy of the full handbook to learn how to reach and exceed your Giving Day goals (without needing more headcount!) From customized giving options and gamification to essential reporting and benchmarking strategies, you’ll be on your way to fundraising success that extends months beyond Giving Day.

See how Advance, the top digital fundraising platform to power your online giving initiatives, amplifies your campaigns and increases donations at scale while delivering a seamless donor experience and empowering your fundraisers to optimize all of their efforts. Get your free demo today.