Fresno State announced today a new campaign for the public to support the University’s student success initiatives with its first Day of Giving (D.O.G.) — a 24-hour digital fundraising campaign on Thursday, Nov. 2.
With the theme “Time to Feed the D.O.G.,” the one-day drive will encourage the University’s external audience, including alumni, donors, community leaders and friends, to make a gift online to one of Fresno State’s eight schools and colleges or the University program of their choice.
The Fresno State Day of Giving website will feature live leaderboards and trackers updating the money raised for the entire campus throughout the day at: dayofgiving.fresnostate.edu.
Dedicated giving days have become popular at many universities across the nation, and this is Fresno State’s first-ever Day of Giving. The model can be traced back to the Case Foundation’s America’s Giving Challenge in 2007, which encouraged people to rally their online networks to make giving easier and a part of their daily lives. Giving days have since been used with notable success by higher education institutions and community foundations, sometimes raising millions of dollars in a 24-hour period.
A pajama party at 10 p.m. on Wednesday at the Peters Business building will lead up to the drive’s midnight start. At 5 a.m. on Thursday, the Shehadey Tower (Shaw and Chestnut avenues) at the Save Mart Center will be lit red to signify Bulldog pride.
From 5 to 9 am., student mini-rallies at intersections surrounding the campus will help promote the campaign. Students will hold signs expressing Fresno State pride as well as gratitude for community support of the University.
A friendly competition between Fresno State’s eight schools and colleges, Department of Athletics, Fresno State Alumni Association, Henry Madden Library, Central Funds (President’s Circle and Fresno State Annual Fund) plus the divisions of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, Graduate Studies, Continuing and Global Education will include daily and hourly challenges throughout the day with various cash incentives. A total of $75,000 has already been donated for a bonus chest that will be awarded to units winning each challenge.
Each entity has identified specific projects in their areas for benefit, but donors will have the option to give to any area of their choice.
“The purpose of the campaign is to launch a powerful, 24-hour online fundraising marathon that rallies students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends to come together to give back and celebrate Fresno State,” said Paula Castadio, Fresno State’s vice president for University Advancement.
University President Joseph I. Castro said the campaign will help enable the University to succeed in its academic mission to boldly educate and empower students for success.
For the challenges, the Office of the President allocated $60,000 in bonus funds for daily challenges and the Fresno State Alumni Association Board of Directors donated $15,000 for hourly challenges.
In the daily challenge, each area will be awarded a percentage of the $60,000 bonus money based on the percentage of donors they bring in for the entire day.
The hourly challenges are focused on increasing donor participation and keeping the community engaged on social media.
Examples include a $2,500 bonus for a Bulldogs pride selfie promotion at a lunchtime event in front of the Kennel Bookstore. Public supporters can tweet out a selfie using the hashtag #FresnoStateDOG and state in that post which participating area they think should win the bonus money. The area with the most “selfie support” tweeted will win that hourly challenge. (See the Day of Giving website for a list of the participating areas).
Another example is a $1,000 bonus for the participating area that receives the most alumni donors during the challenge hour. (See full list of hourly challenges at https://dayofgiving.fresnostate.edu/giving-day/4022/leaderboards.)
The drive also will engage Day of Giving ambassadors — volunteers who will help push out the campaign’s message to their own networks via personal social media posts and emails. They have created their own unique URLs to track the amount of donors they bring in throughout the day. The ambassador securing the most donors to Day of Giving will receive a coffee meeting with Castro where he will express his gratitude in person.
Also, the ambassador recruiting the most donors for the day (by 8 p.m.) with their unique URL will win that area a $2,000 bonus.From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., a lunchtime event on the grass area in front of the Kennel Bookstore will feature games, music, food trucks, a photo booth area and a thank you card station for students to sign cards thanking donors.
For more information, contact Jennifer Mariucci at 858.284.9134 or jenmariucci@mail.fresnostate.edu, or see the D.O.G. Frequently Asked Questions page: https://dayofgiving.fresnostate.edu/giving-day/4022/faq.
Related Link:
- Fresno State Day of Giving (D.O.G.): https://dayofgiving.fresnostate.edu/
