Get ready: Pre-campaign prep
Save-the-date communications
- Send “Save the Date” emails and personal 1:1 messages in the week(s) prior to launch
- Post “Save the Date” messages on social media
Social media branding setup
- Change cover images to align with Orange & Blue Day
Engaging internal Advocates & Champions
- Inform and involve faculty, staff, and students to act as social advocates. Encourage them to share the campaign across their own networks (via personal emails, social media posts and re-shares, etc.)
- Reach out to Champions or close donors and supporters of your area and ask them to make early gifts to help kick off your campaign or to be used as matches and challenges to inspire other supporters
Email design & approval
- Consider sending solicitations to your alumni & supporters during Orange & Blue Day. All mass solicitations (20+ recipients) must follow UIF’s mass communications guidelines.
- Use StratCom’s email design standards for a consistent Illinois brand appearance
Leadership involvement
- Invite prominent faculty or leaders to record short videos encouraging participation, or to make early gifts or matching gifts to inspire others
Go live: Campaign execution
Social media strategy
- Mid-week mornings are ideal post times
- Begin posting ahead of time (Save the Date/Announcement posts, Countdown to Start)
- Aim for 1-3 posts during Orange & Blue Day.
- Social media post themes may include:
- Why it matters
- Student or donor spotlight – with pictures. Images with peoples’ faces tend to perform best.
- Social media challenges – asking followers to post pictures or their favorite memories to be entered in a drawing, etc.
- Campaign progress updates and milestone celebrations (“We’re halfway there!”)
- Gratitude shout-outs as gifts come in during Orange & Blue Day
- Tip: informal, “real” videos perform even better than highly produced videos on social media
- Challenge or match announcements to encourage people to give when their impact can be amplified
- Countdown to the close of your campaign
- Consider using paid social media ads to expand visibility. (Ads tend to perform better than paid boosted posts for fundraising).
Email outreach strategy
- Please follow UIF mass communications processes.
- Send engaging, fun 1:1 emails to potential supporters asking them to join you in making a gift. These can come from gift officers, faculty and staff, or even student ambassadors for your unit.
Responsive stewardship
- Post real-time thank-yous on social media when large gifts are made or donors share your campaign. Consider personal outreach (calls, texts, emails) to major donors within 24 hours of the gift.
- Use Gratavid or other platforms to tailor messages for specific audiences.
Say thanks: Post-campaign engagement
Centralized stewardship
OVCIA will send a thank-you email to all donors the week after Orange & Blue Day. Draft messaging includes:
- Subject: You made Orange & Blue Day a success!
- Highlight total raised and number of projects supported
- Encourage continued engagement (advocate link, social share)
Unit-specific stewardship suggestions
- Record thank-you or celebration videos for emails and social media
- Post a social media message thanking donors and sharing final results of the campaign
- Send wrap-up thank you emails with infographics or statistics
- Send personal outreach to large-gift donors, consider using videos like Gratavid
Keep the giving door open
After March 9, link to your regular giving page, since the crowdfunding site will close.
Extra stewardship opportunity
The UIF Engagement Center can help with video thank-you emails to donors. Contact Rachel Gudeman at rgudeman@uif.uillinois.edu to coordinate.
Questions?
Reach out to OVCIA’s Associate Director of Strategic Engagement, Rachel Hull, at rhull3@illinois.edu.