Ideas from schools on #GivingTuesday

The good people at #GivingTuesday collected ways schools chose to participate in the giving day. Check out these ideas if you’re looking for inspiration.

PEABODY-BURNS HIGH SCHOOL (PEABODY, KS)
Peabody Community Foundation and Peabody-Burns High School hosted their second annual #GivingTuesday Winterfest. Every Tuesday before the Winterfest in lieu of afternoon classes, high school students organized community service activities. The culminating Winterfest brought together local nonprofits for an information fair, soup supper, and entertainment by the students.

AVESON CHARTER SCHOOL (ALTEDENA, CA)
On #GivingTuesday, Aveson Charter School asked students to get active and participate in a student-powered jog-a-thon and “great race” fundraiser for their school. In order to participate, students found sponsors to secure their place in the competition. Not only did students participate, but parents and families volunteered to run the event. All proceeds from the event went to raise funds for the charter school and included a matching gift.

FRANKFORD TOWNSHIP MIDDLE SCHOOL (FRANKFORD, NJ)
Leading up to #GivingTuesday, students from Frankford Township Middle School focused on spreading positive messages and doing good deeds as part of their “Choose Kindness Challenge”. The challenge culminated on #GivingTuesday with grade level specific events benefitting local nonprofit organizations and spreading anti-bullying messages. The events ranged from Skyping with people with rare diseases, to an information session with a local nonprofit and the creation of care packages, and a food-drive and visit to a local assisted living facility. The “Choose Kindness Challenge” is a great example of how to tailor projects and events for all grade levels, so that all students can participate in #GivingTuesday.

ST. THOMAS MORE HIGH SCHOOL (MILWAUKEE, WI)
St. Thomas More High School had a specific goal for #GivingTuesday to acquire funds for Smart Boards for its classrooms. Alumni, parents, and other community members donated over $10,000 for this technology during the school’s online #GivingTuesday fundraiser.

GUILFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS (GREENSBORO, NC)
Guilford County Schools launched its Gifts of Music campaign on #GivingTuesday. The school system asked for donations of gently used band instruments and monetary donations toward the purchase of instruments for school music programs. Over 97 instruments were donated and $4,000 raised for a value of about $25,000.

TOP OF THE WORLD ELEMENTARY (LAGUNA BEACH, CA)
Top of the World Elementary held a spare change campaign to encourage students to contribute and ignite the spirit of #GivingTuesday. The elementary school raised $2,199, far exceeding its initial $500 goal. In addition, the school received a $1,000 gift from the PTA. All the funds raised went to With My Own Two Hands Foundation, a nonprofit focused on the nutrition and education of children in Kenya.

POPE – HEAD START PROGRAMS (WAIMANALO, HI)
The children at Pope Head Start made a book for the Waimanalo Fire Department with colorful handprints and personal notes about why they were thankful for firefighters. 

TUFTS UNIVERSITY
For their fifth #GivingTuesday, Tufts University set a goal of cultivating 5,000 donors to support all aspects of life at Tufts, including financial aid, faculty research and scholarship, student activities, and other university priorities. If they reached their goal, a generous group of alumni and parents pledged to give $500,000. In addition, volunteer groups at individual schools upped the ante with school-specific challenges. For example, the Cummings School Board of Advisors offered a $75,000 challenge gift if they hit 350 donors. Tufts shattered their goal, reaching 7,529 donors who gave more than $2 million. They thanked all of their donors for their contributions in real time via their interactive donor roll.

COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
Colorado State University’s goal was to support 7,100 meals for their Rams Against Hunger fund. The Rams Against Hunger program provides meal cards to students who experience food insecurity. The campaign involved a robust 30-day communications plan including postcards, email, social media, and on-campus events. 400 social media ambassadors also helped to spread the news of the campaign.

BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY
In 2017, 218 students showed their Falcon pride and donated 557.5 service hours on #GivingTuesday. That’s more than double the number of volunteer hours from 2016! The BGSU Student Philanthropy Committee hosted the service opportunity in the student union throughout the day, which included 6 activities for students, staff, and faculty members. One student, for example, made dog toys for the local Humane Society. Activities united a variety of local community partners, including the Cocoon Shelter, Red Cross, United Way, Meals on Wheels, The Wood County Committee on Aging, and Food for Thought.

EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
Eastern Washington University raised nearly $260,000 as part of its annual Giving Joy Day campaign on #GivingTuesday to generate money for EWU student scholarships. The one day campaign was dedicated to sharing the impact of scholarship giving through the eyes of students and donors. Scholarship recipients were highlighted in compelling videos to personalize the campaign for supporters.

THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA (UCSB)
placed a special emphasis on targeting young donors in its first online giving day in April 2016. Hosting a 24-hour campaign UCSB received 1,269 individual gifts that will go towards student organizations, financial aid, scholarships and faculty research. A concentrated effort to reach UCSB’s massive base of young alumni, UCSB Give Day used social media channels to digitally connect with donors. By enlisting the help of “Digital Ambassadors,” UCSB was able to get volunteers to proactively push the Give Day message through their own social media channels. Using the hashtag #UCSBGiveDay, the campaign consisted of hundreds of social media posts that reached millions of people, including thousands of UCSB alumni and supporters.

BETHEL BIBLE VILLAGE (BETHEL, TN)
Bethel Bible Village ran a superhero-themed #GivingTuesday campaign to support at-risk youth in their community. Four local restaurants participated in the fun by donating a portion of their proceeds on #GivingTuesday to Bethel Bible Village. They made videos of superhero kids reviewing the participating restaurants and even had the mayor dress up as a superhero and announce a giving challenge. The Mayor agreed that if the community raised $17,000 in support of Bethel Bible village, he would let superhero kids slime him. Bethel Bible Village exceeded their goal and the mayor was slimed on the local news.