Westminster’s Giving Tuesday campaign moves to online format, allows donors to ‘pick their passion’

Most Westminster alumni are familiar with traditional means of donating to their alma mater, but Kara Montgomery, senior director of alumni engagement, is hoping more alumni will jump on the online crowdsourcing bandwagon to offer their gift for specific, student-impact Westminster projects.

This year, Westminster has turned to GiveCampus.com to raise funds for its #WCGivingTuesday campaign already under way in advance of Giving Tuesday on Dec. 3. Westminster is using social media as a means of soliciting participatory support, complementing the traditional mailers and appeal letters.

Potential donors can view the seven different projects online and contribute immediately to a cause that interests them. This year, donors can “pick their passion” and choose to donate to the Westminster Fund, the Student Emergency Fund, a particular academic department in honor of a favorite staff or faculty member or wherever funds are needed most.

There are also more specific funding opportunities such as donating to the Career Closet, the on-campus resource that provides business professional attire to students for networking and interviewing, or the Rec the Quad initiative which is raising money to provide more recreation options on the quad. The Student Food Pantry is yet another giving opportunity, and to date, it has exceeded its goal of 35 donors.

“Through the online platforms, donors can see their impact instantaneously and see the gauges grow for each given project as soon as they donate,” said Montgomery. “The platform also allows advocates and alumni to challenge one another or offer matching gifts, and advocates can see how many dollars and clicks their posts have generated as a result of sharing.”  

“The nature of the software makes giving fun, interactive, and immediately gratifying, putting our donors in the driver’s seat to further projects along and achieve the overall goal of 300 donors by Dec. 3,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery said the GiveCampus platform was purchased this year to address changing donor needs and interests including social media integration, interactive technologies and a personalized experience. Its focus is on the act of giving a gift-one of any size so that collectively a large impact can be seen.

Alumni and friends are encouraged to give by Tuesday, Dec. 3. Please click here for more information and to view videos about each of the projects.

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