Posts Tagged: Giving Tuesday

2020 GivingTuesday donations break records

Dear Colleagues,

I am thrilled to report that we raised over $196,000 for UC ANR programs on GivingTuesday this year – a 49% increase over the $130K raised during GivingTuesday last year!  Given the widespread opinion that giving was likely to be down this year, this result is both inspiring and an affirmation of the support that our programs enjoy.  

The 2020 GivingTuesday total breaks records for our previous giving-day campaigns. UC ANR received 854 gifts from 736 donors this year; in 2019, 494 donors gave 580 gifts. Many thanks to all of you who worked to get the word out and gave your time and money to make the campaign so successful. My goal for next year is to see a much larger percentage of our UC ANR colleagues participating in this, and other funds development activities. It is increasingly clear that our constituents want to support our work, we simply need to ask for their support and make it easy for them to do so.

Talk about making it easier: The Development Team did an exceptionally awesome job this past few months. The donation platform we used last year for GivingTuesday expired on Nov. 30 so the team had to find a new platform and quickly rebuild the site so it would be ready to accept donations on Dec. 1. They pulled off this Herculean task with flying colors!

I want to thank Emily Delk, director of annual giving and donor stewardship, for organizing the campaign and creating the materials to publicize it. She designed the #PushPlayCA theme to demonstrate how UC ANR programs have had to pivot and find new ways to move forward while many activities are paused to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

More details and stats for individual counties and programs will be available in the days ahead.

The resounding success of GivingTuesday shows that more and more people are beginning to recognize and appreciate the amazing work you do to make life better for Californians.

Glenda Humiston
Vice President

UCANR to reach out to donors on #GivingTuesday

Dear Colleagues,

ANR will participate in #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving fueled by the power of our social network. Celebrated on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season.

“We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to raise some funds for our ANR programs while raising the visibility of the ways Californians benefit from your work,” said VP Glenda Humiston.

It's as simple as a tweeting a photo with “What are you thankful for? Take part in #GivingTuesday today to give back to your community! #UCANReach @ucanr http://ucanr.edu/sites/GivingTuesday.”

You don't use social media? No problem, email your friends. They probably wonder what you do for work. Tell them what your role is in this magnificent organization that's making life better for Californians and invite them to support our efforts by donating, sharing our message or volunteering.

A website has been created with links to all of ANR's programs, Research and Extension Centers and extension offices: http://ucanr.edu/sites/givingtuesday. It invites donors to designate the program or location to which they wish to donate.

The website also contains a toolkit for county offices and programs to participate. It includes:

• A customizable letter to send to stakeholders
• Templates for “unselfies.” Donors may take photos of themselves holding an unselfie sign and share on social media how they are giving.
• Sample tweets and social media posts
• Sample thank you note

Last year, the 4-H Youth Development Program and UC Master Gardener Program successfully participated in #GivingTuesday campaigns.

“GivingTuesday is a wonderful opportunity to gain support, donations, increase awareness and generate a buzz about UC ANR and all of our programs,” said Missy Gable, UC Master Gardener Program director.

‘We are excited to be participating in the movement this year and hopeful that the results will be even better that the success we saw in 2015,” she said. “UC Master Gardener volunteers are passionate about how we serve our communities and the incredible impacts we are making. #GivingTuesday is a great opportunity to highlight the impacts we are making, build relationships and thank those who have supported us along the way.”

The UC Master Gardener Giving Tuesday website is at http://mg.ucanr.edu/Support/GivingTuesday.  

4-H also has its own website http://4h.ucanr.edu/GivingTuesday. Last year, 4-H programs in 17 counties participated.

“Our goal for 4-H was to raise $10,000 and we exceeded our goal with donations totaling over $13,000,” said Andrea Ambrose, acting director of Development Services. “UCCE Placer County collected the largest amount for the 4-H Youth Development Program. We'll see which county collects the most this year.”

Although not as widely recognized as the shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday appeals to people swept up in the spirit of giving at the end of the year.

“By joining the #GivingTuesday campaign, people involved in all ANR programs will have an opportunity to supplement their funding with private donations and have some fun,” said Ambrose.

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