Kaitlin Barra

Purdue University

Role: Pitch Team / Copywriter / Social Media Content Creator

Purdue University challenged our team to create a fundraising strategy that would engage recent alumni and first-time donors to give back, while also reinvigorating the existing donor base--especially beyond their core engineering program.

After researching the university and its objectives, we named the single-day event the Purdue Day of Giving and created a campaign strategy focused on the idea of "granting opportunity."

We motivated alumni and other donors in social media through a dual strategy of inspiration and motivation to give back to the University by paying it forward.

Regular content publishing in the University's social media channels established the concept of Purdue Day of Giving. Funneling all traffic to a standalone content hub allowed for greater sharablity and integration through all channels.

We leveraged content before the Day of Giving that inspired an emotional connection through inspirational stories of people using opportunities granted by Purdue. We created an animated video to drive the point home, highlighting three exceptional students who were all granted opportunity through their Purdue education.

On the Day of Giving, the strategic focus shifted to competition in order to drive the importance of the deadline. This was achieved through a nonstop, live 24-hour publishing program on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Real-time audience management allowed our team to adapt and respond as the day progressed.

Our efforts resulted in raising over $7.5 million from 6,500 gifts in just 24 hours.