During Hornet Athletics Giving Day, we ask alumni and friends to make a gift in support of Kalamazoo College Athletics through targeted emails, social media posts, videos and advocacy. Coaches, athletics staff and advocates can help promote the day by participating in personalized outreach including encouraging your team(s), teammates and friends to share the College’s social media posts, create your own posts, and create giving challenges and donation matching. Thank you for stepping forward to promote our giving efforts!
Hornet Athletics Giving Day is Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Goal: $100,000
Resources for Advocates and Coaches
Responsibilities
- Use social media, email, text and/or phone calls to inform your teams, teammates, K friends and extended circles about Hornet Athletics Giving Day. Encourage them to make a gift when the day arrives.
- Please consider making a gift and using it as a match or challenge to encourage your teammates and K friends to give. You’ll find instructions below.
- Continue to promote Hornet Athletics Giving Day via social media and other contacts throughout the day.
- Show appreciation by thanking donors who have responded to your outreach.
The Two Steps to Getting Started
Step 1: Create a GiveCampus Account
Kalamazoo College uses the GiveCampus social fundraising platform for Hornet Athletics Giving Day. We encourage you to create an account through GiveCampus which will allow you to track the impact of your outreach, as well as make your outreach more strategic. Here’s how to get started:
- To create your account, go to givecampus.com/KalamazooCollege/ and click on ‘Sign Up’ in the top right corner of the page. You will be asked to fill in your name, email address and create a password. You may also choose to sign up with Facebook.
- If you are signing up with an email, please check for a confirmation from GiveCampus to complete your registration.
Step 2: Creating a Matching Gift or Challenge
As advocates, you can further inspire your teammates and K friends by creating a matching gift or challenge. Matches and challenges are similar, but there is a key difference:
- Matching Gifts are made on a per-donor or per-dollar basis:
- “I will match up to $500 dollar-for-dollar for the next $500 that is donated to Women’s Basketball.”
- Challenges are milestone-based:
- “If 50 people donate to Men’s Lacrosse, I will give $250.”
We recommend you make your match or challenge as simple as possible.
Communication Timeline
Advocates and coaches are encouraged to share an awareness or “save the date” post in advance of the day and post throughout Hornet Athletics Giving Day itself. Please share your gratitude with your donors on Thursday, February 22. See our recommended communication timeline below.
| Date | Content |
|---|---|
| Sometime between February 9-14 | Save the date message |
| Tuesday, February 20 | Reminder: Tomorrow is the Day |
| Wednesday, February 21 in the morning | Day of announcement and link to campaign |
| Wednesday, February 21 in the afternoon/evening | Your student-athlete story and link to campaign |
| Thursday, February 22 in the afternoon | Campaign results and a message of gratitude |
Social Media Posts and Images
Hornet Athletics Giving Day URL
kzoo.edu/hornetathleticsgivingday
This URL/campaign link is the main giving page for Hornet Athletics Giving Day. A pre-launch campaign page is in place until February 21 to allow for early gifts to be accepted and matches/challenges to be set up. If you are utilizing a GiveCampus advocate account, please use the share/link tools available when you are logged in to track the results and impact of your communication activities.
Sharing the College’s Posts
In addition to a save-the-date postcard and broadcast email messages, K’s social media accounts will be used for Hornet Athletics Giving Day awareness and day of posts. You are encouraged to share the College’s posts on your own social accounts! Tagging folks is also a great way to get their attention.
Kalamazoo College Social Media Accounts
- Facebook – @KalamazooCollege
- Twitter – @kcollege
- Instagram – @kalamazoocollege
- LinkedIn – Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo College Athletics Social Media Accounts
Creating Your Social Media Posts
We encourage you to share posts and photos from your days as a K student-athlete. How did your student-athlete experience support your life after graduation? What memories and lessons in character, leadership, sportsmanship and academic excellence would you share?
You are also invited to use the sample posts below, as is or personalized in your own voice—emojis encouraged!
Please use #HornetAthleticsGivingDay in all of your social posts and include a link to kzoo.edu/hornetathleticsgivingday.
Sample Social Media Posts
Tuesday, February 20, 2024 Awareness Post
Hornet Athletics Giving Day is tomorrow! On Wednesday, February 21, join me by making a gift to level up the resources that fuel excellence for K student-athletes! Your gift to [insert Kalamazoo College Athletics or your team here] brings brighter experiences and improves training opportunities, podium moments and classroom success. #HornetAthleticsGivingDay
Wednesday, February 21, 2024 Morning Post
Hey #KAthleticsFam! Today is Hornet Athletics Giving Day! Let’s rally together in support of today’s student-athletes at K. Every gift, big or small, fuels excellence and helps level up the abilities of K’s athletic teams and programs. Ready, set, donate! #HornetAthleticsGivingDay
Wednesday, February 21, 2024 Afternoon/Evening Posts
Important Note: On the actual giving day, please share the actual giving link: kzoo.edu/hornetathleticsgivingday
Option 1
Improved equipment and resources such as uniforms, meaningful travel opportunities, and coach development are all part of what helps K level up the student-athlete experience, leading to success in the classroom and in competition. Show your support! Make a gift today on #HornetAthleticsGivingDay
Option 2
Thirty-five percent of Kalamazoo College students participate in intercollegiate athletics. Your gift to [insert K Athletics or your sport here] during today’s Hornet Athletics Giving Day will help provide student-athletes with the best possible experiences! #HornetAthleticsGivingDay
Option 3
Be a part of the team and make an impact! There is still time to participate in Hornet Athletics Giving Day. Your gift today will help ensure resources are available to support the success of K’s remarkable student-athletes. #HornetAthleticsGivingDay
Thursday, February 22, 2024 Thank-You Posts
Important Note: Please wait until we reach out to you with final giving totals to share your thank you message on February 22, 2024.
Option 1
Thank you #KAthleticsFam! You showed up and the results are inspiring! Thank you for being a part of #HornetAthleticsGivingDay and creating brighter experiences for K student-athletes.
Option 2
Thank you to all our [insert Kalamazoo College Athletics or your sport here] donors who gave during Hornet Athletics Giving Day! You helped raise $XXXX. Thank you for supporting our student-athletes!
Option 3
Please note: If you are using this option, please go to the Hornet Athletics Giving Day Campaign and look at your individual sport total. Please report the number you see there in this social media outreach. Thank you.
Thank you for making #HornetAthleticsGivingDay a success! We are grateful for the $XXXX that was raised in support of [insert your sport here]. You have helped level up our training opportunities, podium moments and classroom success. Go Hornets!
Social Media Images
Contact Information
Have Questions? Please contact Lindsay O’Donohue, Senior Director of Constituent Programs and Annual Giving, at lindsay.odonohue@kzoo.edu or 269.337.7299.