March Matchness a Slam Dunk with Young Alumni

All eyes were on March for Development Office fundraisers this year as a first-ever monthlong campaign that sought to boost young alumni giving kicked off.

After a month of emails, videos and Facebook status updates, the Graduates Of the Last Decade program exceeded its goal of 100 GOLD donors over 30 days.

Oswego Alumni Association Board member Timothy Barnhart ’02 offered to match every gift made by his fellow GOLD during March 2011. A total of 127 accepted the challenge, bringing in more than $5,275.

“We were absolutely floored by the response to this fundraiser by our GOLD alumni,” said Jessica Moquin, associate director of annual giving. “Our volunteer members on the GOLD Leadership Council really stepped it up and so did our donors, many of whom made gifts for the first time.”

March Matchness was completely Web-based in hopes of connecting with a social media-savvy demographic. In addition to traditional email solicitations, members of the GOLD Leadership Council changed their Facebook profile pictures to images promoting March Matchness and personally invited friends to “attend” the online event by giving.

Videos used to promote the giving drive in emails were also posted to YouTube, which allowed it to appear on the Web pages of Alumni Relations and University Development.

“We tripled the number of GOLD donors we typically have in March, so calling March Matchness a success is an understatement,” Moquin said. “It’s a slam dunk and we hope it helps young alumni recognize the value of giving to their alma mater.”