How to Participate

It’s Time to Make Waves for WWU Give Day!

Thank you so much for stepping up to rally support for WWU Give Day 2024 on April 25! For the ninth year in a row, Western’s community will come together for a common cause—to support students, research, programs, athletics and clubs across campus. For 24 hours, alumni, friends, faculty, staff and the community are encouraged to show their support by making a gift to the WWU fund that most inspires them.

As always, YOU are critical to Give Day's success! Give Day is so powerful because students, faculty, staff and alumni like you join us to spread the word through your own networks. We are excited about the opportunity to help you raise the most money possible to achieve your goals!

Together, we will celebrate the values and ideas that define Western and how we change the world. 

Thank you for being a WWU Give Day Ambassador! 

By fundraising for specific programs, clubs, sports or departments, you and other groups and individuals play a HUGELY important role in this annual campaign. You promote WWU Give Day through your channels and highlight the value of philanthropy in the lives of Western students. By serving as an ambassador and asking others for support, you are amplifying your impact and improving the lives of students for years to come.

From the shore to open waters—let’s launch a WWU Give Day campaign 

Strong peer-to-peer outreach is central to the success of WWU Give Day. You can use this Give Day toolkit to reach the most people with the most compelling ask for support. 

Need Help? Reach out to the Western Washington University Annual Giving Team 

01. How do I get involved?

One of two ways:

  • You can sign up to be an ambassador for your area (recommended if your area raised less than $4,000 last year). This requires little of you: Sign up for a link to support the area you’re fundraising for, and we provide sample outreach copy for you to tweak (or copy/paste) into your own outreach.
  1. Visit the VikingFunder login page or the Welcome Give Day Ambassadors page and enter your email. Follow the instructions in the email to log in to ScaleFunder (our Give Day platform) and get your own unique referral link.
  2. Visit our Messaging page to get everything you need as an ambassador to inspire people to give.
  3. Use "Follow the WWU Outreach Calendar" below to generate support!
  • You can create a Give Day page (recommended if your area raised $4,000+ last year, though we're happy to give anyone a page who wants one). This requires more of you, but if you want to put in the work, we’re happy to help! You must be officially affiliated with the department, program or project for which you want to create a page and you’ll need to generate about 3-4 paragraphs about why your department, program or project is important, plus have a few pictures to post.
    1. Complete the Give Day Page Request form (note: you’ll need to be logged in with your WWU email address).
    2. Within two business days, we’ll email you a link to log into ScaleFunder, the platform that hosts our Give Day.
    3. Check for an email from ScaleFunder with “Invite to Western Washington University" as the subject line. Click the “Sign In” button in that email;
    4. Use the “reset password” or “create account” buttons as needed.
    5. Click "WWU Give Day 2024."
    6. Click “Departments.”
    7. Click on the name of your program.
    8. Build your page on ScaleFunder. Reach out to the Annual Giving team if you need assistance.
    9. Use "Follow the WWU Outreach Calendar" below to generate support!

02. Assemble your audience list

Start with who you know – friends, family, mentors, neighbors, colleagues – people who are invested in your success. We recommend building a spreadsheet of names, email addresses, and cell phone numbers.

Visit https://foundation.wwu.edu/DataRequest and request a list of previous donors to your area. You can reach out to those past donors (or coordinate that outreach amongst club, team, or department members) and ask for their continued support!

Lists from University Advancement Data will include donors from the past 5 years and any alumni from your area who are contactable by email. Your list will be similar to this.

Name Email Cell phone
Emma Lopez  emma.lopez567@wwu.edu  (360) 555-5555
Kelton Lewis kelton.lewis123@wwu.edu  (360) 555-5556

03. Follow the WWU Outreach Calendar

DATE TASK
Today! ScaleFunder registration opens for Give Day Ambassador profiles and Give Day pages

To sign up as an ambassador, click here.
To request a Give Day page, click here.

Remember, you don’t need to host a Give Day page this year. You just need to spread the word as an ambassador! If you’d like a page, though, feel free to request one.

Today! https://foundation.wwu.edu/DataRequest. Please allow up to five business days for your request to be completed. Your list will contain alumni from your area and donors from the past five years.
April 15 All Give Day pages must be complete to participate in Give Day. This includes a review of the funds on your page! Let AG know if you'd like to make changes to those funds. Using incorrect funds may prevent your donors' gifts from getting to you in a timely fashion.
  University Advancement Social Post: Early Giving is coming on 4/18!
Today through April 15 Write: 
Pre-Give Day Email 1
Pre-Give Day Email 2
Sharing Messaging Writing Toolkit
Too much writing? That’s okay. The toolkit has links on the left to samples, writing prompts, an email template and other content to guide you!
  Give Day Email 1 
Sharing Messaging Writing Toolkit
See tips in Section 02, Sample Give Day Email, Take a Deep Dive, and Make a Splash sections.
  Give Day Email 2
Sharing Messaging Writing Toolkit
  Draft:
Your Thank You Email
Your Total Funds Raised Email
Sharing Messaging Writing Toolkit
See sample messaging in Section 04.
April 16 Your Social Post: Hello to our community – we’re participating in WWU Give Day!
Sharing Messaging Writing Toolkit
April 18  Early giving opens. 
Issues? Reach out to Fred or Nick directly for urgent things or leave an email for us at giving@wwu.edu.
  University Advancement Emails: Early Giving is open 
  Your Email: Early Giving is open 
  University Advancement Social Post: Hello – Early Giving is open!
  Your Social Post: Hello – Early Giving is open!
April 24 Your Email: Tomorrow is WWU Give Day (Pre-Give Day Email 2)
  Your Social Post: Tomorrow is WWU Give Day
  University Advancement Social Post: Tomorrow is WWU Give Day
April 25 WWU GIVE DAY
  University Advancement Sends: Give Day Kickoff Email (12:01 AM)
  University Advancement Social Post: Today is the day!
  You Send: Give Day Email 1 (9 AM – 11 AM)
  University Advancement Sends: Mid-Day Update Email (12 – 1 PM)
  Your Social Post: Today is Give Day
  University Advancement Social Post: Mid-Day Update
  You Send: Give Day Email 2 (2 PM – 4 PM)
  University Advancement Sends: Evening Update Email and reminder to give (5 PM – 7 PM)
  University Advancement Social Post: Haven’t had a chance to give yet? Do so now!
  Your Social Post: There’s still time to give!
  University Advancement Social Post: Final Opportunity to Give (11:00 PM)
  University Advancement Sends: Final Opportunity to Give Email (10:00 PM)
April 27 Say thank you! 
University Advancement Social Post: Thank you!
Your Social Post: Share a thank you message to all your supporters on social media.
Final results likely won’t be ready for you yet, so just post a general “thank you for supporting” message.
May 5 Send your formal thank you email: 
  • Include the total dollars you raised.
  • Remind people what the money will be used for.
  • Share links to your program or project’s webpage (or VikingFunder).

Remember: Include your whole email list – even contacts that didn’t give.

WWU Give Day FAQs

Because you care about Western. You believe in our students and faculty – and the essential role higher education plays in the lives of students, research and helping solve our world’s most pressing problems. And… you don’t want to miss the opportunity to play your part in one of the university’s most important fundraisers of the year! 

Western is committed to giving more students access to an immersive education that inspires them to explore widely, think critically, communicate clearly, and connect ideas creatively to address our most challenging needs and issues. That’s why the WWU Foundation is raising money to support recruitment and retention scholarships. 

Yes! We’ve had several donors offer us a matching gift to a specific area of campus. As many gifts as possible will be matched on April 25. If a donor gives to an area that has a specific match, they’ll receive that area’s match (those are mostly dollar-for-dollar matches). 

You! Anyone who has a passion for an area of learning, scholarships, clubs or sports can help fundraise on WWU Give Day. We encourage collaborations between students, staff, faculty and alumni. We also encourage challenging your peers to fundraising goals. Healthy competition for a good cause means everyone wins!

Yes! We’ll count all gifts we receive that note “Give Day” on them for the next few weeks. Just let us know it’s coming and we’ll include you. 

Yes! Our Early Giving period officially opens on April 18, 2023. Donors who make gifts between April 18 and April 25 can qualify for our Give Day total. Donors can also include “Give Day” in the notes section of their check or call the Foundation (360-650-3027) to let us know their gift is intended for Give Day and we’ll ensure that contribution is included in our Give Day totals. 

Spread the word! Give Day is designed to get people involved in WWU at all gift levels. Sign up to be an ambassador here,[FG1]  and we’ll share with you digital assets, sample emails, texts, etc.  Or just have conversations with your friends and family. Tell them it’s Give Day and they can make a gift to support the areas on campus they’re passionate about!

Yes! There’s a spot on the Give Day gift page to note that an employer will match your gift. As well, we’ll email you after we process your gift to help you get the match started (note: processing may take up to two weeks after Give Day).

On the donate page, select “Other” under “College, Dept, or Program” and then “Other” under “Fund Designation.” Then you can type in where you’d like your gift to go. 

Yes! Gifts of $1,000 or more will qualify for President’s Society inclusion, regardless of where they’re given or when they’re made.