How to Participate
Make Waves for WWU Give Day, April 8, 2026!
Thank you so much for stepping up to rally support for WWU Give Day! 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.
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.
By fundraising for specific programs, clubs, sports or departments, you and other groups and individuals are a big part of what makes WWU Give Day what it is. You share and promote WWU Give Day through your channels and highlight how much of a difference a gift can make for Western students. By spreading the word and asking others for support, you are amplifying your impact and improving the lives of students for years to come.
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.
Sign up to be an Ambassador for your area
Recommended if your area raised less than $4,000 last year.
You'll get a link to share for donating to your area, and sample outreach messaging that you can alter or copy/paste.
- 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).
- Visit our Messaging page to get everything you need as an ambassador to inspire people to give.
- Use "Follow the WWU Outreach Calendar" below to generate support!
Sign up to be a Collaborator with a Give Day page
Recommended if your area raised $4,000+ last year.
You'll get a page to manage. 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.
- Use the buttons below to sign up for a Give Day page. This form also serves as you request to get an email list of past donors to your group for outreach.
- Within two business days, we’ll email you a link to log into ScaleFunder, the platform that hosts our Give Day.
- Check for an email from ScaleFunder with “Invite to Western Washington University" as the subject line. Click the “Sign In” button in that email;
- Use the “reset password” or “create account” buttons as needed.
- Click "WWU Give Day 2026."
- Click “Departments.”
- Click on the name of your program.
- Build your page on ScaleFunder.
- Use "Follow the WWU Outreach Calendar" below to generate support!
Collaborator sign-ups are closed
You can still sign up to be an Ambassador
This close to Give Day, it's time to finalize all the Give Day pages. If you missed the sign-up period to get a Give Day page, email giving@wwu.edu or use the Ambassador sign-up. We'll get you a link so you can still participate in WWU Give Day! We appreciate all that you do!
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.
When you sign up to be a Collabor, we'll also make a data list request on your behalf. You can use the list we send you to reach out to past donors and ask for their continued support! Coordinate that outreach amongst club, team, or department members if possible.
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 | Cell phone | |
|---|---|---|
| Aname Surname | aname.surname@wwu.edu | (360) 555-5555 |
| Nametwo Lastname | nametwo.lastname@wwu.edu | (360) 555-5556 |
Today!
ScaleFunder registration opens for Give Day Ambassador profiles and Give Day pages
- Sign up as an ambassador
- Request a Give Day page if you want one. You don’t need to host a Give Day page. You just need to spread the word as an ambassador!
- Make your data list request at least 5 business days before you need it. Your list will contain alumni from your area and donors from the past five years.
February 27
All Give Day pages must be complete to participate in Give Day. This includes a review of the funds on your page! Work with the Gift Processing Team 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.
March 6
University Advancement Social Post: "Early Giving is coming on 4/1!"
Today through April 7
Write:
- Pre-Give Day Email 1
- Pre-Give Day Email 2
- Give Day Email 1
- Give Day Email 2
- Your Social Post: Hello to our community - we're participating in WWU Give Day!
- Draft your Thank You Email
- Draft your Total Funds Raised Email
Sharing Messaging Writing Toolkit
Too much writing? That’s okay. The toolkit includes samples, writing prompts, an email template and other content to guide you!
April 1
Early giving opens
Send out emails and social posts!
University Advancement (UA) will send emails and social posts to a general audience. Send your emails and social posts to your personalized audiences so they won't miss out.
Issues? Reach out to us directly for urgent things or leave an email for us at forwestern@wwu.edu
- UA Email: Early Giving is open
- Your Email: Early Giving is open (Pre-Give Day Email 2)
- UA Social Post: Hello – Early Giving is open!
- Your Social Post: Hello – Early Giving is open!
April 8
WWU Give Day!
Send out more emails and social posts!
Use this schedule to coordinate what you send out with what University Advancement (UA) sends out.
- UA sends: Give Day Kickoff Email (12:01 AM)
- UA Social Post: Today is the day!
- You Send: Give Day Email 1 (9 AM – 11 AM)
- UA Sends: Mid-Day Update Email (12 – 1 PM)
- Your Social Post: Today is Give Day
- UA Social Post: Mid-Day Update
- You Send: Give Day Email 2 (2 PM – 4 PM)
- UA Sends: Evening Update Email and reminder to give (5 PM – 7 PM)
- UA Social Post: Haven’t had a chance to give yet? Do so now!
- Your Social Post: There’s still time to give!
- UA Social Post: Final Opportunity to Give (11:00 PM)
- UA Sends: Final Opportunity to Give Email (10:00 PM)
April 12
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.
April 16
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).
Include your whole email list – even contacts that didn’t give.
WWU Give Day FAQs
Because you believe in Western students, faculty and staff. You care about the role Western 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 WWU Give Day. 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 1, 2026. Donors who make gifts between then and WWU Give Day 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 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.