#CougsGive, a 24-hour online event celebrating the impact of philanthropy, recognizing Washington State University’s achievements, and allowing donors to make and inspire gifts, launches on Wednesday, April 12.
“We are so excited every year to see how the Cougar family rallies together around generosity and philanthropy during #CougsGive,” said Mike Connell, vice president of advancement and CEO of the WSU Foundation. “The ‘What if?’ theme of the day is a nod to the innovation that happens on our campuses and the visions of impact that our donors help make into reality every day at WSU.”
Donors, alumni, students, employees and friends of WSU are encouraged to visit cougsgive.wsu.edu and participate in the day by donating to their areas of philanthropic interest, and then joining the social media conversation by sharing a “what if” story of their own personal passions and experiences around higher education.
The first #CougsGive event celebrated WSU’s 125th birthday in 2015. That year, donors gave more than $314,000 to WSU campuses, colleges, and programs. In the years since, thousands of WSU donors have contributed more than $3.4 million during the annual event. Days of giving have emerged as popular events nationwide for donors to share their philanthropy and take part in a real-time giving experience.
Selected priority funding areas from every WSU college and campus will be featured on the #CougsGive website where people can make gifts, learn how donated funds will be used, and sign up to be a campaign ambassador and represent their areas of interest on social media.
The Cougar Ambassador function allows anyone to create an account and become an advocate for a WSU campaign or area with personalized links, social media sharing buttons, and special #CougsGive graphics and images. The Ambassadors who generate the most gifts and dollars will also earn the opportunity to designate bonus dollars to an area of their choice.
Several WSU donors have additionally offered special dollar-for-dollar matching gifts and unlockable challenge gifts to help promote the excitement of the day and encourage donors to give to new funding areas. More of these special gift opportunities will be added to the #CougsGive Challenges page in the days leading up to the campaign. Donors who wish to fund a match or challenge gift should contact the WSU Foundation Annual Giving Office.
If donors wish to give to a fund area not listed on the campaign website, they can visit give.wsu.edu on April 12 to make their gift. Those gifts will still count in the overall #CougsGive totals, but will not be eligible for the active matches or challenges during the campaign.
