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On Nov. 1, 2017, ������ kicked off it’s 2017 Giving Tuesday campaign. Traditionally, Giving Tuesday is an international day of giving that falls on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This year, however, Kent State is taking it one step further, making it a month-long event, providing people with a larger timeframe to be able to give, expanded giving options and more occasions to have their donations matched.

“Kent State has participated in Giving Tuesday for the last four years, and each year it has grown and been more successful than the last,” said Danielle Hupp, senior associate director of Special Giving Initiatives at Kent State.

NEW THIS YEAR

CROWDFUNDING
Crowdfunding allows individuals and individual departments to create their own giving campaigns. With more than 40 crowdfunding campaigns underway for the month of November, there are countless choices of where to give and time for these campaigns to reach their goal.

“With the addition of crowdfunding, people across all Kent State’s campuses were able to create their own goal for their fund, and we wanted the initiative to be open for the whole month to allow them time to reach their goal,” Ms. Hupp said.

MICRO CAMPAIGNS AND DONATION MATCHES
In addition to the crowdfunding campaigns, six micro campaigns have donors who have promised to match donations, thus doubling the impact of contributions from individuals. A $25 donation becomes $50 for the fund with the match; a $250 donation becomes $500 for the fund with the match, etc. Micro campaigns are in place for: ; ; ; ; ; and .

DONATION BOOSTS
For every 15 unique donors* who donate $25 or more to a fund, the ������ Foundation is awarding a $500 Participation Boost to the fund. (*A unique donor is someone who donates to a fund for the first time; the donor can donate to multiple funds and be a unique donor for each first-time donation.)

MONTH-LONG GIVING
A month-long giving period, along with the crowdfunding capabilities, allows more people to get involved; there is more time to give and more time for campaigns to reach their goals.

“Crowdfunding is actually giving more people the opportunity to get involved,” says Kedron Taylor, associate director of advancement for the College of Education, Health and Human Services (EHHS). “This year we can have individual crowdfunders, and they are able to share the campaigns on their social media pages, and the college’s own social media pages link to the campaigns.”

EHHS is maximizing these 2017 opportunities, and currently has eight crowdfunding campaigns and one micro campaign that represent each of the four schools in the college.

GIVING OPTIONS EXPANDED
There are many ways to give to the fund of your choice, including online. In addition, faculty and staff are able to give through , which allows a portion of their paycheck to be donated to the campaign of their choice.

The choices of where to give are countless, including scholarship funds, student experience, building capital, global study away and research.

“We are giving power to the people,” Ms. Hupp says. “We know people are passionate about giving to special departments or organizations at Kent State, and crowdfunding allows them to do just that.”

In 2016, Kent State received a record-breaking $426,000 in donations on Giving Tuesday. Ms. Hupp says she would like to see more money raised this year, and also hopes for much more participation this year, especially from Kent State alumni.

Kent State President Beverly Warren has pledged $25,000 to , a program designed to attract and cultivate the talent of incoming students who want to better society, and one that President Warren is passionate about. Dr. Warren also plans to make a special announcement regarding Giving Tuesday on Tuesday, Nov. 21.

For more information about Kent State’s Giving Tuesday campaign and to make a donation to the campaign of your choice, visit the Giving Tuesday web page.