CASE District 3 had four Grand Gold winners in this year's Circle of Excellence Awards.  Grand Golds are the top-level distinction in a category and are not always awarded.

Join us as we celebrate these Grand Gold winners and learn the secrets of their outstanding work. 

"Guess the Raider"

Award Winner(s): Ransom Everglades School

Category: Communications | Digital Campaigns (Other)

https://www.case.org/awards/circle-excellence/2024/guess-raider

For Ransom Everglades School’s annual day of giving, we leveraged social media to spread the word about giving to RE. One of our goals was to increase the engagement and reach of our posts on the school’s alumni Instagram account (@ransomevergladesalumni). We drove traffic from the school’s official account (which has a greater following) to the alumni account with a campaign called “Guess the Raider.” "Guess the Raider" encouraged alumni, students, parents, and any other constituencies to follow our alumni Instagram account to participate. We created a teaser video that introduced the game and recorded our mascot acting as several well-known faculty and staff members. Throughout the week, we released about two videos per day as Instagram/Facebook stories and used the Q&A feature to ask participants to guess who the Raider was imitating. All correct entries from followers were entered into a prize drawing.   As a result, we increased our followers by 10%, saw a 55% increase in accounts reached, and had a 30% increase in engagement in the week of the campaign.

Auburn University Hood-McPherson Building Naming Opportunities Brochure

Award Winner(s): Auburn University

Category: Publications | Fundraising Case Statements & General Cultivation Publications

https://www.case.org/awards/circle-excellence/2024/auburn-university-hood-mcpherson-building-naming-opportunities

The Office of Philanthropy Communications in Auburn University Advancement created a sleek print brochure—along with a floor-plan insert—to maximize fundraising potential for the renovated Hood-McPherson Building. Located in downtown Birmingham, Ala., the century-old building was purchased by the university in 2018 to create a new home for its Birmingham-based Urban Studio, a 30-year-old learning laboratory program in the College of Architecture, Design, and Construction (CADC). Urban Studio has played a key role in Birmingham’s revival by immersing third-year architecture students in real-world community development and design projects and connecting them with professionals in architecture-related fields. Auburn leaders also dedicated space in the facility for the university’s Harbert College of Business, a move that allows the college to build a permanent presence in Birmingham, located approximately 110 miles from Auburn. The renovated facility creates a dedicated space for collaborative endeavors between the two colleges. After initial meetings with our fundraising colleagues, the philanthropy communications team decided a professionally printed brochure, along with a PDF, was the best use of resources. The brochure offered a view of the Hood-McPherson's past and how the renovated space – along with Auburn’s increased presence in the city – will help shape the city’s future. Fundraisers began using the brochure in donor visits in November 2023, and early outcomes include a large philanthropic naming gift, along with several gift commitments that are still in process.

Guilford Madness Video

Award Winner(s): Guilford College

Category: Video | Videos on a Shoestring (Fundraising)

https://www.case.org/awards/circle-excellence/2024/guilford-madness-video

In 2023, Guilford College’s Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations developed a new approach to the college’s annual giving day: “Guilford Madness.” The idea was to put a spin on college basketball’s March Madness. The giving day was extended from a one-day to a three-day campaign. To introduce this new campaign format to our constituents, our team had to develop new marketing and instructional information. We developed an easy-to-understand video that highlighted the campaign’s purpose and explained how to participate. We developed the concept, scripts, and set; involved students and employees; trained all the "actors"; and filmed and edited the video. This project had no dedicated budget, and staff worked on this outside of their normal duties. As a result of our efforts, the Guilford Madness campaign brought in over 1,000 gifts and more than $235,000, a 6% increase over the previous campaign.

Hello FSU!

Award Winner(s): Florida State University

Category: Engagement | Student Engagement

https://www.case.org/awards/circle-excellence/2024/hello-fsu

Hello FSU! is an integrated marketing and communications campaign that connects undergraduates with the information they need to succeed and have fun at Florida State University. The branding for this vibrant, student-focused engagement campaign was developed by Student Affairs Marketing and Communications (DSA MarComm). This multifaceted campaign uses a variety of communication channels, including social media, web, variable print direct mail, on-campus signage, personalized journey emails, parent communications, promotional products, and more. This campaign is a product of FSU’s Undergraduate Student Experience Strategy (USES) Committee, formed in 2022. This committee is a unified group of campus partners dedicated to connecting students to the resources they need. USES enables coordination and support among the staff across several campus units. The creative team behind the student success campaign has created several marketing assets for campus partners to use, which keeps branding consistent and increases campaign visibility. FSU DSA MarComm shares templates for USES partners’ Hello FSU! social media posts and encourages Instagram collaborations to help share content and increase reach. The campaign’s hashtag aggregator then publishes all #HelloFSU tagged content to appear on hello.fsu.edu. The Hello FSU! campaign is making a difference. Student engagement has increased, retention has hit a new record high, and staff members are working together to communicate with students. Many variables contribute to student success, but the synergy of this campaign has been an incredible asset.