To inspire the SMCM community to get involved with Giving Tuesday, the Alumni Council is offering $30,000 to benefit student clubs, varsity teams, academic departments, scholarships or any other official SMCM fund or cause. The best part? As a Giving Tuesday Champion, you get to influence where the money goes!
To compete for a piece of the $30,000 to go to your favorite SMCM fund or cause, sign up to be a Giving Tuesday Champion by midnight on Sunday, November 10 through the link below. Alumni, students, employees and all supporters of SMCM are invited to participate!
The competition starts Monday, December 2 at 4 p.m. and runs until midnight EST on Tuesday, December 3. During this 32-hour event, Champions will rally their networks to make a donation of $10 or more and select them as their “Champion” on the online giving form. The ten Champions with the most votes will win between $500 and $5,000 for their SMCM fund or cause of choice.
But that’s not all! Even if you don’t finish in the top ten, there’s still a chance to win big. For every verified student or alum who votes for you, the Alumni Council will donate $10 to your SMCM fund or cause of choice.
Wait, there’s even more! Champions can score exclusive prizes by getting others involved. The more donor votes you gather, the better the merch.
- After signing up, Giving Tuesday Champions will gain access to a variety of resources to help them succeed in raising funds. These include optional pre-event Zoom info sessions, pre-scripted social media posts and special donation links.
- Each Champions’ name and their chosen SMCM fund or cause will be listed on the Giving Tuesday online giving form. During the 32-hour event, donors will have the opportunity to credit one Champion for inspiring them to donate by selecting that Champion on the giving form.
- The top ten Champions, based on donor vote, will receive prizes ranging from $500 to $5,000 for their SMCM fund or cause (see prize breakdown below).
- Additionally, for every verified student or alum who selects a Champion, $10 from the Alumni Council will be donated to that Champion’s SMCM fund or cause of choice. While anyone can vote for a Champion, students and alumni votes are extra valuable, earning an additional $10!
- Finally, Champions with at least one donor vote will win exclusive SMCM merchandise as a thank you for their efforts.
| Place | Champion Award |
|---|---|
| 1st | $5,000 |
| 2nd | $4,000 |
| 3rd | $3,000 |
| 4th | $2,000 |
| 5th | $1,000 |
| 6th | $500 |
| 7th | $500 |
| 8th | $500 |
| 9th | $500 |
| 10th | $500 |
Alumni and student donors are the key to unlocking more funds for your cause! This year, we’re encouraging Champions to focus on rallying support from these groups. Here’s how the Alumni Council Challenge funds stack up:
- 1 Alumni or Student Vote – $10 to your fund or cause of choice
- 10 Alumni or Student Votes – $100 to your fund or cause of choice
- 50 Alumni or Student Votes – $500 to your fund or cause of choice
- 200 Alumni or Student Votes – $2,000 to your fund or cause of choice
- Champion Eligibility
- Champions must sign up by midnight on Sunday, November 10 through the link below.
- All SMCM alumni, students, parents and employees are invited to participate (except members of the SMCM Institutional Advancement team).
- Champions must select an official SMCM student club, varsity team, academic department or one of the many SMCM Foundation funds to direct their winnings.
- Official campus groups cannot combine efforts to publicly support one Champion and split the winnings (for example, Field Hockey and Men’s Rugby cannot use team resources, like social media accounts, to support the Field Hockey Champion and share the prize money)
- Donor Rules
- Donors can only vote for one Champion during the official campaign hours (Monday, December 2 at 4 p.m. to Tuesday, December 3 at midnight EST).
- If a donor makes multiple donations and selects multiple Champions, OR votes for the same Champion more than once, only the first vote will be counted.
- The name listed on the donor form MUST match the name on the credit or debit card, otherwise, the Champion vote will be disqualified (for example, a student cannot use a parent’s credit or debit card to make a donation and vote. Donors cannot make a donation on behalf of another individual and list the other individual’s name as the donor, even if they are reimbursed).
- Donor names listed on the giving form that are not credible (such as pets, celebrities, cartoons, etc.) will have their Champion votes disqualified.
- If a donor does not have a credit or debit card, but wishes to vote for a Champion, they must visit the Campus Center Patio between 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. or 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 3 to make their donation
- Results
- The results displayed on the website throughout the event are preliminary. Official results will be announced via email and posted on the Giving Tuesday website on Friday, December 20, after all gifts are processed and ineligible votes have been removed.
- Alumni and student donors will be verified against database records before the $10 will be awarded to the Champion who received their vote.
- The prize pool may change at the planning committee’s discretion as additional donations from the Alumni Council come in.
- All prizes will be awarded, and merchandise will be mailed shortly after the winners are announced.
David Sushinsky
Assistant Vice President of Alumni Relations
dmsushinsky@smcm.edu
(240) 895-3381
