Plan Your Campaign
Project Timeline
- 30 days prior to launch
- Create video and webpage checklist
- Assign team member roles
- Recruit additional ambassadors
- Submit application – including all webpage content
- 20 days prior to launch
- Work on your communication plan
- Check in with all team members and ambassadors
- Create email contact lists, 20 plus emails required per team member, at minimum
- 15 days prior to launch
- Submit your communication plan
- Plan messaging for mid-campaign updates
- Verify everything on the AggieFunded website is correct
- 7 days prior to launch
- Prepare emails and social media content for day of launch
- Confirm campaign roles and responsibilities
- Day of launch – Day 1
- Multiple informative posts per social media platform with call to action
- Direct Emails to each of your personal contacts and crowfunding@usu.edu
- Early Campaign – Day 3 - 7
- Multiple informative posts per social media platform with call to action
- Direct Emails to each of your personal contacts and crowfunding@usu.edu
- Update of where you are
- Mid Campaign – Day 12 – 17
- Multiple informative posts per social media platform with call to action
- Direct Emails to each of your personal contacts and crowfunding@usu.edu
- Update of where you are
- Final Stretch - Day 22-29
- Multiple informative posts per social media platform with call to action
- Direct Emails to each of your personal contacts and crowfunding@usu.edu
- Messaging should have a sense of urgency and excitement
- Remind people of what the potential outcome is of your campaign
- Progress and updates
- Last Day – Day 30
- Urgency – Final Chance
- Multiple informative posts per social media platform with call to action
- Direct Emails to each of your personal contacts and crowfunding@usu.edu
- Progress and updates
- Campaign Summary and Thank You
- Campaign conclusion
- 6 month Follow Up
- Thank you with pictures of how you put use the funds
Project Checklist for Platform
- Campaign video
- Video should be 30-90 seconds. if you want music as part of video you must reach to AggieFunded staff for approved music to avoid copyright issues.
- Who, what and why
- Capture attention, educate/tell story, clear call to action, would you watch it through?
- Include written text for the many views on mute
- Make sure to first ask to give, then ask to share
- Shot from someone’s phone, not overly produced
- Header photo
- This will go on the campaign page as a thumbnail for the video
- Beneficial if it’s higher quality
- Could include members of the team or something that encapsulates the campaign
- Campaign image
- This will go on the AggieFunded landing page for your campaign
- Could include members of the team or something that encapsulates the campaign
- A project overview that will explain to viewers why you are fundraising
Pre-launch checklist
- Submit a communication plan outlining what will be sent during each week of the campaign
- Rally the project team to help carry out the communication plan
- Send pre-launch emails announcing the campaign launch date
Application to Raise Funds
AggieFunded Application
Create Campaign Materials
Successful Emails
- Make the ask - why does this cause matter to you? What are you asking for, how can they help, how will this impact, why now, etc.
- All donations count! Share donation counts, average size gift, giving levels and descriptions.
- Include updates, relevant news and announcements, human interest stories, and a clear call to action, address each email by recipient’s name.
Successful Email Templates
Launch Email
Dear (address how you would refer to them in person),
I hope you’re well! I’m writing to you today about something very important to me. During my time at Utah State I have become involved with (organization name).
I am very passionate about this project that focuses on (two sentence summary with personal details on why you are committed)
For the next 30 days we are raising money for (project name, link to AggieFunded project site). We have volunteered to raise $X and I am reaching out to you because you supported me in the past and I would love for you to support us now. Would you please contribute to our goal? A gift of any amount will be a huge help, as will sharing of our message and cause.
Make your gift today! Link to AggieFunded project
Thank you for your support!
Your name
Halfway there Email
Dear (address how you would refer to them in person),
I wanted to let you know in the last X days X donors have helped us raise $X towards our cause, (project name).
We need support of any size to help keep our momentum going early in the campaign. Will you please consider making a gift?
-Or-
We only need x gifts of $x to reach 30% of our goal. Will you please consider making a gift?
Make your gift today! Link to AggieFunded project
As you can see, this is something I am very passionate about. Thank you for your support.
Your name
Final stretch Email
Dear (address how you would refer to them in person),
There are still X days to raise funds for (project name) and we so grateful for what our donors and community have helped us accomplish. I am so excited to share that we have reached X% of our goal for (project name), and there’s still time left to reach our goal of $X.
Would you join the other supporters of (project name) and help us reach (or exceed depending) our goal?
Make your gift today! Link to AggieFunded project
Thank you for allowing me to share updates with you this past month, and for your consideration in supporting this project!
Your name
End of Campaign email
Dear (address how you would refer to them in person),
Thank you! With your help we were able to raise $X for (project name), which is X% of our goal!
These funds mean:
- Difference 1
- Difference 2
- Difference 3
We all appreciate your support and could not have accomplished this without people like you believing in this cause.
Thank you,
(your name)
What goes in social media posts?
- Highlight camping updates, team members and other ambassadors. Link to other content, including the main site and any organizations with influence that are on board, share donation totals and needs, recruit new donors.
- Use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, websites
- Both your own personal sites and your organizations (club, program, department, college)
- Donor thank yous
Receive Funds
How does our group receive the funds raised?
- All money raised is transferred from University Advancement to your USU Banner Index that can accept donations.
Is there a fee to use the AggieFunded platform?
- Effective July 1, 2021, a 5% university gift investment fee, governed by USU’s applicable policies, will be applied to all new, non-endowed gifts to improve University Advancement’s capacity to increase and manage philanthropic giving to USU.