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PHILANTHROPY
All bets were off when BSC rst started
planning for its rst-ever day of giving.
And with good reason—as with most
colleges’ giving day efforts, there were too
many unknown variables to know for sure
how a rst-time effort would go.
But BSC alumni, students, faculty, staff,
and friends blew #FORWARDEVERDAY
out of the water, raising an incredible
$271,736 in just 24 hours.
“It seems to get harder and harder to
reach people these days when everyone
is so busy and pulled in different
directions,” said Bobby Watson, director
of annual giving, who led the giving
day efforts. “We were amazed to see
how quickly everyone caught on. Larger
colleges and universities try again and
again to achieve this level of success. It
really goes to show the strength and depth
of BSC’s alumni network.”
The 24-hour event, held April 4, asked
members of the BSC family to share their
love of ’Southern across their social media
networks and to encourage classmates,
family, and friends to support the college
and its programs. A special online giving
platform included contests for groups
(Alpha Omicron Pi fraternity won the
participation contest with 173 gifts, with
Athletics close behind) and allowed
donors to give on behalf of campus
departments or in honor of individual
professors, graduates, and others.
Challenge donations throughout the day
helped spur lively competition—including
from nearly 250 rst-time donors.
“It was really fun to be part of a big
push,” said Maggie Ward ’16, who helped
move the needle with a $5 gift—all her
budget allowed as she prepared to start
graduate study at the Boston University
School of Theology.
“Birmingham-Southern gave me so
much while I was there,” Ward said. “I
know that in the near future I won’t be
able to give a lot back, but this was a
way to do a little something, and I know
having alumni participate is helpful.”
Planning for last year’s event got
serious in January of 2017, when staff
in the Of ce of Advancement started
recruiting students, faculty, and staff
to act as ambassadors and spread the
word on campus. Athletic teams, student
groups, campus of ces, and academic
departments formed teams to compete
for prizes by trying to bring in the most
gifts. Members of the BSC Alumni Board
and Junior Alumni Board also jumped in
to help.
Not only did the event bring in 1,243
gifts totaling $271,736, it notched
a number of other superlatives. The
average donation was one-third higher
than the national average for online
donations. Three dozen donors achieved
’Southern Society status with their gifts.
And the message of BSC was spread far
and wide, with more than 25,000 page
visits from nine countries, including as
far away as Singapore.
Participation was so great that
the college is already planning
#FORWARDEVERDAY 2.0, scheduled for
April 4, 2018, with plans to tie into the
college’s year-long celebration of the 100-
year anniversary of BSC’s existence here
on the Hilltop.
The real strength, Watson said, was
seeing alumni and friends of the college
share their mutual love of the place on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other
outlets, reconnecting with each other and
spreading the word about BSC across their
social networks.
“My dear friend Kristin Harper ’92
shared her gift and that inspired me to
do the same,” said Susan Crow ’92 of
Birmingham, who posted a picture on
Facebook of her four BFFs from freshman
year—four of the many reasons she chose
to make a gift on #FORWARDEVERDAY.
“I liked the online interface, the energy
and press leading up to the day, and
wanted to support the college under its
new leadership, but ultimately it’s always
that personal push for me.”
Allowing alumni to personally
connect to the college and each other
was an exciting part of the day, said
Associate Professor of Biology
Dr. Melanie Styers ’99, who served as
faculty liaison for #FORWARDEVERDAY.
“We all have this vision of BSC from our
own experiences here, and now we’re in a
whole different era and there’s a whole lot
of really amazing new things happening
on the campus and in the classroom every
day,” Styers said. “It was also a nice way to
see everybody give back all at once on one
day; the alumni are always doing things
behind the scenes, but not very often is it
visible all at one time.”
And the reconnection worked both
ways, Watson said. While alumni shared
their own stories of how BSC changed
their lives, it was inspiring to see current
students and professors post about how
alumni support improves the current
student experience.
“This brings back attention to
programs that they may not have
thought about a lot since graduating,”
Watson said. “We love seeing alumni
in far- ung locations connect to what’s
happening in our music studios, English
classrooms, and biology labs here on
the Hilltop. Our graduates do so much
for ’Southern, for our community, and
for their professions, and it’s important
that we provide innovative ways for them
to connect with one another as they
continue to move BSC forward.”
If you’d like to serve as an ambassador
or help recruit a giving day group for
#FORWARDEVERDAY in April 2018,
contact Watson at
Alumni involvement makes
rst day of giving a success