Our Favorite 2023 Giving Day and Crowdfunding Campaigns With RNL ScaleFunder

It was a great year for cause-driven engagement in 2023. And with millions in awesome fundraising campaigns on the RNL ScaleFunder platform, it’s pretty hard to pick favorites. But we just can’t resist sharing some that inspired us. So with the caveat that we love the innovation of all our partners, here’s a list of some great campaigns that the RNL ScaleFunder consulting team loved last year, in the hopes that they will spark ideas for you in 2024.

Emory and Cincinnati use creative engagement to inspire generosity

Theresa Jubert, Senior Client Solutions Consultant

Fun facts: Theresa and her family reside in Iowa City, Iowa, and they love the Iowa Hawkeyes!

What Theresa loves most about the RNL ScaleFunder platform: All of the match and challenge automation that is built into RNL Giving Days. The ability to auto-complete all matches and challenges at the end of your giving day is a huge time saver for our partners.

Theresa’s favorite giving day: Emory University crushed it again with their fall giving day (this is a second giving day separate from their main day of giving that happens in the spring). This was a week-long event, and to encourage giving every single day of the week, and they offered limited edition stickers for each day.

Image: Emory University offered limited-edition stickers for their fall giving week.

Theresa’s favorite crowdfunding platform: The University of Cincinnati did a design refresh for their crowdfunding site with help from the RNL ScaleFunder team. (RNL partners: reach out to your CSC if you’re interested in freshening up your crowdfunding site!)

Image: The University of Cincinnati executed a created a rebrand of their cause-driven crowdfunding platform, ImpactUC.

Cornell U and Fort Lewis College ignite donor passion with giving days and crowdfunding

Courtney Pourciaux, Client Solutions Consultant

Fun facts: A resident of Chicago, Illinois, Courtney is a former opera singer who loves ice hockey, reads 100+ books a year, and enjoys volunteering for arts organizations & LGBTQIA+ causes.

What Courtney loves most about RNL ScaleFunder? Every single day on Team ScaleFunder is an adventure. Whether I am collaborating with my rock star colleagues on a blog, brainstorming with our product team on new platform features, or working with brilliant client partners to come up with an effective campaign, this work feels gratifying and exciting!

Courtney’s favorite crowdfunding project: Cornell University students, faculty, and donors have a “passion for fashion” during their Fall Crowdfunding Burst with the Cornell Fashion Collective Project! Each fall, the Cornell Fashion Collective puts on a professional runway show which gives students an opportunity to “practice design, demonstrate their talents, and learn how to produce a large-scale fashion event.” Donors invested more than $30,000 this year to support these creative efforts on campus, and the Cornell Crowdfunding team used a ScaleFunder Levels template to highlight the different impact levels based on donation amounts.

The Cornell Fashion Collective holds a special place in my heart, especially as a senior about to graduate. Throughout my time at Cornell, CFC has always been a place I could go to surround myself with fellow creators, to collaborate driven by a shared passion. It’s a vibrant tapestry of diverse experiences, where creativity knows no bounds. For me, it’s about providing our talented members with the stage they deserve, where they can unveil their innovative designs and identities to the world. I can’t wait to see what our brilliant members come up with this year!

-Anna Paaske, Co-President

Courtney’s favorite giving day: When it comes to highlighting fundamental student and community needs on campus during a giving day, no one is doing it quite like Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Their giving day features priority areas including the Grub Hub Food & Housing Security effort, which provides food, clothing, and housing stipends for students and employees; The Old Fort, which educates students and community members on indigenous farming practices; and the Community Concert Hall, which provides a venue for campus and community performances of all kinds.

Image: Fort Lewis College demonstrated clear impact across numerous cause areas and raised over $620,000 in their giving day.

James Madison U and Tampa Genera Hospital build excitement with social giving

David Jakielo, Client Solutions Consultant

Fun facts: Dave lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and recently got engaged!

What do you love most about RNL ScaleFunder? I love the opportunity to work with RNL partners from all across the country to help them achieve their digital fundraising goals through our dynamic platform.

Dave’s favorite giving day: James Madison University hosted their first-ever Athletics Giving Day. #DigginDukes had more than 70 matches, challenges, and leaderboards in play, with plenty of opportunities for donors to multiple their impact in support of 20 causes and 500+ student athletes.

Diggin'Dukes Student-Athlete Impact Video from JMU Duke Club on Vimeo.

Dave’s favorite crowdfunding project: Our partners at Tampa General Hospital had the opportunity to promote their crowdfunding projects on Great Day Live Tampa Bay via a QR code, and blew through their $40,000 goal!

Image: Sharing their projects via QR code on live TV was just one part of Tampa General Hospital’s project success.

Creativity is key to fundraising success, and our RNL ScaleFunder consultants are here to help

These six projects are just a few of the hundreds of incredible examples of creative donor engagement within the RNL ScaleFunder family this year. We wish we could feature everyone. It’s energizing to work with fundraising and donor communities that this level of energy and excitement. We like to say that when you join up with RNL, you’re getting “platforms and people,” and seeing it all come together is always the highlight of the year for me.

We’re also excited to welcome back Janice Ridolfi in the new year to the CSC team. For this type of creative, inspiring work, you’re probably going to need help. If you’re looking for a creative, collaborative and team approach to your donor engagement, drop us a line to find out more about the RNL ScaleFunder experience. Maybe we’ll be talking about your awesome campaign next year!