Ohio State’s BuckeyeThon Receives National Dance Marathon Donor Stewardship Award
BuckeyeThon at The Ohio State University was recently awarded the Donor Stewardship Award at the Miracle Network Dance Marathon Leadership Conference in July. The Donor Stewardship Award is presented to the Dance Marathon organization that has demonstrated outstanding donor recognition, re-engagement, and communication practices, or who has made the largest strides in this area, over the past year.
“This year, our program made strides to not only retain donors year after year, but also attempt to increase their donation to our program,” said Bill Tucker, BuckeyeThon Vice President of Advancement.
BuckeyeThon developed a long-term donor stewardship plan that outlines levels of a monetary donations and certain communication, promotional items, or experiences that the donor will receive depending on the donation amount. This allowed their organization to show donors that their contributions matter and offer them something in return.
BuckeyeThon worked with Ohio State’s Annual Giving team to segment communication to different levels of donors in addition to past Team Members, parents, and student donors to provide updates on the organization and retain contact for long-term retention. This is an improvement upon what BuckeyeThon has done in the past for stewardship, with a more formalized process for every level of donation.
BuckeyeThon hosts donors for VIP receptions at their annual Fashion Show and Dance Marathon events as a way to steward and connect donors to their cause. These receptions are upscale events that the students collaborate with the University to plan, and create an extraordinary experience for major donors, while allowing them to witness firsthand the impact that BuckeyeThon has For The Kids. Additionally, by hosting donors and encouraging them to invite guests, BuckeyeThon has expanded its network and donor pool, encouraging attendees to give year after year.
Miracle Network Dance Marathon is an international movement, involving over 400 colleges, universities and K-12 schools across North America that fundraise for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Since its inception in 1991, Miracle Network Dance Marathon has raised more than $250 million–ensuring that no child or family fights pediatric illness or injury alone.
Learn more about Miracle Network Dance Marathon: