Giving Days have quietly become one of the most exciting traditions on campus calendars. A single day when alumni, students, and staff come together to show what their community can do. It’s not just about the total dollars raised anymore; it’s about the energy, the storytelling, and the sense of belonging that comes with it.

That same mix of spirit and strategy is what this blog explores. We’ve gathered ten Giving Days that stood out in 2025 and the trends shaping how institutions approach them, along with ideas and insights to help you plan your next one.

What is a giving day?

Simply put, a giving day is a 24-hour digital fundraising campaign run by a university, school, or alumni association to rally its community. The main goal is to get alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends to come together and make small gifts that add up to a big impact.

Over the years, giving days have become a key part of fundraising. Alumni teams run class challenges, track live leaderboards, and social feeds light up with campus pride.  Most institutions use this one-day format to bring their networks to life. According to CASE’s Giving Day Insights 2025 Report, nearly 40% of institutions said their giving day helped them engage more alumni, boost donor participation, and almost 25% reported that these campaigns contributed between 11% - 25% of their total annual fundraising, proving how these short, high-energy campaigns can move the needle in total annual fundraising goals and community engagement. 

💡 In partnership with CASE, we surveyed and interviewed over 150 institutions understand how Giving Days are evolving: what’s working, and what’s not.
Check it out here: CASE Giving Day Insights 2025

Top 10 University Giving Days That Stood Out in 2025 (So Far)

From creative campaign themes to all-out campus celebrations, these ten Giving Days show how universities are redefining community spirit in 2025- 

1. University of Oklahoma – Giving Day 2025

• Raised: On April 8, 2025, OU’s Giving Day broke records raising over $30 million from nearly 7,000 gifts, with donors spanning all 50 states and 21 countries.
• Theme: “Bring It Bigger” a call for the Sooner community to unite and amplify their collective impact through one powerful day of giving.
• Creative strategies: Leadership gifts ignited early momentum, while global #OUGivingDay stories and a seamless, mobile-first GiveSooner.org experience made it easy for donors worldwide to participate and contribute.‍
• Why it worked: An ambitious theme, diverse donor participation, and visible large gifts inspired a powerful sense of shared purpose across the Sooner family.

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2. Vanderbilt University – Giving Day 2025

• Raised:  VU giving day (April 7-11) raised a record-breaking $12.21 million from more than 6,900 donors.
  
• Theme: “Every Gift, A Step Forward”  showcased during the inaugural VU Week and built around #VUGivingDay.
  
• Creative strategies: A week-long campus build-up with events and giveaways set the tone, while real-time maps, leaderboards, and 35+ matching challenges drove engagement and global participation from all 50 states and 23 countries.
• Why it worked: The campaign combined high-visibility campus energy with clear metrics and a global alumni reach, making giving feel immediate, communal, and impactful.

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3. Lawrence University – Giving Day 2025

• Raised: Lawrence’s 12th annual Giving Day on 28th October 2025 broke records, raising $2.08M from 1,819 donors across 74 class years.
  
• Theme: “Celebrate all things Lawrence” under the campaign hashtag #LUGives, spotlighting the power of collective giving to the Lawrence Fund.
  
• Creative strategies: Dollar-for-dollar and class-based matching gifts, lively on-campus activities like gratitude walls and Blue & White Bingo, and strong online engagement through donor maps, toolkits, and leaderboards kept the #LUGives momentum high throughout the day.
• Why it worked: Unified online–offline energy, strong visual storytelling, and exciting matching incentives. 

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4. Texas Lutheran University – Day of Giving 2025

• Raised: $169,466, successfully unlocking the full $50,000 challenge gift.
  
• Theme: “Be the Difference. Build the Future.” under the campaign hashtag #TLUDayofGiving, rallying the community around supporting students and programs.
  
• Creative strategies: Unlock challenges tied to donor milestones, a clean mobile-friendly giving page with clear fund options, and a strong social push with hashtags, countdowns, and last-call messages all worked together to drive urgency and maximize participation.
• Why it worked: The campaign combined a clear, compelling message with match-based incentives, streamlined giving experience, and strong social momentum, making it easy, fast, and engaging for donors.

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5. University of Utah – Giving Day 2025

• ‍Raised: On April 8–9, 2025, the U surpassed its goal by raising $2.1 million from 4,723 donors during a 1,850-minute campaign celebrating its 175th anniversary.‍
• Theme: “1850 Minutes for the U” honoring the university’s founding year and inspiring the community to give back to the programs and people shaping its future.‍
• Creative strategies: Donors chose from 100+ campus projects, with live leaderboards, donor maps, and themed incentives like the limited-edition “Brick-It Block U” for gifts above $175, blending personalization, celebration, and urgency.‍
• Why it worked: The anniversary theme, strong visual storytelling, and engaging donor rewards made participation exciting and meaningful.

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6. Lamar University – Red Day 2025

• Raised: The fifth annual Red Day campaign (Sept 18-19, 2025) brought in over $110,000 from 610 donors and 727 gifts, surpassing the 500-donor goal.
  
• Theme: “Raise the RED,”  a 24-hour push inviting alumni, students, faculty, and community to give to the areas that mean most to them.
  
• Creative strategies: Real-time leaderboards and donor maps showcased progress, while matching gifts and donor challenges boosted participation, all amplified through coordinated social media, countdowns, and campus-wide reminders that kept momentum strong throughout the 24-hour campaign. 
• Why it worked: donor-friendly tools and visible progress delivered transparency, and the campaign’s inclusive “everyone counts” message rallied a broad base of alumni and university supporters. This shows how even mid-sized institutions are scaling giving-day models. 

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7. North Carolina State University – Day of Giving 2025

• Raised: On March 26, 2025, the campaign pulled in over $50.56 million from 18,565 gifts, exceeding the previous year’s total by ~9%.
  
• Theme: Under the hashtag #GivingPack, the event mobilised alumni, students, parents, and friends in a unified 24-hour push to support the “Pack” and its key priorities.
  
• Creative strategies: Hourly challenges and matching funds fueled friendly competition, while a network of “Pack Leader” ambassadors used shareable toolkits and tracking links to boost participation and expand reach across the Wolfpack community.‍
• Why it worked: A clear call to action in a defined time window, combined with storytelling, peer sharing, and visible metrics, made giving feel immediate, communal, and impactful.

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8. Kentucky Community & Technical College System (KCTCS) – Giving Day 2025

• Raised: On April 16, 2025, KCTCS held its second annual Giving Day, with more than 1,100 donors from 28 states and 91 Kentucky counties coming together to raise over $350,000.
  
• Theme: Unified across the system, the campaign encouraged donors to “Join us … for the community to make a difference” by supporting any of the 16 colleges under the KCTCS umbrella.
  
• Creative strategies: A system-wide campaign site with campus-specific pages, live leaderboards, and match/challenge incentives (e.g., scholarships triggered by donor participation) made individual campuses feel local while leveraging system-scale momentum.
  
• Why it worked: Combining system-wide infrastructure and localized college identity allowed for both broad reach and personalized giving. The matching funds and visible progress helped convert support from a wide donor base across Kentucky and beyond.

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9. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville – One Day, One SIUE 2025

• Raised: On April 24, 2025, the campaign raised $2,882,965, exceeding its $2 million goal. 
• Theme: A raceway-themed celebration that unified alumni, students, staff, and local partners to support student-centred priorities across the university.
  
• Creative strategies: A campus-festival format with live entertainment (INDYCAR showcase), major gift presentations, and real-time progress updates to drive excitement and give visibility to impact.
  
• Why it worked: The energetic, themed event format turned giving into a community experience, visible milestones built momentum, and strong engagement from donors, students, and local partners helped amplify both participation and total gifts.

10. La Salle University – Day of Giving 2025

• Raised: La Salle’s 12th Annual Day of Giving on April 9, 2025, made history, raising $1.9 million through 1,500+ gifts.
• Theme: “Be Known for supporting students,” celebrating La Salle’s Lasallian mission and the collective power of its community to shape student success.
• Creative strategies: Unlock challenges that rewarded early gifts and alumni milestones, on-campus events like scavenger hunts and lawn games that kept energy high, and a coordinated digital push with toolkits, graphics, and countdown posts that sustained momentum throughout the day.
• Why it worked: A clear mission-driven message, fun participation challenges, and seamless coordination between campus activities and digital storytelling.

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What makes a university giving day successful

The best giving days feel well-planned, personal, and full of energy. Success usually comes down to a mix of clear goals, good storytelling, and an experience that makes giving easy and enjoyable. When Germanna Community College, along with Almabase, hosted its first 24-hour campaign, it raised $503,855 and hit 168% of its goal because the message was clear and the experience was simple. Similarly, when Boyd‑Buchanan School launched its first-ever Giving Day using Almabase, they surpassed their goal by 201%; thanks to strong peer-to-peer networks, streamlined giving tools, and an outward-looking social campaign. Successful campaigns like these usually share a few traits:

• Clear goals and storytelling that connect people to a cause
  
• A user-friendly giving page that works smoothly on any device
  
• Real-time updates that keep energy high throughout the day
  
• Alumni and student ambassadors who help spread the word
  
• Quick, thoughtful follow-ups that make donors feel valued

To dig deeper into the features and setup that help campaigns perform this well, check out the Almabase blog about giving day platforms and features

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Common Trends Across 2025 Giving Days

So far, Giving Days in 2025 have revealed a few clear patterns in how universities are rallying their communities and breaking records. Here are some common threads that stood out across campuses this year:

• Greater reliance on matching gifts and unlock challenges to drive momentum
  
• Ready-to-use social media toolkits empowering ambassadors to spread the word
  
• Clean, mobile-first giving pages that make donating fast and intuitive
  
• Live leaderboards and donor maps add a fun, competitive edge
  
• Global participation celebrated through interactive dashboards and shoutouts
  
• Blended approach of digital campaigns with on-campus celebrations
  
• Clear storytelling that highlights student voices and real impact

How to plan your own successful giving day

The successful campaigns are the ones that plan, use data wisely, and make participation effortless. Here’s a checklist to help you build one that actually delivers- 

• Plan in reverse: Start from your launch date and build backward. A six-to-eight-week prep timeline gives enough room to design content, onboard ambassadors, and finalize tech. The Almabase Giving Day Toolkit includes editable timelines and task lists you can plug right in.
• Set layered goals: Go beyond a dollar target. Track participation, first-time donors, and returning givers to see how your community is engaging, not just how much it’s giving.
• Craft a strong story: Choose a clear, human-centered cause and stay consistent across every channel. All your visuals, emails, and posts should tie back to that single message. The Guide for a Successful Giving Day outlines how institutions build narratives that convert.
• Segment your outreach: Use data from your CRM to group donors by affinity or recency. Tailor content and timing for alumni, parents, and faculty instead of relying on one broad appeal. Segmentation boosts both open rates and conversion.
• Build a reliable tech stack: Your giving day platform should be fast, mobile-optimized, and integrated with your CRM for real-time reporting. Use the Giving Day Platform Features Checklist to audit your setup before launch.
• Train and empower ambassadors: Bring in alumni and student leaders early, set measurable outreach targets, and give them pre-approved assets. A small, well-coordinated group often drives the biggest reach.
• Keep momentum alive: Use dashboards, real-time updates, and milestone shoutouts throughout the day. Energy and visibility are what sustain participation during slower hours.
• Respond fast and personally: Send thank-yous within 24 hours, short, personalized notes, or quick videos work best. Follow up later with a concise impact summary to keep donors connected.

Looking Ahead

2025 has marked a real shift in how higher ed approaches giving days. What started as 24-hour fundraisers has become powerful engagement platforms uniting alumni, students, and staff around shared goals that outlast the campaign itself. Across the country, institutions have broken participation records, grown first-time donor counts, and used these short, high-energy events to strengthen long-term loyalty.

The common thread has been smarter storytelling backed by data. The best campaigns this year didn’t rely on chance; they understood their audience, shaped messages that resonated, and used real-time insights to adjust on the fly. That’s where higher-ed fundraising is heading: intentional, personal, and measurable.

If you’re looking to make your next giving day easier to manage and more effective, book a personalized demo with Almabase and see how you can turn your campaign into something that truly moves the needle.

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About the author

‍Sharada is a freelance blogger and communication trainer who loves exploring the intersection of education and training. When not working, she enjoys reading and dabbling in calligraphy.

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