Catholic High School’s Giving Tuesday fundraiser surpassed the goal by 30%, raising more than $130,000 for student scholarships!
Situation
Catholic High School for Boys, a college-preparatory high school in Little Rock, Ark., was founded by Bishop John B. Morris of the Diocese of Little Rock in 1930 to ensure that boys in the Little Rock area had access to quality Catholic secondary education.
The 2021-2022 academic school year - as with all schools across the country – was a challenging one, with students returning to in-person classes full-time for the first time since the start of the pandemic. With so much uncertainty, particularly in regards to families’ personal finances, scholarships for students in need were more important than ever. The Catholic High School Giving Tuesday fundraiser, held annually in December, was an important mechanism for the school to raise donations that fund more than 150 student scholarships. The school felt it was important to still hold this important event despite the challenges and economic burdens of the pandemic.
With a goal to appeal to Catholic High graduates and general viewers, we developed a “Freaky Friday” theme for the videos, featuring Jed and Poolboy “switching lives” at the annual Catholic High Alumni Dinner. As a way to promote the donation asks multiple times with a fun twist, the storyline tasked Jed (student) and Poolboy (local radio talent and CHS alumni) with raising a record $100,000 during Giving Tuesday in order to switch back to their old lives.
Great
Results
1.
The donation total was the highest that Catholic High has ever received on Giving Tuesday
2.
The videos reached more than 100,000 people across Facebook and Instagram - 500% of our initial goal!
3.
Hundreds of students were awarded scholarships for the coming school year
Strategy
research + plan
We knew through our research that a majority of the school’s Instagram followers are younger alumni. As an all-boys school, Catholic High has a unique sense of humor that is known and felt by all that have walked its halls. Introducing the Giving Tuesday fundraiser with a new twist allowed us to embrace that humor with traditions and jokes that resonate specifically with those who know and love Catholic High.
Instagram + Facebook Videos
The Ghidotti Team planned and scripted a series of clever Instagram and Facebook videos to premiere throughout Giving Tuesday. These videos featured CHS alumnus Poolboy, along with senior class president Jed Straessle. Following the “Freaky Friday” style body switch in the first video, subsequent videos throughout the day included Jed arriving to work at the radio station and Poolboy roaming the halls as a student at Catholic High.
Traditions + New Programs
After a discussion with the Catholic High team to identify the school’s traditions and new programs, we created videos to specifically highlight those classes and programs. The six videos we produced included a dramatic stop in algebra, where Poolboy (as Jed) falls asleep and is sent to detention, a peek into the school’s new aerodynamics class and a very trying physical fitness class for the 40-year-old trapped in the 18-year-old’s body. Along the way, the switched duo met with Catholic High VIPs – the “all-knowing” Father Fred, who explained the switch, and Principal Steve Straessle.
Results
$130K+ Raised in a single day campaign
Catholic High School’s Giving Tuesday fundraiser was a massive success, surpassing the goal by raising more than $130,000 for student scholarships – exceeding the goal by 30%! The donation total was the highest that Catholic High has ever received on Giving Tuesday, surpassing the 2020/2021 fundraiser by more than $40,000!
The videos were a resounding success with an overall reach of more than 100,000 across Facebook and Instagram - 500% of our initial goal! Boosting the videos on social media also generated more than 78,000 additional impressions over the course of the day.
The best result is that hundreds of students were awarded scholarships for this coming school year and have the opportunity to be a part of a special brotherhood formed at one of Little Rock’s top high schools.