Central College received honorable mentions for key communications and fundraising initiatives from District VI of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
The District VI Institutional Awards showcase best practices in alumni relations, fundraising, advancement services, special events and marketing and communications. This year, CASE received more than 300 submissions in a very competitive field.
Central received Platinum Award Honorable Mentions for:
- Best Practices in Communications and Marketing: “Central College Tuition Announcement”
- Best Practices in Digital Communications: “Central College Journey Scholarship”
- Best Practices in Fundraising: “Central College Hoo-Rah Day”
The tuition announcement campaign was created by Central’s communications team in partnership with the admission office. The campaign included writing, designing and distributing informational print and digital assets to announce Central’s new annual tuition price of $18,600 beginning in Fall 2020. This initiative was the first of its scale in Iowa, making Central’s high-quality, private education comparably affordable to state universities.
The Journey Scholarship campaign also was created by Central’s communications team in collaboration with the college’s annual giving staff. The team produced a video to celebrate the college’s generous donors and recognize students who received their support after COVID-19 canceled the college’s annual Scholarship Dinner. The video was shared with donors, students, alumni, faculty and staff through internal and external emails, as well as social media channels. These digital communication efforts played a key role in raising a record $1.38 million for the Journey Scholarship Fund in the 2019-20 fiscal year.
The Hoo-Rah Day campaign was created by a committee comprised of students, faculty, alumni and advancement departments, the communications department and the athletics department. Hoo-Rah Day is Central’s annual celebration to unleash the Central Dutch spirit and encourage students, alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends to give wherever they are most passionate. Typically a combined in-person and virtual event, Hoo-Rah Day was exclusively held online due to COVID-19. Despite challenges this presented, the virtual event was wildly successful and became a record-breaking year in terms of the college’s Hoo-Rah Day fundraising outcomes, which totaled $245,047.96. Donations from the day support student scholarships.
“I am so incredibly proud of the work our admission, communications and advancement teams are producing at Central,” says Sunny Eighmy, vice president for advancement. “This prestigious recognition is a testament to their hard work and dedication to Central, and I have no doubt they will continue to collaborate and create exceptional content in the future.”
CASE supports more than 3,400 educational institutions worldwide. District VI represents professionals and institutions in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
