CSUSM Giving Day is a 24-hour social media driven campaign to raise money for scholarships, programs and departments throughout the university.

It will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 27 in conjunction with Giving Tuesday, or #GivingTuesday that occurs each year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and the popular shopping events of black Friday and cyber Monday. It is “a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration,” according to the website for Giving Tuesday, a New York-based movement, created by the Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact.

This year, the university will celebrate its fourth annual CSUSM Giving Day to encourage faculty and staff, students, alumni, friends and family to  “give with the heart of a Cougar” to support the causes they love.

They can make gifts to various initiatives and departments on campus, such as Arts & Lectures, ASI Cougar Pantry, Athletics, Veterans Services and many more.

“[D]onor habits have shifted over time where there’s more and more gifts that are made online compared to through the mail or by check, so it’s taking advantage of technology … and social media that we have on the campus,” said Sean Briner, director of annual programs and athletic development. “We’re trying to reach everyone who follows us via social media.”

Last year, donors made 693 gifts totalling $254,808. According to Briner, out of all of the donors who made a gift last year, 35 percent were by employees and 14 percent by students.

Briner said last year the most popular gift designation was the Annual Fund, a general discretionary fund, and for the past two years, the Food Insecurity Fund/ASI Cougar Pantry came in second.

He noted that most of the Food Insecurity Fund/ASI Cougar Pantry donors were students and employees which shows that the campus community acknowledges the needs of the university and supports those causes.

During the one-day event, CSUSM Foundation Board Chair Jack Raymond will provide a one-to-one match for each gift up to $1,000.

Raymond is chairman and CEO of The Raymond Companies and has a long history of service to the San Diego region.

“What this means is when a donor makes a gift, he’s going to match the gift. For example, if you make a $20 gift to Food Insecurity, then his matching $20 will follow it and go to the Food Insecurity,” said Briner. “If a donor gives $5,000 … only the first $1,000 will be matched.”

Throughout CSUSM Giving Day, there will also be different challenges that will provide bonus gifts to some of the departments and initiative funds. Some challenges will occur all day and others hourly. The funds for these challenges are provided by Steve and Laura Wagner and Nathaniel Keifer-Wheals.

Steve Wagner is the co-founder and president of Stone Brewing Company located in San Marcos and serves as a member of the CSUSM Foundation Board. Keifer-Wheals, 2009 alum, serves as the Alumni Association Board President and also serves on the CSUSM Foundation Board.

One of the challenges this year will be the Record Breaker Challenge. The donor who makes the 694th gift will receive a $2,000 bonus for the fund they select. Another challenge will allocate $1,000 to the fund that receives the highest number of alumni gifts.

“This year we’re putting an emphasis on trying to grow the number of alumni who give and so there’ll be some challenges specific to alumni,” said Briner.

University departments and the Office of Communications are already sharing social media content about CSUSM Giving Day and encouraging the campus to make plans for gifts.

“Once donors have made a gift we encourage them to share that through their own social media as well. You never know how far our message can go when people start sharing,” said Briner.

For more information and to make a gift on Nov. 27, visit www.csusm.edu/givingday.