CALS Day of Giving Toolkit

Day of Giving 2024 graphic

It’s that time again! Time for #GivingPack. CALS will be a part of the NC State Day of Giving on March 20, 2024.

On this page, you’ll find assets and information for the CALS community’s use in creating official Day of Giving communications. Make sure you’re familiar with the NC State brand before developing any Day of Giving communications.

Use the links below to navigate through the toolkit.

Workshops and Office Hours

day of giving graphic

Office Hours

We are hosting two office hours via Zoom for you to talk with Dylan Inman and Caro Metzler about Day of Giving and social media promotion.

- Wednesday, Feb. 21, from 10-10:30 a.m.
- Tuesday, March 12, from 11-11:30 a.m.

Zoom link: go.ncsu.edu/cals-dog-office-hours

2024 Day of Giving Workshop Slides

2024 Day of Giving Workshop Recording

Communications Graphics

These assets are specifically for Day of Giving.

General Day of Giving Graphics: Please follow the university’s guidelines when using the Day of Giving graphics. Between now and March 20, you must use the lock-up with the date. Do not alter it to remove the date. You can only use the lock-up without the date on the Day of Giving (March 20). 

CALS Department and Unit Graphics and Images: Departments can use these assets to promote DoG in their communications. They are appropriately sized to 1500×844 for all CALS websites.

Challenge Graphics and Images: Use these graphics and images to help you win and announce social media challenges.

NC State Social Media Toolkit 

Key Message Guidelines: View NC State’s messaging strategy and guidance on implementing the messaging in your communications about Day of Giving.

Email Signature: You can update your email signature to include the Day of Giving graphic, which links to dayofgiving.ncsu.edu.

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Communications Recommendations and Guidelines

Creative Ideas

There is no limit to your creativity for Day of Giving (as long as it’s on-brand). So here are ideas on how to promote the day using your department’s communications platforms, if applicable:

  • Social Media Platforms – Day of Giving is a social media-driven campaign event, so your department’s social media accounts will be the primary tool for communicating about Day of Giving. 
    • Update your cover and profile pics. Visit the NC State DoG Toolkit for University assets to download or the CALS Department assets to download.
    • Schedule posts for publishing on Day of Giving 
  • Department Website
    • Create a department news post about Day of Giving, including how your department will participate and how faculty/staff/alumni/friends can support you.
    • Add a Day of Giving graphic on your homepage (Contact CALS Communications, and we can help.)
  • Departmental Calendar
    • Add Day of Giving to your department website calendar. 
  • Newsletters
    • If your department publishes a weekly or monthly newsletter, consider adding the Day of Giving logo and some language about the day as a spotlight in the newsletter. 
  • Email Signature
    • Add a Day of Giving graphic to your email signature. 

Do’s and Don’ts

Do

  • Start promoting as soon as possible. We recommend starting with a “Save the Date” post announcing your department’s participation as early as possible.
  • Bookmark and check this webpage. We will update this page as we receive information.
  • Use social media. Day of Giving is a social media-driven campaign. Therefore, most communications and appeals will happen on social media channels during the day.
  • Use the right hashtag AND tag in ALL posts. For example, remember to use the #GivingPack hashtag when creating social media posts and tag the CALS account (@NCStateCALS) in the post. This is how CALS Communications will monitor and track mentions and challenges.
    • Hashtag: #GivingPack
    • Tag: @NCStateCALS on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook posts

Also, please encourage ambassadors, students, alumni and influencers helping to spread the word on behalf of your department to use the #GivingPack hashtag and tag the @NCStateCALS account in their social media posts.

Don’t

  • Don’t post too much. Consider the regular cadence of posts you usually publish. Consider a slight increase, but don’t go over overboard. 
  • Don’t use the no-date version of the Day of Giving lockup until March 20. On this day, spotlighting the date will no longer be a priority. Visit the Day of Giving Toolkit page for more information on using Day of Giving lockups properly. 

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Emails

Annual Giving divides the colleges and units into two groups to email our constituents. Doing this mitigates users from receiving multiple emails from different colleges or departments in one day. CALS will send a mass email on behalf of the college.

According to Advancement Services rules, all Day of Giving emails must be sent through the Email Mass Distribution System (EMDS), not through channels owned by our college, units, and departments.

All email communications planned before the Day of Giving need to be reviewed and approved by the college. Please contact Dylan Inman for all communications. 

You can send separate emails to your current email newsletter subscribers to inform them about the Day of Giving. Your email can be a “Save the Date” or a reminder email of the event. However, you cannot include a specific “ask” for donations or any “Make a Gift” call-to-action language.

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Fund Pages

Main CALS Day of Giving Page

Department Funds

Priority Funds

Units/Other Funds

Contact Us

Have Questions?

For any questions and concerns related to Day of Giving, contact Megan Lybrand (Communications) and Dylan Inman (Advancement):

Dylan Inman, Assistant Director, Annual Giving
calsdayofgiving@ncsu.edu

Caro Metzler, Social Media Manager
cmetzle2@ncsu.edu

Also, visit the NC State Day of Giving FAQ for more information.