Introduction
YaleSOAR (Student Organizations Annual Raise) is a student-led giving week for undergraduate organizations, organized by the Office of Development in partnership with the Yale Alumni Fund and Yale College Dean’s Office. Launched as a pilot in Fall 2023, YaleSOAR saw incredible success, bringing in 75 participating groups, over $100,000 in donations, and a brand-new way for students to connect with alumni, families, and friends over their remarkable extracurricular efforts.
Pericles Lewis, Dean of Yale College, introduced YaleSOAR in a letter to Yale College alumni and encouraged recipients to support student campaigns. Student groups also conducted individual outreach to former group members, family, friends, affiliates, and more.
Platform
YaleSOAR was hosted on GiveCampus, a social fundraising platform that offers student leaders the opportunity to customize their own campaign pages, share unique links with their networks, and utilize engaging media strategies such as a keystone fundraising video. Students had the full support of Yale fundraising staff during the campaign-building process.
Participants
The 75 groups of YaleSOAR 2023 represented diverse activities, affiliations, and fundraising priorities across campus. Participating organizations included the Yale Student Energy Association, TAMID at Yale, the Japanese American Students Union, Yale Air Force ROTC, Lux Improvitas, the Yale Herald, and the Yale Muslim Students Association.
Results
In total, YaleSOAR participants raised over $105,000 in nine days from November 3-12, 2023. 525 individual donations came in during the giving week, from 388 individual donors. Of those, 181 were first-time donors (146 new donors were Yale College alumni who had never previously donated.)
Around 80% of gifts to YaleSOAR 2023 were under $100, demonstrating the impact of social fundraising when students take the lead.
Up Next
With immediate momentum towards a second year of YaleSOAR, the Office of Development surveyed student participants on their fundraising experience. 96% of respondents expressed that they were either “Very satisfied” or “Satisfied” with YaleSOAR, and 88% ranked the likelihood they would recommend YaleSOAR to a friend at 8, 9, or 10 out of 10.
Preparations for YaleSOAR 2024 are already underway. This year’s giving week is scheduled for December 3-10, 2024. Please reach out to yalesoar@yale.edu with questions and feedback, or if you would like to learn more about how to support student fundraising efforts.