The #GreenforGold campaign raised over one hundred thousand dollars on Oct. 20 for departments on campus and scholarship funds.
The Alumni Association and House partnered with PLNU’s department of University Advancement and Marketing in July to begin the campaign they had been discussing for about two years.
“We have seen other universities have great success with a campaign like this,” wrote Executive Director of Alumni Relations Sheryl Smee via email. “We researched different various processes and took the idea to [Vice President of External Relations] Dr. [Joe] Watkins.”
The idea was presented once in March to the Alumni Association Board of Directors and then later in July. Once the idea was good to go, a leadership committee was formed and was composed of Assistant Di- rector of Alumni Relations Kendall Lucas—who was the chair, Alumni Communications Coordinator Derek Kirk, Executive Director of Advancement Operations Christina Gardner and Marketing’s Web Specialist Kayle Fields.
Lucas said that the committee contemplated calling the campaign ‘Giving Tuesday’ or ‘$20 Tuesday’ but went with Kirk’s idea of calling it #GreenforGold.
In July, the committee reached out to Watkins so they could get a matching gift. Watkins reached out to President Bob Brower to find the gift would match $25,000 of the campaign’s efforts. Sheryl said that the matching gift came from “someone within the PLNU community.”
On Sept. 29 a campaign video staring Associated Student Body President Andrew Borland encouraged students to show their school spirit to build excitement for the campaign.
“Let’s show the PLNU community that we care, show that we believe,” Borland said. “Share your pride for PLNU and its endless impacts. Give your green for gold.”
Lucas said that they expected to raise $50,000, which would include the matching gift.
But on the afternoon of the campaign’s first day, an email was sent out by Lucas announcing that $73,528 had already been raised. Students were able to show their PLNU pride with a photo booth and costumes that were located in the living room of Nichol- son Commons. They were encouraged to post in to their social media and use the hashtag GreenforGold.
The campaign closed Oct. 21 at 6 a.m and raised $136,161.34. Three hundred people gave to this fund and Smee said for about 50 people who donated, it was their first time they had donated money to PLNU. Whoever gave to PLNU had the option, when donating online, to choose ‘University Fund for Student Scholarships’ or ‘Other’. If the donator chose ‘Other’ then they could choose what department they wanted to donate to on campus. PLNU Resident Director and Alumna Bethany Denney expressed her support toward PLNU and the #GreenforGold campaign.
“On this day of giving for @plnu I can’t help but be reminded of the countless ways in which this university has so positively impacted my life. Seriously. Even as years pass, I am continually blessed by what PLNU has been and continues to be in my life and the lives of our students,” Denney wrote via Facebook. “It sounds crazy, but whether big or small, every donation makes a HUGE impact.”
Smee said that this campaign is something that she would like to continue doing in the future and added that she would like the number of donors to increase as well.
“We want to come together as a PLNU community for a focused 24 hours to show that as alumni, students, faculty, staff and parents we care, we believe in this place, and we have pride in PLNU and its endless impacts,” Lucas wrote via email. “[…] We hope to increase our number of donors and embrace an attitude of philanthropy toward PLNU […]”
The Point Editorial Staff 
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