Beyond the Dash - Strategies to Elevate O’Neill Hall’s Annual Fundraiser

Introduction

Since its founding in 1842, the University of Notre Dame has been rooted in social service and social justice. University founder Father Sorin expressed Notre Dame’s mission in a letter to Basil Moreau, stating that: “This college will be one of the most powerful means of doing good in this country” (Sorin). In alignment with Father Sorin’s vision, Notre Dame students host fundraisers for social causes throughout the school year (Rooney). One of these events is 40 Yards for a Cause, first organized by O’Neill Family Hall in 2021. During this event, students compete in 40-yard dashes while O’Neill students sell food and t-shirts (“40 Yards for a Cause”). All proceeds are donated to the South Bend Center for the Homeless. The Center plays a crucial role in the South Bend community by providing people experiencing homelessness with housing, childcare, and career services. With approximately 600 homeless people in South Bend, the success of 40 Yards for a Cause is as important as ever (Grohowski). In this study on the current state of 40 Yards for a Cause, I make recommendations to strengthen the event so that O’Neill can have even more of a positive impact.

This study begins with a discussion of the current literature on nonprofit fundraising. Within the context of the literature, I examine the current goals and performance of 40 Yards for a Cause and then identify concrete ways to improve it. In particular, I recommend strategies to increase student engagement and donations. One of the main objectives of this paper is to answer the question: What are the opportunities to raise more funds? While scholars and nonprofit fundraising specialists have conducted similar research, the scope of this study is more targeted. I am researching ways to improve 40 Yards for a Cause specifically, rather than general cases. Because of the constraints of the study, my research does not apply to other campus events.

This study uses a multi-methodological approach, drawing upon several types of data. Focusing on 40 Yards for a Cause, I research its history and assess its current effectiveness by conducting key informant interviews and by collecting and analyzing archival data (social media engagement from O’Neill Family Hall’s and other dorms’ Instagram accounts). To further inform my insights and support my conclusions, I draw on relevant academic literature.

While 40 Yards for a Cause has no doubt been a success, there is still room for improvement. This study will equip O’Neill Hall with tools to improve the philanthropic event and increase fundraising. These tools are informed by the academic literature and empirically supported.

Learnings from Literature

Literature on large-scale fundraising projects is widely available. In general, articles on this topic emphasize cultivating nonprofit-donor relationships to scale up fundraisers. Many studies have found that the most successful fundraising campaigns had aggressive promotion and clear messaging. However, there is a paucity of literature on grassroots or student-based fundraising, which is more applicable to the paper. Therefore, while the literature discussed examines fundraising on a broader scale, it still has relevant lessons for the study.

Building relationships between nonprofits and donors seems to be a crucial part of the fundraising process. In their article “The true cost of fundraising: Should donors care,”Adrian Sargeant (professor of fundraising at Indiana University), Elaine Jay (director of a nonprofit consulting group), and Stephen Lee (director of a nonprofit management firm) explore the nature of the relationship between these two groups. They conducted a study on the top 500 nonprofits in the United Kingdom to gauge their return on investment in sending promotions to potential donors. From their data, the three contend that building a robust relationship between donor and charity is critical to the success of any fundraiser (Sargeant et al. 345, 349). In fact, they claim that “charities cannot avoid recruitment activity if they are to survive” (Sargeant et al. 349). They view it as an “investment” for future growth. The three end the article by emphasizing that a nonprofit's reputation is built on trust and honesty (Sargeant et al. 350-351). From this article, it seems clear that strong ties between donors and nonprofits are crucial to fundraising success.

Professor Waters from the University of San Francisco, who specializes in fundraising and stakeholder relationships, placed similar importance on nonprofit to donor relationships. Waters applied an organization-public relationship framework to evaluate these relationships. The framework measured the trust, commitment, satisfaction, and balance of power between the two parties. In his study, Waters found that organizations with higher OPR scores (meaning stronger relationships between nonprofits and donors) raised more money (Waters 461-472). These two sources demonstrate that nonprofits need to build relationships with their donors and advertise their mission to succeed.

Since relationship building and advertising seem tied to fundraising success, an important question arises: What is the best way to do so? In “Picturing the poor: fundraising and the depoliticisation of homelessness,” social and cultural geographers Johan Andersson and Gill Valentine give a compelling answer to this question. Specifically, the two discuss how images can shape people’s perspectives on homelessness. Nonprofits often use visual media to advertise to their donors. One reason for this is that visual media can arouse feelings of guilt and sympathy. These feelings drive people to donate more, as the two note in their article (Andersson and Valentine 59). From a series of interviews with homeless people, shelter workers, and fundraisers, Andersson and Valentine conclude that images that present homeless people as individuals and without social or political context are more palatable to a broad range of donors, especially to private sector donors. As a result, charities can use these images to build a broad donor base. However, they note that these images can also feed into negative public perceptions of homeless people, as they present homelessness as an individual problem rather than a societal problem. They emphasize the importance of not exploiting poor people through these projects by “aestheticizing” their struggle (Andersson and Valentine 59, 71).

In order to promote themselves, many nonprofits have turned to social media. In some cases, it has become crucial to fundraising success. From their study on the role of social media in fundraising, McDonnell and Bhati found “positive associations between fundraising success and an organization’s Facebook network size (number of likes), activity (number of posts), and audience engagement (number of shares)” (Bhati and McDonnell 86). As McDonnell and Bhati state, nonprofit organizations with a wider reach on social media often have more successful fundraising campaigns. The two contend that social media allows nonprofits to disseminate information, create community amongst donors, encourage donations, and widen their donor base. (Bhati and McDonnell 86-88). This study further supports the idea that aggressive promotion campaigns are crucial to attracting donors. With this in mind, I plan to use these findings to evaluate the social media profile of O’Neill Family Hall and relate this to the success of 40 Yards for a cause.

Evaluation

To evaluate the goals and performance of 40 Yards for a Cause I draw on a key informant interview with Kyle Wesslien (Hall President of O’Neill Family Hall) and archival data from the hall’s Instagram account.

The interview with the Hall President provided a deeper understanding of the purpose and inner workings of 40 Yards for a Cause. As Hall President, Kyle is responsible for the planning, funding and execution of all residence hall events. Therefore, he is in a good position to further inform this study on 40 Yards for a Cause. During the event, the hall raises money through shirt, food, and 40-yard dash sales. These sales are made on-site, so O’Neill Family Hall makes more money when more people attend the event. The dorm does several things to maximize donations. Firstly, O’Neill hosts 40 Yards for a Cause in South Quad, one of the most congested spots on campus. Additionally, they choose to host it during the weekend of a popular football game with good weather. As a result, there are students, alumni, faculty on South Quad, hopefully buying shirts, food and 40-yard dashes. The dorm also gets “campus celebrities” to run 40 Yard Dashes, such as Father Pete and the Notre Dame Leprechaun. By doing so, the dorm increases anticipation for the fundraiser by making it into a spectacle. They often post the “campus celebrities” on Instagram, further promoting the event. From the interview, it was apparent that abundant thought and care is put into organizing 40 Yards for a Cause. O’Neill Family Hall currently employs a number of strategies in order to maximize the amount of money raised, such as timing when to host the event and publicizing the event on Instagram. In fact, the Hall President shared a new strategy moving forward: They plan to lower costs in the future to increase profits. O’Neill Family Hall has done such a good job developing 40 Yards for a Cause into a successful fundraiser that more creative applications of the literature are required to make an impact on the fundraising.

To evaluate O’Neill Family Hall's social media presence, I applied a similar method that McDonnell and Bhati used in their article. However, to keep this study relevant to the topic, I only looked at posts that directly relate to the 40 Yards for a Cause event. I planned to assess O’Neill’s Instagram network size through the number of likes it receives on each post and activity from the number of posts. I could not track audience engagement by looking at the number of shares, as McDonnell and Bhati did. Instead, I looked at the number of comments on each post. In the evaluation, I compare the fundraising posts on O’Neill’s Instagram to the posts on Duncan Hall’s and Ryan Hall’s Instagrams (two other Notre Dame dorms of similar size). I also use my understanding of social media to evaluate how well O’Neill advertises on social media.

O’Neill Family Hall has a somewhat active and popular Instagram page. Over the past three years, the hall has posted about 40 Yards for a Cause six times. In comparison, over the past three years, Duncan Hall has posted nine times for their signature event (ND110), and Ryan Hall has posted six times for their signature event (Wheelchair Basketball). On its posts, O’Neill receives a significant amount of likes. Each post has around 239 likes on average. In comparison, Duncan’s posts received 179 likes on average, and Ryan’s posts received 244 likes on average. O’Neill’s Instagram also received a significant amount of engagement. Each post has around five comments on average. In comparison, Duncan’s posts have one comment on average, and Ryan’s posts have six comments on average. The cross-examination of O’Neill Family Hall’s Instagram page revealed that its social media use is similar to other dorms on campus. In general, each dorm generates a similar number of posts and receives a similar amount of likes and engagement. Importantly, the content of O’Neill’s posts are particularly engaging and memorable. This gives the dorm an advantage in promoting the event. Overall, the hall has a strong social media presence. As revealed by the McDonnell and Bhat study, their social media page likely contributes to the total donations received.

Recommendations

From the existing literature, it seems that the most successful fundraisers delivered a clear message on their mission to as many donors as possible. While O’Neill has largely been successful at promoting its event to those on campus, there is still room for growth.

One potential avenue for growth is intensifying how O’Neill advertises 40 Yards for a Cause. O’Neill should seek to grow its presence on social media. If possible, the dorm could publish four or five posts per year about the event and also strongly encourage residents to share the posts on their stories. Eye-catching and high-quality content, which seems to be a staple of the O’Neill Instagram account, helps to promote the event. Therefore, the dorm should try to maintain the quality of its Instagram posts while increasing the quantity. For example, O’Neill could post a Venmo bingo board, a bingo card with small amounts listed on the squares. As people donate these amounts, their names and sometimes pictures are placed on the squares, and the card is reposted. Sororities and fraternities commonly use bingo boards to promote philanthropic causes on social media.

Moving past social media, O’Neill could also expand its base of potential donors. Many alumni of Notre Dame and people living in South Bend would be eager to donate to the South Bend Center for the Homeless. The dorm could partner with the South Bend Center for the Homeless to advertise the nonprofit's cause to these potential groups through flyers, emails, and advertisements. By doing so, O’Neill would move past exclusively on-site donations to elevate the cause to a larger audience, thereby building new donor relationships.

As a cheaper way to attract donors, the dorm could install a fundraising thermometer that tracks the amount of money raised in real time. These signs encourage people to give more. They give potential donors “visual confirmation” that their donation matters. As a result, it helps build the relationship between donor and nonprofit, as Sergeant, Jay, and Lee discuss in their article.

Another way to increase donations to 40 Yards for a Cause is by improving the quality of the products sold, although this is not discussed in the literature. For example, the dorm could experiment with higher quality blanks for the t-shirts or better ingredients for the food. While this would certainly increase the cost of the event, it may yield a positive change in profit because people may donate more for a better product.

Finally, O’Neill could improve the messages they send out. The dorm could start publicizing media in partnership with the South Bend Center for the Homeless to reveal the struggles and triumphs of those struggling with homelessness. As Andersson and Valentine claim, these images connect donors to the cause and encourage donations. According to the article, these images should focus on the problem of homelessness to the maximum number of donors possible (Andersson and Valentine 59, 71). By bringing the problem to the attention of students and faculty, O’Neill can help generate support. For example, the dorm could post a photo of someone who was helped by the center and include their story in the caption. These stories should highlight how individuals were able to advance themselves past homelessness and strive to not reinforce stereotypes or victim blaming. The dorm should also use its platform on campus to spread awareness of the nationwide homelessness crisis, especially the one in South Bend. They can work to educate and reframe homelessness as a complex and systemic issue that requires resources and long-term commitment.

Conclusion

In this paper, I sought to draw on academic literature, key informant interviews and archival data to find ways to improve 40 Yards for a Cause and increase fundraising. 40 Yards for a Cause serves an important purpose to South Bend because it helps support the South Bend Center for the Homeless. The literature emphasized that nonprofits must build relationships with donors and effectively advertise their cause to succeed. During the evaluation, it was apparent that O’Neill’s strategy for 40 Yards for a Cause is well developed and that their Instagram is somewhat active. O’Neill can improve 40 Yards for a Cause by increasing activity on social media, reaching out to alumni and South Bend residents, implementing a fundraising thermometer, increasing the quality of products sold, and improving their messaging. I propose that the dorm adopt any of these recommendations to increase donations to their cause. I hope that this research can be used as an example of fundraising strategy for collegiate/grassroots fundraising campaigns. Others can expand upon this research by evaluating other philanthropic events hosted by organizations on college campuses. If O’Neill decides to implement any of these recommendations, 40 Yards for a Cause could be re-evaluated to determine if any growth occurred. While ending homelessness can seem insurmountable, organizations like the South Bend Center for the Homeless make a powerful difference. O’Neill Hall’s partnership with the center is a meaningful way for students at Notre Dame to connect to the South Bend community and truly manifest the vision articulated by Father Sorin.

Author

Theodore Brassel

Theodore Brassel is a member of the Class of 2023 from Ridgewood, New Jersey. At Notre Dame, Theodore is studying economics and plans to pursue a career in law after graduation. His paper, “Beyond the Dash - Strategies to Elevate O’Neill Hall’s Annual Fundraiser,” evaluates the literature on fundraising and proposes several strategies to improve his dorm’s signature fundraising event: 40 Yards for a Cause. He was inspired to write this paper after participating in the fundraiser this fall and witnessing his fellow students’ passion for the cause. Theodore deeply appreciates the help he received from his dorm’s Hall President, Kyle Wesseln. He is especially thankful to his Writing and Rhetoric teacher, Michelle Marvin, for her support, guidance, and encouragement.