Raise Your Pick UTEP Giving Day

Raise Your Pick Giving Day is a community-wide giving day occurring on April 12, 2023, with early giving opening at 4 pm (MST) on April 11. This campaign will raise support for approximately 50 priority areas on campus, including UTEP scholarships, programs, research, and student support services. With both online and in-person engagement opportunities, Raise Your Pick Giving Day will help UTEP build its donor base and retain a higher portion of renewing donors on a yearly basis.

On April 12, 2023, Miner Nation will unite for good as we launch Raise Your Pick Giving Day! With almost 50 different programs, scholarships, campus improvements, and student resources to support, you’ll have the opportunity to make a positive impact on the area that means the most to you. Leading up to April 12, we hope you'll peruse the various areas in need of support, and the matches and challenges that will amplify your impact. Get ready to raise your pick! Every gift counts!

In the case of recurring gifts, only the first installment will be counted toward Giving Day totals.

*What counts as a “memo” indicating the intention of a gift?

• A donor my include RYP or Giving Day on the memo line of a check
• Emails or other written communications from the donor that indicate the intention will also be accepted

• No, pledges and company matching gifts cannot be counted toward fundraising totals or to unlock Giving Day matches and giving challenges.
• Only outright cash or cash equivalent gifts that adhere to the guidelines above will be counted.

1. Ask the Donor: Is the check to fulfill a match or challenge pledge?

• If yes, please contact your Development Officer or Joshua McCoy at jdmccoy@utep.edu for assistance.
• If no, please deliver the check to Institutional Advancement.*

2. Notify Sydney Bertram at sabertram@utep.edu to manually add to the totals on the Raise Your Pick Giving Day website and apply applicable matches or giving challenges. Provide the following information:

• First Name, Last Name, Gift Amount, Fund Designation, State of Preferred Address, Constituency (e.g. Alumni, Faculty, Staff, Student, Friend).
• REID, if you have it.

*Institutional Advancement is in Kelly Hall, 6^th Floor - turn to the right as you exit the elevator.

1. Click the “Give Now” button and the donor will be directed to the giving form
2. Select “Other” from the drop-down menu of designations
3. Enter the gift fund they would like to donate to.

Please note: Gifts to “Other” funds won’t count toward school or unit-specific matches and challenges, but they will be included in the overall gift and dollar counts for the Giving Day campaign.

Your Development Officer will walk you through the process and provide the proper giving forms.

If you are not currently working with a Development Officer, please reach out to Joshua McCoy at jdmccoy@utep.edu for assistance.

Yes. We accept gifts made internationally via credit card. Please note that payments with international credit cards are only possible if the donor's bank has authorized the card for international transactions. 

Check the Date! Is it April 11 or 12?

• If yes, kindly ask your donor to wait. To avoid “double counting” through the online gift tracker, make sure your donor does NOT make their match/challenge payment on April 11 or April 12.
• If no, please direct them to make their match/challenge payment at https://givingto.utep.edu/match_chall23.

If your donor would prefer to mail a check or make a wire transfer, please reach out to Joshua McCoy at jdmccoy@utep.edu for information. Payments via check should be submitted with the paper Match/Challenge giving form.

Yes, a member of the Annual Giving team will send you gift reports after Giving Day totals have been finalized.

Please note: This will take several days due to reconciliation of gifts from multiple channels. You should receive your campaign reports by the end of April.

You and your team are welcome to write thank you notes to your donors. Please contact Sandra Serio at silopezserio3@utep.edu for cards and envelopes.

Please note: All donors who make gifts via the Giving Day platform will receive a thank you video via email, and donors via other channels will receive standard gift acknowledgements.

The Ambassador strategy is very important for the success of our campaign. Ambassadors spread the word about Giving Day on social media and with their personal networks. They will help us build event awareness and the impact fundraising events like this have on our university, students lives and their families, and our community.
People can self-identify and sign up to be an ambassador or a unit can invite key faculty, staff, students or alumni to be our "influencers" by becoming an ambassador.

Other ambassador characteristics:

• Faculty or staff members who are champions for your school or unit’s priority fundraising areas.
• Students, faculty, staff or alumni with a strong social media presence. 

After March 8, Ambassadors can register on the Giving Day platform and set up their account for access to the Ambassador Dashboard. We’ll be hosting a series of Ambassadors training webinars the week of March 20 for those who have signed up (segmented for ambassador type), and will be providing “Ambassador Packs” to those who request them by March 23. These packs will include branded items to assist with social media and awareness building activity, like t-shirts, mustaches on sticks, tech stickers, window clings for cars and office windows.

In the Ambassador webinars, we’ll review the resources available in the Ambassador dashboard on the Giving Day website, like the handbooks and various social images, and we’ll review how to be an effective Ambassador.

DONOR PROGRAMS CONTACTS

Sydney Bertram, Sr. Director of Donor Programs
Email: sabertram@utep.edu | Cell Phone: 937-206-0550
Contact for:

• General Campaign Information
• Campaign Content Updates & Funds
• Matches and Challenges
• Giving Day Website Functions
• Timelines and Setup Processes
  
  

Jennifer Heffner, Sr. Annual Giving Communications Officer
Email: jlheffner@utep.edu
Contact for:

• Campaign Content Updates
• Email Communications
• Campaign Gift Reports
• Giving Day Direct Mail
  
  

Valerie Herrera, Annual Giving Campaigns Officer
Email: vrherrera@utep.edu
Contact for:

• Campaign Content Updates
• Ambassador Dashboard and Resources
• Volunteer Texting Session
  
  

Sandra Serio, Director of Donor Relations
Email: silopezserio3@utep.edu
Contact for:

• Gift Acknowledgements
• ThankView Emails
• Post-event School/Unit Thank You Cards
  
  

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS CONTACTS

Cesar Campa, Senior Director for Advancement Marketing and Communications
cmcampa@utep.edu
OR
Alejandra Lopez, Senior Strategic Communications Officer
alopez63@utep.edu
Contact for:

• Toolkit, assets, images, logos, social media and resources questions