How NC State Turned Social Media Ambassadors into Fundraising Powerhouses
- SoSha Staff
- Sep 4
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 6
Overview
North Carolina State University’s 2025 Day of Giving, held on March 26, raised over $50.56 million from 18,565 gifts, exceeding the previous year’s dollar total by 9%. Using SoSha’s social media toolkits, NC State empowered about 500 “Pack Leader” ambassadors with ready-to-share, customizable content and individual tracking links. These ambassadors drove engagement in hour-by-hour challenges that contributed to 932 unique posts, generating nearly 260,000 social impressions and significant direct traffic to donation pages—all while reducing staff burden and paid advertising costs. The result: a high-ROI, community-driven giving campaign built on authenticity, impact, and scale.
For academic institutions, fundraising is an ever-evolving challenge. While total philanthropic contributions to U.S. colleges and universities saw a 3% increase in FY 2024, the number of individual donors has been steadily declining. Younger donors, in particular, are shifting focus to other charitable causes, making it harder for academic institutions to connect and convert them into active supporters.
North Carolina State University (NC State), a large public not-for-profit institution, was not immune to these trends. As the university prepared for its 2025 Annual Day of Giving on March 26th, the mission was clear: find the right combination of organic sharing strategies and targeted advertising to maximize ROI, and broaden the range of potential donors—especially alumni and younger audiences—while encouraging existing donors to deepen their commitments.
Building an Impactful Day of Giving Campaign
Given the proven success of the time-bound “day of action” fundraising model, many American universities have created springtime “Days of Giving” to energize alumni and mobilize donations for key initiatives.
Organizing these campaigns poses challenges—especially for teams with limited staff. With the average cost per donation via paid advertising on platforms like Meta reaching $106, higher education institutions are looking for high-ROI alternatives to steep advertising spend that can still reach broader and deeper pools of prospective donors.
NC State’s approach combined structured programming with a network of online volunteers— authentic storytellers who could drive social engagement and fundraising.
“Volunteers are key drivers of our new donor strategy,” said Adam Compton, Executive Director of Annual Giving at NC State. These “Pack Leaders” included alumni, parents, students, and faculty serving as ambassadors for their respective schools and programs.
From large entities like the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to specific causes like the Libraries Student Resources Fund, NC State introduced hour-by-hour “challenges” to drive bursts of engagement—such as “Most Young Alumni Gifts” or “Most Parent & Family Gifts.” These challenges encouraged real-time participation and friendly competition.
Pack Leaders promoted these challenges across their networks, driving social engagement and donor conversions. “Pack Leaders open the door by sharing messages on social media, reaching alumni and friends we may not otherwise connect with,” said Compton. “Their personal asks are stronger and more motivating.”
Scaling Impact & Reducing Barriers with Ready-to-Share Content
With a strong volunteer base and engaging programming, the next challenge was making participation seamless. “Ambassadors are enthusiastic, but without ready-to-go content, the barrier to entry was higher than we wanted,” Compton explained.
To streamline the experience, NC State used SoSha to provide Pack Leaders with a social-sharing platform that allowed fast deployment of pre-built, customizable toolkits at scale.
Through SoSha, Pack Leaders received:
Customizable post templates with prompts for personal stories, images, and calls to action.
Selfie overlays and video frames for more user-generated content.
Individual tracking links with UTM parameters to monitor clicks and conversions.
Live challenge updates and social-ready graphics for real-time engagement.
Fundraising staff created and published toolkits directly in SoSha’s platform. Volunteers then accessed and shared these materials across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter—each post preloaded with a personalized tracking link.
Driving Results Through Authentic Storytelling
Pack Leaders responded positively. The toolkits helped simplify their role—allowing them to post quickly without requiring custom content creation. At the same time, the personalization options helped them express their own voice. The individualized links made their participation feel targeted and impactful.
The results spoke volumes:
259,961 total social media impressions generated by toolkit shares.
932 social media posts shared by volunteers, driving measurable traffic to donation pages.
By mobilizing Pack Leaders, NC State enabled a more targeted and strategic use of paid ads, while increasing reach and targeting. Organic traffic outperformed expectations, giving staff greater control over how to spend advertising dollars more strategically.
Recipe for Success: Community + Tech + Authenticity
Reflecting on the campaign’s success, Compton pointed to the power of combining three factors: authentic, emotional storytelling; empowered community volunteers; and smart use of technology.
“We know that volunteers are a core part of the strategy for breaking through and reaching further,” he shared. “To support that, we must keep making it easy for our volunteers to engage, tell their stories, and serve as advocates.”
Following the event, NC State used SoSha to share real-time impact reports with donors, showing how gifts were being applied immediately to scholarships, student support, and specific program needs. This transparency reinforced trust and nurtured long-term engagement.
Compton also emphasized how Day of Giving helps elevate other priorities across the university. “We raise awareness for campus priorities and build a culture of philanthropy across our community.”
The stories shared that day reflected lifetime connections, programs that launched careers, and support that changed lives. And for many donors, those stories were the spark that inspired them to give.
For NC State, the 2025 Day of Giving was more than a single-day success—it was a case study in scalable, story-driven engagement. As alumni and donor behaviors continue to shift, NC State’s approach offers a blueprint for institutions seeking to activate their community with purpose, precision, and heart.
(Note: SoSha selected all third-party links in this case study, which do not represent endorsements by NC State University.)
Giving Tuesday 2025 is approaching fast! If you’d like your organization to take advantage of the full benefits of organic social sharing to mobilize donors and share key impact stories, book a call with us! We'll discuss your goals, identify pain points, and see what SoSha solutions can work for you.
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