USA WHO
The Intellia Therapeutics – UNCF Scholarship Program offers financial support for underrepresented students enrolled in a Historically Black College or University (HBCUs).
Intellia Therapeutics and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) started their partnership in 2020. The scholarship is relevant to students seeking a science, technology, or mathematics degree. Supporting this cause is important to Intellia Therapeutics as it helps support the next generation of professionals working within their industry.
Prior Fundraising Challenges
This online event targets the company’s employees to raise money. For every donation amount an employee makes, the company also matches. This is the fourth year this campaign has been run, which means it gets tougher each time, targeting the same employees.
It can also be hard to explain where the money is going as there isn’t instant gratification from the donations. Given the leg work that goes into the scholarship selection process, money raised this year (2023) will be awarded in student scholarships for the 2024-2025 academic year. The fundraising efforts are to support the longer term.
The company has also grown to around 50% hybrid operations, meaning fewer people are in the offices daily. Integrating solid digital fundraising methods was essential to keep spreading the word about this cause. That is where Givergy came in!
Event Highlights
This online event targeted around 400 employees with a Silent Auction, Prize Draw, and Pledges. There were also prize draw items to see in person at a company-wide summer picnic, which was great as it meant all employees had a way of feeling included in some form.
The fundraiser fell the week after the company-wide July shutdown, where all employees had the week off from work to spend time with family and friends. However, this meant that collecting the employee donated prizes was rushed, with some coming in at the last minute. It was great to know that the Givergy platform could handle late additions to the list of items. The Intellia team felt that the Givergy platform offered different ways for the team to come together, which made for an exciting and succinct environment with lots of awareness for the scholarship fund.
To drum up engagement, the Intellia team opened the silent auction one day before the in-person picnic. Lots of people were excited to get bidding, so a flurry of activity was received early on. Everyone had it on their screens in the office and money was consistently raised during the four business days that the event was running for.
How Did You Find The Givergy Platform?
After an initial google search for online auction platforms, the Intellia team reached out to their contacts at UNCF non-profit. They recommended Givergy, having experience with the tool themselves. After an initial demo, Intellia Therapeutics felt that the platform felt safe to use and easy to understand.
It was also helpful to have a site mocked up during the discussion phase, as it allowed for visualization of how the fundraising campaign would look when live. Everyone involved felt supported by both the platform and the people from Givergy working with them, which is what we love to hear.
How Much Was Raised?
The organization raised $20,721 which was made up of $5,021 from the silent auction, $7,015 of pledges, and $8,685 from the prize draw which saw 877 ticket sales. Intellia Therapeutics then matched the employee giving efforts, donating a total of $40, 721 to student scholarships!
TOP TIP
- Use the Givergy platform and your partner to the max.
- Demo the site and take the time to learn how it works so that you can make quick changes if you are pressed for time.
- Ask questions, the Givergy team are always willing to help!
“Having never worked in the giving space before, it was great for me that the Givergy platform was easy to understand and user friendly. The team were knowledgeable and friendly which meant we felt confident going into our campaign. Thank you!”
