From the Nominator

Every year during Alumni Weekend our alumni compete to see who still remembers the combination to their old student mailboxes, so when the university announced plans to renovate that section of the student center, we knew we had an opportunity to create a unique fundraiser that could engage a wide range of alumni. We wanted to give everyone the opportunity to get their specific mailbox, so we settled on an online auction. Through the month of August, alumni, as well as a handful of students and friends of the university, placed bids on their targeted mailboxes while reminiscing on our Facebook page about the gifts and letters they received as students and gently ribbing their competitors. The auction was a success on every level. We raised over US$30,500 for our Alumni Association Scholarship endowment with the only costs coming from shipping the mailbox doors and coin banks. The social posts involving the mailbox auction saw some of our best engagement numbers of the year. Perhaps most exciting, though, were the demographics: 22% of alumni participants graduated within the last decade, 52% of alumni participants graduated within the past twenty-five years, and every class between 1967 and 2021 was represented.

From the Judges

Kudos to Saint Frances University on this very creative idea of turning student mailboxes into coin banks. This is a unique way to create nostalgia for alumni while generating revenue with very little investment. The mailboxes/coin banks will offer fond memories of the institution for years to come while sending a subliminal message as a coin bank to give back. Great thinking outside the box, St. Frances University!