From the Nominator

The University of North Dakota's (UND's) first-ever Notes from the Nest gratitude event drew eager students to a central location on campus to thank their scholarship donors the old-fashioned way: through handwritten thank-you notes. At the two-day event, students took full advantage of the chance to show their appreciation, often filling cards top-to-bottom with introductions, updates on their UND experience, future plans, and fun facts. The event was made possible through a campus-wide partnership among the UND Alumni Association and Foundation, UND Student Finance, and several colleges, schools and departments. After the notes were turned in, students enjoyed free pizza and donuts and entered their names into a scholarship drawing. The results were extremely positive. Students expressed appreciation for having the time, space, and resources provided to show their gratitude. Campus partners expressed gratitude for being relieved of a burden. Development officers have received calls and emails from donors who were impacted by the notes paired with pictures. The results were the following: 3,650 notes were written (including 600+ emails), 2,361 students participated, 630 donors/organizations were thanked, and 62% of total thank-you notes needed were completed. Nearly 60% of scholarship recipients participated in the event, and 70% of the donors/organizations were thanked by a specific scholarship recipient  Three out of our eight colleges opted out of this event for various reasons this year. After seeing the results from this event, one college decided to opt in for next year.

From the Judges

The University of North Dakota achieved an impressive student participation rate by personalizing and celebrating donors. Additionally, they provided students with multiple incentives to participate, including a chance to win a scholarship. This novel approach was highly effective and can serve as a model for building relationships.