Are You Up for a Challenge?

A group of students hold hearts up in the air with the water in the background on a graphic saying Alumni Council Challenge Win Up to $5,000 Giving Tuesday #smcmgives

If so, sign up to be a Giving Tuesday Champion! Giving Tuesday Champions compete for $20,000 donated by the Alumni Council to award to the Champion’s SMCM fund of choice. The Alumni Council invites all members of the College community – alumni, students, parents and employees – to participate. Just imagine what the top prize of $5,000 can do for your favorite academic department, student club, varsity team, scholarship or any of the other 400+ SMCM funds.

But wait, there’s more! Even if you don’t finish as a top five Champion when all the results are tallied, you can still win big money. Champions who get at least five donors to credit them for making a donation on Giving Tuesday will be entered into a drawing with 12 prizes ranging from $250 to $1,000 ($5,000 total) to give to their SMCM fund of choice. 

Wait again, there’s even more! Champions can win exclusive SMCM logo merchandise by getting others involved. The more donors you influence, the better the merch.

How it Works

  • $20,000 was pledged by current and former Alumni Council members for this year’s Challenge.
  • Alumni, students, parents and employees can compete for this money (prize structure outlined below) by signing up as a “Champion” by midnight on Sunday, November 20.
  • The Champion’s name and SMCM fund of choice will be listed on the Giving Tuesday online giving form.
  • Donors will have the opportunity to credit one Champion for inspiring them to donate during the 32-hour campaign – Monday, November 28 at 4 p.m. – Tuesday, November 29 at midnight (EST).
  • The top five Champions (by donor vote) will receive prizes ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 to direct to their SMCM fund of choice.
  • Champions who do not place in the top five, but receive at least five donor votes, will be entered into a drawing to win 12 prizes ranging from $250 to $1,000 ($5,000 total!) to direct to their fund of choice.
  • Champions with at least one donor vote will win exclusive SMCM merchandise as a thank you for their efforts.

The Breakdown

Place Influencer Award
1st $5,000
2nd $4,000
3rd $3,000
4th $2,000
5th $1,000
Drawing $1,000 (1 prize)
Drawing $500 (5 prizes)
Drawing $250 (6 prizes)
TOTAL $20,000

The Merch

Inspire one or more donors to give on Giving Tuesday AND select you as the Champion on the giving form to win these exclusive merchandise prizes:

  • 1+ Donor – SMCM Bottle Opener Keychain
  • 5+ Donors – SMCM Logo Frisbee
  • 10+ Donors – SMCM Logo Beach Towel
  • 25+ Donors – SMCM Logo Cooler Chair

The Rules

  • Champion Eligibility
    • Champions must sign up by midnight on Sunday, November 20 through the link below.
    • All SMCM alumni, students, parents and employees are invited to participate – EXCEPT members of the SMCM Institutional Advancement team.
    • Champions must select an official SMCM department, club, team or fund to direct their winnings.
  • Donor Rules
    • Donors can only vote for one Champion during the official campaign hours – Monday, November 28 at 4 p.m. – Tuesday, November 29 at midnight (EST).
    • Donors can only select one Champion throughout the campaign. If a donor makes more than one donation and selects multiple Champions, or votes for the same Champion multiple times, only the first vote will be counted.
    • Donor names listed on the giving form that do not seem credible to the planning committee (pets, celebrities, cartoons, etc.) will have those Champion votes disqualified.
  • The Prizes
    • The results displayed on the website throughout the campaign are only preliminary results. Official results will be announced by email and posted on the Giving Tuesday website after all gifts are processed and ineligible votes are removed, hopefully by Friday, December 2.
    • The prize pool and number of drawing prizes may change at the planning committee’s discretion as additional donations from the Alumni Council come in.
    • All prizes will be awarded and merchandise will be mailed soon after the winners are announced.
  • The Drawing
    • Champions who don’t place in the top five, but receive at least five donor votes, will be entered into a drawing to compete for $5,000 in drawing prizes. 12 drawing prizes, ranging from $250 to $1,000 will be awarded on Tuesday, December 6.
    • One drawing ticket will be given to each Champion for each donor vote, and Champions can win multiple drawing prizes.
    • The top five Champions are not eligible for the drawing.

Questions?

David Sushinsky
Director of Alumni Relations
dmsushinsky@smcm.edu
(240) 895-3381