Marshall Green, Public Relations Specialist
PH: 585.567.9211
publicrelations@houghton.edu FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
 
HOUGHTON COLLEGE RANKED TOP IN NATION FOR ONE DAY GIVING
HOUGHTON NY, September 1, 2014 - Houghton College has received the honor of inclusion in This Year’s Top 20 Advancement Giving Days and joining the company of top ranked institutions such as Columbia, Purdue and Colgate University. Houghton was touted by EverTrue as one of the top 20 colleges across the nation to successfully host an innovative 24 hour fundraising campaign in 2013 and 2014. Houghton’s campaign resulted in more than $740,000 from more than 1,300 donors in a single day.
“Houghton College’s One Day Giving Campaign was rooted in a strong, unified message that spoke to Houghton’s alumni: “We Are All Houghton,” commented EverTrue. “Through social media, the college owned the hashtag #onehoughton, posting photos of students listing their future ambitions on whiteboards and thanking donors.”
Houghton’s one day giving challenge was launched April 25, 2014 and was named We Are All Houghton: One Day, One Purpose. Over the 24 hour period, Houghton garnered $746,304 from 1,323 donors.
Also noted by EverTrue was the “excellent” campaign video produced by Houghton College that “brought it all together.”  The video was made by Cory Martin ’14 and can be viewed here:    An additional parody video was produced starring Houghton College’s president, Shirley Mullen, and filmed by Raphael Derungs ’14; it can be viewed here:
To ensure the coordination of managing such a complex campaign, the college enlisted a crew of over 40 staff, faculty and students to participate in the day’s events which included Phonathon, key staff personally reaching out to prospective donors, and engaging the student base.
Rick Melson, vice president for advancement and external relations commented, “We are thankful to God for His ongoing provision and exceedingly grateful for the generosity of our donor base of alumni, faculty, staff and friends, and a remarkably innovative advancement and external relations team that led us to such extraordinary results.”
EverTrue is an innovative company that assists institutions with alumni networking and donor identification through community based and uniquely designed social media application platforms.
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Houghton College is a liberal arts institution that challenges students to academic excellence - in the context of a relevant Christian community - and empowers them to enrich the world. The college of 1,000 students is located in Western New York, just 65 miles from Buffalo and Rochester. For more information, please visit www.houghton.edu.