Among Colorado College’s first formal crowdfunding effort this spring was an annual fundraising initiative for seniors.

The 2016 Senior Gift Challenge garnered a record 85 percent participation rate. Altogether, 439 seniors gave $2,929, with seniors designating their gifts toward the Annual Fund generally or specifically toward the Annual Fund for Financial Aid or Annual Fund for Athletics, CC Eco Fund, or the Butler Center.

Lila Rosenman ’16 was hired to manage the senior gift effort and function as a liaison between the senior class committee and the Annual Giving office in October 2015.

“I approached it in a sociological way and developed a plan to engage seniors,” Rosenman says. “There’s a way to frame philanthropy that can take it from the macro level of donating to a much more personal level that connects how students are impacted by other people’s generosity.”

Students were encouraged to give any amount, and those who gave early gained entrance to a series of popular events, including Bagels & Brews, Taste of Colorado, and Muffins & Mimosas. All seniors who participated in the senior class gift or attended the senior class lunch hosted by the Annual Fund received a cord to wear during the Commencement ceremony

“These projects clearly demonstrated what gifts do for CC students and faculty — and they gave donors the opportunity to make a gift that had a direct impact on their area of interest,” says Kerry Brooke Steere, director of annual giving. “We’re so thankful to everyone who helped make the inaugural projects successful.”