From the Nominator

"Each Giving Tuesday, University of Victoria (UVic) community members participate in Project Add Sprinkles. The sprinkles aren’t just for fun! They show how small acts of philanthropy add up to make a big difference to our campus, students, and community--much like sprinkles being added to a cookie or cupcake.  

Although the campaign was a success and raised more than $178,600, this submission focuses on the fun and innovative games that inspired thousands of students to get involved. The more students played, the more donations were unlocked AND the more input they had in how those funds impact campus.   

"Philanthr-opoly," a life-sized game of Monopoly with a giving twist, took over the heart of campus. Students unlocked $3,000 by rolling giant dice, moving around the UVic-themed board, and answering trivia questions. In “Campus Quest,” Dr. Phil Anthropist challenged students to embark on a virtual treasure hunt. With the chance to unlock $10 for the fund of their choice and win a prize, they had just 24 hours to work together to answer five UVic philanthropy trivia questions and unlock $5,000. 

“Angles and Perspectives” turned UVic's Instagram Stories into a philanthropy-related guessing game. UVic shared photos of areas on campus obscured by sprinkles or taken at odd angles and asked students to identify them. Each location had been impacted by philanthropy. After submitting a guess, the next story explained how. Every guess helped unlock $2,000. More than 2,134 students “played it forward” to help unlock $10,000 and sprinkle impact across campus."

From the Judges

UVic Students Play it Forward was an innovative approach to student engagement and student philanthropy. The thoughtful approach to gamify a solicitation was brilliant, and the results showed that the creative approach and time spent were worthwhile in that it had broad impact and should be lifted up as a model program. Way to go, University of Victoria!