From the Nominator

The University of Virginia (UVA) adopted a new student communication strategy to ensure scholarship recipients were aware that they had received a donor-funded scholarship. The communications highlighted the significance of this support and encouraged them to actively engage with our staff and scholarship donors. Currently, scholarships are listed as a line item on a student’s financial aid statement but are not highlighted. As a result, many students are unaware that they have been awarded donor-funded scholarships. University advancement came up with an approach to this situation. We teamed up with an accomplished recent graduate and scholarship recipient who is completing a graduate degree at UVA. This was efficient and cost effective; the video script was developed in collaboration over email, and the student filmed and uploaded the video message from their home. We edited the video and emailed it, along with framing text, through the online platform ThankView to more than 350 scholarship recipients. Shortly after, our staff sent a follow-up email with a direct link to complete the scholar profile referenced in the video. We saw a significant increase in the audience’s response to our request that they complete scholar profiles, as well as in the candor and personal detail conveyed in their responses. The scholar profiles are turned into beautiful digital impact reports for donor stewardship and are also leveraged to identify subjects for advancement publications.

From the Judges

This is a unique approach to showcasing scholarship recipients. The "high-impact, low-touch" communication strategy is both cost-effective and efficient in gathering responses from students, while alleviating pressure on staff. The video exemplifies the initiative's success, providing a genuine and recent student experience that resonates with viewers.