As announced at the University Wide Advancement Meeting on November 5, we’re taking time to rethink Qualifestivus, the end-of-year prospect qualification challenge. Building on its past success led by our former University of Utah Health Advancement colleagues and at the leadership team’s request, we will launch a new mini challenge to close out 2024 with a bang.  

We’ve heard your feedback that focusing on qualifications at the end of the calendar year often doesn’t align with donor timing and priorities. With that in mind, the upcoming Jingle all the Way challenge encourages strategic and collaborative negotiation conversations to help close those final calendar year 2024 (CY24) gifts. We’re also partnering with U Alumni to include a push to collect CY24 alumni engagement data to boost our CASE reporting totals, strengthen prospect identification, and benefit the new dashboard.   

There are two ways to participate in this opt-in challenge:  

1. Set a goal for the number of significant year-end gifts and pledges you can close from your plans between November 13 and December 31. As a resource for goal setting during this time, you may request assistance from prospect management in the form of lists of suggested potential donors and prospects. All plans will count as progress toward your goal if they have a Gift/Pledge Booked Date between now and December 31, but we encourage you to focus your efforts on closing gifts and pledges at an amount that is considered significant for your role. Final results will be calculated after the accounting year is closed on January 7, 2025.   
2. Set a goal for the number of alumni engagement lists you plan to submit. Collect and submit lists of engagement data from your campus area through the Data Integrity team’s process. This includes board and committee member rosters, event participants, or volunteers serving/attending between January 1 and December 31. Please consult with Kris Bosman at U Alumni or Sharon Kraus in University Advancement if you have questions about what may qualify. Submissions are due by December 31, 2024. More about that process here.  

Regardless of participation, everyone is invited to attend the Jingle Mingle progress milestone event in December. Drop by the University Advancement office for a treat, visit with your colleagues, and see if we’re on track to meet the collective goal—more details to come. Challenge participants who opt-in here by November 22 will work together to achieve the group goal and be rewarded with a day off in early 2025 if successful!  

 

Central Prospect Management Team