Best of CASE Asia-Pacific Region Award
 

Institution: Lahore University of Management Sciences

Title of entry: Give a Day to LUMS

About this entry: At LUMS, one in three students receives some form of financial support. This is a reflection of the University’s mission of making education accessible to all, regardless of financial circumstances. To this end, LUMS disburses about USD 5.67 million worth of scholarships annually. However, only 17% of the total donations come through alumni, with the majority being contributed through CSR donations and philanthropists. Alumni philanthropy is not prevalent.

To engage the alumni with the University’s mission of accessibility and inculcate a culture of giving, LUMS launched the ‘Give a Day to LUMS’ (GADTL) campaign in 2021 that helped fund the education of 38 students. As our first-ever alumni-specific appeal, GADTL was the brainchild of Founding Pro Chancellor, Syed Babar Ali. Passionate about giving, he kicked-off the campaign with a personal plea encouraging alumni to donate just a single day’s earnings and help educate disadvantaged students.

As a result, total donations from alumni rose to 23%; within 4 months, approximately USD 125,000 were raised from 510 alumni (from 108 cities & 20 countries) and 116 LUMS community members. An exclusive event, the GADTL Telethon raised 42% of the overall funds pledged.
The campaign was designed with a branding strategy and messaging that ties with the University’s mission. It was launched through various channels— a dedicated webpage, customised emails, and a 360-degree social media campaign featuring stakeholders from the LUMS community. These included global alumni ambassadors who were mobilised to support the campaign and spread the word amongst their regional alumni communities.