How Presbyterian College Raised $27,751 From a Single Giving Day Text

Q: How can texting help on Giving Day?

Texts reach alumni on the channel they check most, and a tracked link shows exactly which message drove gifts. At Presbyterian College, one Giving Day text drew 465 clicks, 132 donors, and $27,751, and every top-performing link was sent by text.

Q: How much did Presbyterian College raise on Giving Day?

PC raised $390,000 from 902 donors in its most recent Giving Day campaign, beating its donor goal by more than 150 after falling short the year before. Of the campaign links PC tracked, the top performers were all sent by text.

Q: Why did Presbyterian College bring texting back?

Budget constraints had paused texting, and engagement and Giving Day results dipped while the team relied on email and phone calls. Amanda Dowdle pushed to bring Mongoose back in 2023.

Q: Is texting donors too impersonal for advancement?

PC’s experience points the other way. Texts go out under real staff names, and Amanda Dowdle says texting makes it feel like there’s a real person on the other end, which matters when you’re asking someone to give or attend.

Q: Can texting take the place of phone calls for event RSVPs?

At PC it did. Instead of calling alumni one by one to ask if they’re attending, the team sends a text, which saves time and gets better results.

Young diverse group of people using smartphones in front of large windows

TL;DR

On Giving Day, a text with a tracked link tells you exactly what moved donors, and at Presbyterian College it outperformed everything else. After a budget pause, PC’s small advancement team brought Mongoose back in 2023. One Giving Day text drew 465 clicks, 132 donors, and $27,751, and PC finished with 902 donors and $390,000, beating its donor goal by more than 150 after falling short the year before.

$27,751 from one Giving Day text
902 donors, 150+ over goal
$390,000 raised on Giving Day
Top-performing links all sent by text

Download the Full Case Study

Download

When budget cuts paused texting at Presbyterian College, Amanda Dowdle watched alumni engagement slip. She made the case to bring Mongoose back, and the next Giving Day showed why.

“We went a couple of years without texting at all, and we saw a dip in engagement. I fought hard to bring Mongoose back, and it’s made a huge difference.”

Amanda Dowdle, Director of Annual Campaigns and Development Officer, Presbyterian College

Presbyterian College (PC) is a private liberal arts college in South Carolina, rooted in community and tradition. Its advancement team reintroduced Mongoose Text in 2023, and engagement climbed, especially around Giving Day and alumni events.

What Happened to Giving Day Without Texting?

PC had used texting before and alumni liked it, but budget constraints paused the platform. The team fell back on email and phone calls. Outreach felt disjointed, responses were hard to track, alumni engagement declined, and Giving Day results slipped.

With a small team managing a large alumni network, PC needed something simple, personal, and trackable.

How PC Brought Text Back for Giving Day and Events

Mongoose gave the team shared inboxes, easy contact management, and responsive support, and it rolled texting out for event outreach, alumni engagement, and peer-to-peer giving days. Alumni now get timely updates, RSVP reminders, and personal thank-you messages on the channel they’re most likely to check.

“Texting with Mongoose makes it feel like there’s a real person on the other end. That’s important when you’re asking people to give or attend something.”

Amanda Dowdle

The Texts That Moved Donors

Giving Day: $27,751 From One Text

A single text with a custom link during PC’s April Giving Day drew 465 clicks, 132 donors, and $27,751 in gifts. A follow-up morning text raised another $15,000 from 57 donors.

“The past few years, we saw a dip in Giving Day performance. But this year, not only did we exceed our goal, we looked at what links were driving donations, and Mongoose texts were the top performers.”

Amanda Dowdle

Giving Tuesday: $6,470 From One Tracked Link

One text with a unique tracked link drove 278 clicks and 45 gifts totaling $6,470, outperforming most of PC’s email and phone outreach. For more ideas, see these tips to prepare for Giving Tuesday.

The Presidential Tour

To introduce PC’s new president to alumni in key regions, texts carried RSVP links, reminders, and post-event thank-yous, which raised turnout and strengthened relationships.

Giving Day Results

902 donors and $390,000 raised in the most recent Giving Day campaign.
More than 150 donors over goal, after falling short the year before.
Every top-performing campaign link was sent by text.
Better event attendance with coordinated texts and RSVP follow-ups.

“We used to call people one by one to ask if they were attending an event. Now we just send a text. It saves time and gets better results.”

Amanda Dowdle

What Other Advancement Teams Can Take From PC

Give every Giving Day text its own tracked link so you can see which message drove which gifts, then send the follow-up while momentum is high. Clicks and replies tell you more than opens do, which is why engagement signals matter more than open rates for giving days. And swap event phone calls for an RSVP text your team can track.

Other advancement teams have seen the same thing. The University of North Florida finished its Giving Day with 5,884 donors, more than 1,000 over its goal, St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute grew Day of Giving donors 75 percent, and Carnegie Mellon grew alumni responses 170 percent.

“It’s incredibly functional and easy to use. For a small team like ours, that matters.”

Amanda Dowdle

Looking Ahead

PC plans to bring Mongoose into more campaigns and day-to-day communication, with more automation, deeper segmentation, and new outreach to parents and other giving audiences.