Creator / originator

Optimus.

Summary / objectives

To give the school’s fundraising a boost using an innovative online tool that establishes a ‘friendly competition’ between the graduates.

Background

The Central School of Paris is expanding its facilities by building a new campus in Saclay just outside Paris, which should be completed by 2015. It is an ambitious project and the School needs to raise financial support from individuals.

Special characteristics

The School managed to contact alumni from between 1952 and 2010 and, together with Optimus, persuaded 11 of them to take part in a new initiativeto raise money for the new campus.

A dedicated website was created where alumni show their fundraising promotions. The 11 representatives brought everyone together and were trained to make the most of the online platform. Other elements were added to the site, such as the top five fundraisers and the best ‘graduation year’.

This was the first time a friendly graduates’ competition was used for fundraising purposes.

Influence / impact

The initiative was successful thanks to the positive dynamics between the graduates and their representatives. It was also reinforced by various fundraising emails, as well as follow-ups, personalised pages relating to the different promotions and speeches from the representatives which help make the appeal particularly engaging.

In addition, the ‘interpromos challenge 2010’ has become an essential event in the life of the alumni community and will be part of future promotions.

Results

The students’ representatives played a crucial role in this fundraising project and helped raise more than double the sum previously collected using offline activities.