This week was tiring for me because I realized that there were a lot of last minute changes and additions needed to be made for my professional philanthropy organization, Aggies Helping Aggies. Since I am the event planner and manager as the Development committee chair, I played a big role in ensuring that everything was going smoothly.
Here are some of the things I realized while I planned for these big events:
1: It is a Team Effort, Hence Why Positive Reinforcement is Important
Without being encouraging and providing a reward, students may feel a lack of enthusiasm to get involved in organizations requiring community service. It’s already difficult enough with part-time jobs, difficult classes, and maintaining relationships with other people you care about. Trust me, I have been there. I felt really exhausted when I realized that there was a lot more planning to do. However, I think opening up about needing more assistance for tabling really helped.
For instance, I had asked other members of my organization to sign up for more shifts with positive/encouraging language, as well as asking if my tabling scripts were concise and easy to understand. I also made sure to check-in with my staff advisor and see if the tabling shifts were distributed fairly to ensure that people are doing a similar amount of work. I offered words of encouragement and my staff advisor also agreed to treat students to Yoloberry. I think because of this, students are feeling a lot more excited than before. We are also offering a monetary community service award to one student every quarter that has shown the most effort and commitment in getting involved in our organization.
Also, the staff advisor allowed my friends and I to use their spare room they had available to study for finals with a lot of snacks. The best part was when she hugged us! I think that even if these may seem like little things, it is the little things that truly matter. This is what motivates people to feel good about themselves and just as hard as before.
Source: https://giving.ucdavis.edu/ways-to-give/student-foundation
2: Don’t Feel Bad About Taking on Less Shifts
Since I mainly focused on the event management aspect, I really wanted to stay to do tabling the entire time. Some members of my organization were still kind of confused about how to explain the purpose of the events, the Grad Fair event, Chancellor’s Challenge event, and Give Day. Since the Grad Fair is a total of 4+ hours, including set-up and clean-up, I realized how much work was required. I realized that I could not do tabling for the Chancellor’s Challenge event because I was behind on my classes after getting sick the previous week.
I felt guilty, considering how if I was there, it would be easier to help the members that were stuck on how to explain our tabling concept. Since this year’s concept of the Senior Class Challenge is new, it took some time for me to understand what we were doing. I realized that it is not wrong to set limits on what I can do, especially since schoolwork is a student’s priority. Since I am also volunteering for Give Day on Saturday as well, I realized how burnt out I would feel. This is why students should not be afraid to say “No” to some things.
3: When Discouraged, Think About Your Organization’s Purpose and Impact
I felt discouraged because the last time I did tabling, there were setbacks. No students came by to our table, unlike other times. This was because A) it was an extremely windy day, and B) It was the Friday before finals. These factors are important when thinking about tabling. I did not want to fully cancel tabling and just give up, hence why instead, I thought about the impact that my organization has made all year. Thanks to our efforts to fundraise for the SERA award, we were able to help students with financial emergencies. Without my organization’s help, it would have been hard for students to pay for medical bills, rent, food, etc.
This was why even if events did not have as much traffic and we did not meet our fundraising goal, I still had hope. I thought about how the 2.4k dollars that we raised would still go to students, which would change their lives. I never imagined that we would even earn this much, considering how there are many other crowdfunding campaigns besides SERA. It is also best to reach out to the alumni that care about the purpose and impact that they can make on the student population. The last time I reached out to an alumni/faculty member through cold calling, she agreed to donate a sizable amount. I felt really grateful, considering how it was also a last minute call before the campaign closed.
Source: https://giving.ucdavis.edu/ways-to-give/student-foundation
Student Foundation Intro Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5-PJ-dv7pE&t=52s