What is 40 Hours for the Forty Acres?
40 Hours for the Forty Acres is The University of Texas at Austin’s annual 40 hour “day” of giving. During 40 for Forty, the UT community comes together to fundraise for and give back to the people, places and pursuits across campus that mean the most to them. In 2023, over 215 campus partners raised $6.4 million from over 11,000 gifts!
When is 40 for Forty?
The 40 for Forty campaign dates were April 10-11, 2024.
Who can participate in 40 for Forty?
Any college, school, department, program, organization or student group can participate in 40 for Forty, as long as they have a UT account to fundraise into. Non-sponsored and non-affiliated organizations and individuals can participate as well as long as they fundraise for, or on behalf of, a UT initiative with a UT account.
How do I sign up to participate in 40 for Forty?
The sign up deadline for the spring 2024 campaign was December 22, 2023 at 5 p.m. Central.
Filling out the sign up form does not guarantee your participation in 40 for Forty. We will contact anyone who submits a form who is ineligible to participate.
What’s on the sign up form?
The form has two different paths, depending on the type of campaign you want to run – CSU (college, school or unit), department/program or student organization. To see the questions for your form path outlined in a PDF document, click below (links will be updated soon)!
• CSU or Department & Program
• Student Organization
What will 40 for Forty participation entail?
If you participate in 40 Hours for the Forty Acres, you will be required to do the following:
- Fill out the sign up form, which includes submitting content for your fundraising page
- Attend trainings and meetings to prepare for 40 for Forty
- Create a communications plan, including social media content and ambassador communications
- Ask people to be ambassadors
- Ask people for donations
- Thank your donors
What are 40 for Forty Ambassadors?
40 for Forty ambassadors are people who will help amplify your message and fundraise on your behalf. Ambassadors can be anyone, from students, faculty and staff to alumni, advisory council members, parents or friends. Ambassadors should be actively engaged in your cause and willing to help you succeed. The more ambassadors you have, the more money you are likely to raise. Ambassadors are also a beneficial way to engage alumni, donors and organization members, strengthen those relationships and reach audiences you wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. We know that donors are more likely to make a gift when asked by a peer. Ambassadors will often have more success getting donations from individuals in their network than your institution or organization.
What is a match or challenge?
Gift matches or challenges are a great way to incentivize donors to give. They essentially take a donation you might have already received, or internal funds you can use for discretionary purposes, and leverage those funds to help donors feel like their donations are going further or helping unlock a larger gift. There are a few differences between matches and challenges.
Gift matches:
• Match donor’s gifts with restrictions you set (e.g. gifts up to $250 will be matched) until the matching amount is exhausted.
Gift challenges:
• Incentivize friendly competition or more donations through prizes or funds that can be “unlocked” once a milestone is hit (e.g. once X number of gifts are given, $X will be “unlocked”).
