Graphic Design
Digital Marketing
UCSB Give Day
UC Santa Barbara
$88K Increase
Donations vs last year's
23.94% Increase
In donor participation
Role
Lead Graphic Designer
Team
Director of Communication
Senior Managing Director
Photographer
Deliverables
Social Media Assets
Canva Templates
Email Newsletter
Overview
I was tasked with designing the digital assets for UCSB Give Day 2026. Give Day is a 36-hour digital fundraising event celebrating the UC Santa Barbara journey, rallying support for the university while uniting the community near and far. This event champions UCSB's beauty, academic excellence, and high-impact research. My role was to bring that spirit to life visually across every digital touchpoint, from email inboxes to social media feeds.
Approach
With Give Day being an entirely digital event, consistency and reach were everything. I worked closely with the Director of Development Communications to align on creative direction, messaging, and timeline; ensuring every asset felt cohesive and on-brand from the first email to the final social post.
A key focus of this project was building an Ambassador Toolkit: a set of ready-to-use digital assets for UCSB ambassadors to share across their personal social media channels. The goal was to empower our community to spread the word with the hashtag #UCSBGiveDay and drive engagement across Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Design System
One of my most impactful contributions this year was developing a full design system for the Give Day event. By building templatized components in a structured system, I created a scalable foundation that will make designing for future Give Days faster and more consistent. This included type styles, color palettes, layout grids, and reusable asset templates across multiple formats and channels.
Email Newsletter/Landing Page
Email was one of the primary channels for driving awareness and donations leading up to and during Give Day. I designed a series of newsletters that guided donors through the full campaign journey — from save-the-date announcements to live event updates and final-hour countdowns. Each email was crafted with a clear visual hierarchy and on-brand imagery to capture attention in a crowded inbox. I worked closely with the Director of Development Communications to ensure the messaging and design were aligned at every send.
The Give Day landing page served as the central hub for everything — the first place donors, ambassadors, and community members would land to learn about the event, find their giving area, and take action. Using ScaleFunder, I designed the page with a bold, celebratory feel that reflected the energy of UCSB's Give Day while keeping the user experience simple and conversion-focused. From the hero imagery down to the fund listings, every design decision was made to guide the visitor toward one goal. The page also incorporated event details, social sharing prompts, and the #UCSBGiveDay hashtag to encourage community participation beyond just donating.
Social Media
This was the heartbeat of Give Day's community engagement strategy. I designed a full suite of posts across multiple platforms including Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Each was tailored to the format, audience, and tone of that channel. The content spanned the full arc of the campaign: pre-event hype posts, day-of countdown graphics, donor milestone celebrations, and post-event thank-you cards. I also designed assets specifically for the Ambassador Toolkit, giving UCSB's network of ambassadors plug-and-play content they could share directly from their own accounts to amplify reach and bring more donors into the fold.
Outcome
The effort paid off. Give Day 2026 raised $6,750,544 — an increase of $88,854 over the prior year, representing a 1.33% increase in funds raised. Even more exciting, donor participation surged with 4,601 donors joining the campaign, up from 3,712 in 2025 — a 23.94% growth in community participation. More people than ever chose to invest in UC Santa Barbara!