The Division of University Advancement at Colorado State University recently brought home six awards for its work to engage donors and alumni to support CSU.
The team received four honors from the Telly Awards, an annual international showcase that recognizes excellence in video and television across all screens, and two from the 2021 CASE Circle of Excellence Awards, which honors members for advancing their institutions through innovative, inspiring and creative ideas.
“I’m exceptionally proud of the work our team does every day to engage alumni and donors, connecting them with their passions at CSU,” said Kim Tobin, vice president for University Advancement. “This type of recognition is meaningful because it celebrates the spirit of collaboration and creativity that thrives within UA.”
From the Tellys, the team received two Gold awards in the “Branded Content” category – one for the 2021 Day of Giving video, a component of CSU’s spring annual giving campaign, and one for the STATED: State Your Purpose Campaign Close video, which celebrated the successful end of CSU’s historic $1 billion fundraising campaign. UA also received a Silver award in the “Use of Music” category for the 2020 Seasonal Thank You message from President McConnell and a Bronze award for the With You, We Will video aimed at inspiring donors to continue giving to CSU in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the 2021 Circle of Excellence Awards, the team received a Silver award in the “Online Special Events” category for the State Your Purpose: Campaign Close program and a Bronze award for the Giving Tuesday 2020 campaign video in the “Fundraising (Giving Days), Video” category.
“With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the traditional methods we use to connect with donors and alumni were sidelined indefinitely,” said Matthew Helmer, assistant vice president and chief communications officer for University Advancement. “Fortunately, our talented team quickly reimagined ways we could continue sharing inspirational stories of how giving makes a difference at CSU. I’m grateful for those efforts, and it means a lot for our team to be recognized among our peers.”
University Advancement honors
Telly Awards
- 2021 Day of Giving video – Gold Telly Award in Branded Content: Videography/Cinematography
- STATED: State Your Purpose Campaign Close video (2020) – Gold Telly Award in Branded Content: Not-for-Profit
- Thank You from President McConnell video (2020 seasonal message) – Silver Telly Award in Branded Content: Use of Music
- With You, We Will video (2020) – Bronze Telly Award in Branded Content: Commercials
2021 CASE Circle of Excellence Awards
- STATED: Campaign Close – Silver Award, Online Special Events
- Giving Tuesday 2020 Campaign – Bronze Award, Fundraising (Giving Days) Video
Other awards
Other CSU units have recently received honors as well.
Ron Bend and Ben Ward, video producers from the Social and Digital Media team, received a Communicator Award for the 2020 Retrospective video that looked back on the pandemic, forest fires, social unrest and other issues that made it such an unprecedented year at Colorado State University. The video documented how, amidst the uncertainty, the campus community remained stalwart, blazing new trails in research, scholarship and social justice — embodying what it means to be a CSU Ram.
In addition, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences recently received a Telly Award for a video series produced by the college’s social and digital media manager, Chase Baker.
The latest round of honors comes on the heels of CSU winning 12 CASE awards for its communications work earlier this year.
