Shelter Slumber Pawty with Cincinnati Animal CARE

 Shelter Slumber Pawty 2026 marked Cincinnati Animal CARE's first participation in a global peer-to-peer fundraising event that challenged supporters to spend a night inside the shelter alongside adoptable animals while raising critical funds for homeless pets. The overnight experience combined community engagement, storytelling, social media activation, and grassroots fundraising to generate support for the shelter's lifesaving programs.

As a key member of the campaign team, I led the creative and digital marketing execution of the event. My responsibilities included producing campaign assets, developing and overseeing the social media strategy, building and managing the organization's fundraising page on MightyCause, and supporting participant recruitment and donor outreach efforts. Throughout the campaign, I created engagement tools such as fundraising bingo cards, prize flyers, and promotional materials designed to motivate participants, encourage donor outreach, and sustain momentum leading up to and during the event.

During the overnight experience, I provided creative direction for content capture and managed the social media storytelling strategy, working closely with our Social Media Specialist to document participant experiences, highlight shelter animals, and maintain real-time engagement with supporters throughout the night.

The event exceeded its fundraising goal in its inaugural year, raising nearly $60,000 from hundreds of individual donors while introducing a new fundraising platform and peer-to-peer giving model to Cincinnati Animal CARE's supporter base.

Responsibilities

  • Campaign asset design and production

  • Social media strategy development and oversight

  • MightyCause fundraising page setup and management

  • Participant recruitment and donor outreach support

  • Creative direction for campaign storytelling

  • Event content planning and real-time content strategy

  • Oversight and collaboration with Social Media Specialist

  • Development of participant engagement materials, including fundraising bingo cards, prize flyers, and promotional assets

  • Cross-channel campaign promotion and supporter communications

Results

  • Raised $59,719 during the organization's first year participating in the event

  • Secured support from 892 unique donors

  • Surpassed the original fundraising goal of $50,000

  • Successfully launched Cincinnati Animal CARE's first Shelter Slumber Pawty campaign

  • Increased community engagement through peer-to-peer fundraising and real-time event storytelling

  • Created a scalable fundraising and content framework for future annual participation