£230,132 in 36 Hours: A Highgate School Giving Day Story
Highgate School's fifth annual Giving Day raised a record £230,132 from 355 donors over 36 hours in June 2026, up 17% on the previous year, powered by a £111,500 match pot, 16 donor challenges and a 12-email segmented campaign with a 55% average open rate.
“Working with the Hubbub team was a genuinely positive experience from start to finish. They made what can seem like a complex process incredibly seamless, always making themselves available to answer our questions, provide guidance, and offer reassurance whenever we needed it. Their expertise and insight helped us shape our Giving Day so that it was right for our community and our goals. Beyond their technical support, they were a valued sounding board throughout the planning and delivery of the campaign. They took the time to understand our objectives, shared best practice from other institutions, and helped us develop ideas that worked for us. The comprehensive post-campaign review was particularly valuable. Not only did it provide clear recommendations for future improvements, but it also highlighted the many successes worth celebrating.”
Highgate School Development Office The challenge
Highgate School has run an annual Giving Day for five consecutive years in support of the Highgate Bursary Programme and its partner school, the London Academy of Excellence Tottenham (LAET). That track record is an asset, but it brings its own challenge: keeping a mature, repeat event feeling fresh for a community that has already been asked to give four times before, while continuing to grow income year on year.
Donor numbers had softened slightly over the previous two years, from 405 donors in 2024 to 366 in 2025, though income held broadly steady. Highgate wanted its 2026 Giving Day not just to maintain momentum, but to set a new income record, re-engage lapsed and less-active segments such as former parents and OCs, and continue to fund two causes that matter deeply to the school community: bursary places and LAET.
The approach
Hubbub partnered with Highgate to deliver its fifth Giving Day, a two-day, 36-hour online fundraising event on 16 to 17 June 2026, with a “Coming Soon” launch on 19 May to build momentum and generate interest ahead of the day.
What Hubbub delivered:
- Delivery of Highgate’s fifth consecutive Giving Day, from the “Coming Soon” launch on 19 May through to the live event on 16 to 17 June
- Strategic advice to maximise the challenge funding, leading to 16 donor challenges that combined early-bird and donor-milestone challenges, five House challenges, and cross-school challenges spanning Highgate and LAET, including run, readathon, music marathon and academic challenges
- Support to secure a £111,500 match-funding pot to encourage giving and unlock additional funds for the Bursary Programme and LAET
- Advice and guidance on a 12-email segmented campaign sent across the four-week run-up and both live days, with tailored messaging for current and former parents, staff, OCs and other supporters
- A digital donor wall and interactive world donor map for social proof, alongside heartwarming donor messages used to encourage further giving
The results
Highgate’s 2026 Giving Day raised £230,132 from 355 donors, including challenges and match funding, the highest total in the event’s five-year history, up from £196,879 in 2025 and £176,895 in 2024.
- £230,132 raised in total, a new record and an increase of 17% on 2025’s £196,879
- 353 of the 355 donors gave online, at an average gift of £199 and a median gift of £100
- 14 of 16 fundraising challenges completed, unlocking match funds throughout both days
- 43% of home page visitors converted to a gift, more than double the 20% sector benchmark, and 74% of visitors to the giving page went on to donate
- 70% of donors chose to appear on the public donor wall, with 27% leaving a personal message
Current parents remained the backbone of the campaign at 234 donors, with 67 gifts from OCs, 24 from other supporters, 17 from staff, 10 from former parents and 6 from former staff. Former parents and OCs stand out as a clear opportunity for deeper engagement in future campaigns.
Why it worked
Five years in, Highgate’s Giving Day has a well-tuned formula, and 2026 leaned into it. Even with fewer donors than in 2024 or 2025, the school raised more money than ever before, a sign that the campaign is deepening relationships with existing supporters and lifting average gift size, not just chasing donor volume. £100 remained the most common online gift, in line with the platform’s default suggested amount, while a meaningful share of donors gave £250 and above.
The email programme carried real weight: 94,717 emails sent across 12 drops generated a 55.52% average open rate, well ahead of the 35% best-practice benchmark. Unsubscribes stayed at just 0.14%, showing a community that remains warm and engaged after five years of asking. The 16-challenge structure, spanning house pride, milestones and cross-school participation with LAET, gave donors many different reasons and moments to give, and the donor wall and world map turned that giving into visible, shareable community proof.
What is next
Highgate’s sixth Giving Day is already planned for 2027, and the review points to a clear set of priorities to build on this year’s record result: stronger stewardship for new and lapsed donors, a review of donors giving £250 or more to feed a major donor pipeline, and a small, targeted telephone appeal to personally re-engage repeat donors and convert them to regular monthly giving. The review also flags OC overseas engagement, the one challenge not completed in 2026, as an area to revisit, alongside starting planning for 2027 earlier to allow for best-practice campaign timelines.
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