Cal Day is a longtime Berkeley tradition that has served as the campus’s annual open house, welcoming over 40,000 prospective students, alumni, the surrounding community and fans of the university to UC Berkeley. This year, the event was dedicated solely towards admitted students and their families to see what UC Berkeley has to offer from academics to the feel of the campus community.
Executive Director of Visitor and Parent Services La Dawn Duvall has been coordinating Cal Day for the past 20 years. Duvall explained the importance of this campus event as “the one day for Cal to throw open its doors, showcase its excellence and invite audiences to get to know our campus.”
Duvall also noted that many prospective students have never stepped on to the Berkeley campus before, with this past weekend serving as their first impression of the university. Cal Day was modified previously to accommodate a remote year and a hybrid year due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, this year’s event, Cal Day 2023, was special because the event made a return to being “100 percent, in-person, indoors and outdoors.”
“We were back using the full campus,” said Duvall. “We had indoor presentations and lectures, as well as outdoor events. It was a big deal for us.”
Hosting large-scale events like Cal Day requires a lot of planning, coordination across campus and funding to make the programming possible. “Expenses, as you might imagine, go up every year,” said Duvall. “I don’t have a budget that increases every year to align with increasing costs and how expensive things can get, so sponsorship is really important.”
UBPS Partner Relationship Manager Anissa Hagedorn explained that Cal Day sponsorship was an option that has only been offered within the last four to five years. Previously, entities outside of campus were not allowed to participate in Cal Day. However, after considering how these relationships can help add to the experience of attendees, the idea was re-evaluated. Additionally, Hagedorn shared that other UC peer institutions, including Davis, San Diego and UCLA, host similar open house events and have had success working with sponsors.
“One of our campus partners, Bank of the West, asked if they could be a part of the event one year, so we reached out to La Dawn and coordinated the opportunity,” said Hagedorn. “Then other businesses reached out to La Dawn and she requested our guidance. They started as one-off requests until the timing aligned with other factors, and we realized that we needed to offer this as an option.”
Hagedorn also noted the benefit to sponsors, since they would get the chance to “build their brand and strengthen their relationships” with UC Berkeley, the campus and the surrounding community.
With Cal Day 2023 back in full force, there was an even greater opportunity for campus sponsors to connect with the campus community. One goal was finding sponsors who fall within the theme of the event, while also adding to the overall experience for potential students and their parents.
Previous sponsors have enhanced the Cal Day experience by offsetting event costs for the university while providing special benefits to event attendees. United Airlines, which was a sponsor at last year’s event, offered preferred flight pricing for students and their families, while also giving away prizes at their booth. Established University Partnership Program partners like Peet’s Coffee and Bank of the West have been attendees at multiple Cal Day events to educate potential new students on the services and programs they currently support on campus, including Peet’s Coffee for a Cause rebate and Bank of the West’s Bank at School program.
Hagedorn shared that Partnership Services is available to help all campus departments, organizations and groups who are looking to develop or broaden their sponsorship engagement, and encouraged campus departments to take advantage of similar opportunities to work with partners and sponsors. For groups that host events on campus, Hagedorn advised that it’s important to identify your target audience and to frame the opportunity in a way that may benefit all parties involved.
“One tip I would give groups is to be prepared,” shared Hagedorn. “Understand how you want the collaboration to work, and know what you can provide and how you are willing to highlight a sponsor. If you don’t know how to start, our department can guide you through it.”
Looking forward, Duvall is excited to continue working with Partnership Services to support the festivities at Cal Day and shared that the relationship is one that she has come to appreciate. As event costs continue to increase, the financial support that sponsorships bring is even more valuable, and she hopes to continue to offer the same caliber of event for future attendees.
“I would hate to lose any aspect of what we have already done,” said Duvall. “Prospective students expect a world-class event from a world-class university, and we want to continue to create an event that is as great as it has always been.”
Partnership Services, a subunit within UBPS, provides complimentary consultation and guidance to UC Berkeley departments, organizations and groups looking to develop or broaden sponsorship engagement opportunities. Learn more by visiting the Partnership Services website