Higher education institutions of all types and sizes rely on charitable gifts to fund many areas of college operations. Donations help support financial aid, for instance. Without the support of donations, fewer students would be able to pay for a college education, especially from underserved groups. Charitable gifts also fund research, teaching and other education-related line items, in addition to capital projects that include gifts to endowments, to property, buildings or equipment and other purposes.
Foundations and alumni provide more than half of all charitable gifts to colleges and universities, with non-alumni individuals, corporations and other organizations providing the remainder of the support, according to data from The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). In its Voluntary Support of Education study, 2020-2021, CASE found that there was a 6.9 percent in charitable giving to U.S. higher education institutions, up from $49.5 billion the previous year to $52.9 billion during that period.
Given the importance of charitable giving, higher education institutions devote plenty of time and money to woo donors and on outreach to encourage alumni to give to their alma mater. Schools need to maximize their ROI for any outreach they do. DonorSearch identified three ways to help colleges and universities optimize their fundraising strategies and get the most from their efforts.
1. Grow the online channel. Across industries, online donations are increasingly exponentially. Says Blackbaud Institute, online giving for nonprofit organizations grew nine percent year-on-year between 2019 and 2021, there was a 42 percent increase in online giving between 2018 and 2021. Across industries, fundraising from online giving accounts for approximately 12 percent of all donations.
Younger and more recent graduates are more likely to make an online donation than older alumni, and so the online channel will continue to grow. Colleges and universities must have a robust, mobile-optimized site so supporters can donate easily, as well as a social media presence and digital marketing plan to drive alumni to your website.
2. Cultivate alumni support. Alumni support is crucial to colleges and universities. To keep alumni engaged and reach more graduates, use a multi-channel marketing strategy to share information, and use tailored messaging for each platform. Focus on younger alumni to establish a relationship early. Host events to make more alumni connections. And use prospect research to identify wealth indicators to target your top major gift prospects. Collect donor data and use it to continuously improve your strategy.
3. Retain existing donors. Keeping your base of loyal donors can give you the best return on investment for your fundraising dollars and can help schools form a reliable donor base. Create a comprehensive strategy and understand donors and affinity, propensity and capacity to give by collecting data and using advanced tools to understand what the data says.
A solid donor retention strategy includes several elements. Create multiple touchpoints at various times of the year. Timing your outreach strategically can help you connect with alumni and encourage them to give. Personalize communications with individual alumni names and previous donation amounts. Segment donors for higher engagement, sending relevant emails to specific donor segments.