A more effective form of outreach
Innovations in advanced analytics, engagement technology, and data-driven insights provide smarter and more efficient ways for university fundraising professionals to work. For example, going beyond simplified and ineffective qualification methods such as traditional wealth screening, successful major gift and planned giving shops will use customized, predictive models and deep data to help gift officers focus more time with donors who are ready to give. Similar to the way sales automation has dramatically shifted the way commercial sales and marketing professionals interact with their customers, applying these same concepts to university fundraising allows fundraisers to meet their full potential through smart segment modeling, predictive analytics, and real-time engagement. New strategies and the technologies that support them will help shift gift officers’ time away from manually executing activities like identification, discovery, and qualification, and wasting time chasing prospects that do not make gifts.
Another benefit is that the right data, targeting, and coordinated outreach–all happening before a gift-officer visit–allows key personalization insights gift officers need to make the best use of their time. Gift officers need to know as much as they can about potential donors before a visit and deeply understand their connection to the institution, network relationships, and philanthropic passions to form a truly donor-centric approach to securing a gift commitment. With better technology and support, this kind of information is produced for gift officers, making it easier to identify which prospects are the most likely to give and prioritizing who to visit.
As the higher education landscape changes, university fundraising practices must evolve in tandem. It’s critical that advancement leaders deploy their most valuable resource–their gift officers–in a more strategic and intentional way. By empowering their teams with smart systems that allow them to focus their time on visits with the right supporter, at the best time and with the right ask, they will see the desired outcomes for transformational giving that may be the difference between propelling an institution forward or letting it spiral into financial despair.
Caryn Stein is the vice president of marketing at Ruffalo Noel Levitz.
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