From the beginning stages of the fundraising cycle to stewardship, technology can help build relationships by granting immediate access to information and resources
Northwestern University officially announced We Will. The Campaign for Northwestern, a University-wide, multiyear effort that will support fundraising initiatives across campus – thanks to the help of technology.
To help meet our goals as a result of receiving resources provided by campaign gifts—uniting as a community, shaping the world, broadening the University’s base of annual support—Northwestern’s Alumni Relations and Development (ARD) team is leveraging technology specifically to enhance efficiency through the use of OnBase by Hyland, an enterprise content management (ECM) solution.
This solution will work as an archive for all files related to alumni and their giving. ARD is also implementing workflows to support one of the most critical components of fundraising: the gift acceptance process.
How technology can help ease fundraising processes
Track the donor cycle
Alumni Relations and Development places a high priority on relationships. Staff who interact with alumni and other constituents must have easy and immediate access to documentation detailing the development of these relationships. Preparation and access to information are essential for gift officers and support teams alike when raising funds to support the University’s mission.
Following are the typical stages of donor interaction and accompanying materials:
Identify
Often the first step in acquiring a new philanthropic gift is the process of identifying, through investigation, research, and analysis, the individuals and organizations that appear to be the most promising prospects. Materials collected during identification are archived in OnBase, along with the biographical and capacity summaries developed using those materials.
Cultivate
During cultivation, ARD staff engage and build the involvement of prospective donors in the University’s programs and mission. All correspondence that takes place during cultivation, including letters, memos, and hand-written notes exchanged between prospective donors and Northwestern, is archived.
(Next page: Soliciting, stewardship, and managing the gift acceptance process)
Solicit
Solicitation is the request to a prospective donor for a financial contribution. Materials archived during this phase include proposals and official gift agreements prepared for the prospect as well as documentation of any philanthropic gifts Northwestern receives.
Steward
Through stewardship, Northwestern demonstrates its gratitude for gifts received, its effective use of these funds, and its need for continued philanthropic support. This is accomplished by acknowledging gifts and showing their impact, recognizing donors, honoring donor intent, investing gifts prudently, and using funds effectively and efficiently to further the mission of the organization. ARD archives this ongoing donor correspondence as well.
Manage the gift acceptance process
At Northwestern, gifts of a particular dollar threshold require a legal document. This document, signed by the donor and the institution, records the parameters of how and when the donor will deliver their gift, and how Northwestern will use the funds in accordance with the donor’s wishes. It is a critical and high-profile part of the fundraising process.
Knowing that the Campaign would bring more requests for these gift documents, ARD wanted to use a technology solution that would enhance the effectiveness of these requests and automate the tracking process both to save staff time and increase transparency.
The digital workflow solution uses an electronic form to capture all necessary gift details, routes the document for review and approval by University officials, tracks the process history automatically, and provides easy and instant access to reporting for ARD leadership.
Additional opportunities
As the Campaign attains important milestones, ARD continues to look for ways to leverage existing technologies to streamline processes. Upcoming projects include:
- Using workflow to track Campaign meetings and events that involve briefing the highest levels of University leadership, with a goal of streamlining communications and archiving all briefing materials as part of the existing donor file.
- Scanning documentation for all gifts received and then working from those images to book the gift in ARD’s constituent database. This would shorten the time between gift receipt and the availability of gift documentation, enabling staff to acknowledge donors up to two days earlier.
Fundraising is critical to the success of colleges and universities. From the beginning stages of the fundraising cycle to stewardship, technology enables development staff to focus on building relationships by granting immediate access to information and resources. Streamlined processes free hours previously spent on administrative tasks, enabling staff to spend their time advancing Northwestern’s mission.
Kristin Lewis is Associate Director of Information Management and Alumni Relations and Development at Northwestern University.
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