Big problems need bold ideas.

Building on the success and momentum of the Boldy Buffalo campaign, we joined UB Advancement in efforts to help propel them toward their $650M fundraising campaign goal. As the flagship SUNY institution, UB has been known to continually raise the standard. Beginning with the largest fundraising goal wasn't enough for the Bulls. After reaching their goal in 2020 they decided to press on announcing in the Spring of 2021 that they would be the first to reach $1 Billion. A bold goal for a bold university.

Every multi-year fundraising campaign realizes donor fatigue. At UB this was no different, but realizing this trend the internal team at UB understood a fresh approach to content would be key to renewed engagement and driving new donor support.

UB raised the expectations of their higher ed peers for fundraising, so we knew a similar strategy was needed for their supporting content. Following the path of streaming clients outside higher education we exchanged the annual model with a seasonal version providing us the opportunity to develop content for four categories each year. This fresh content cycle keeps the UB audience engaged while not over extending the already allocated budget. With season one complete our task was set continue to build the momentum.

During season two we decided to tackle two very divergent topics. The first is one of the most important topics of our generation: school bullying and violence. Showcasing the prolific partnership of Dr. Jean Alberti and the city of Buffalo to put an end to childhood bullying throughout western New York. In compliment, our second topic was experiential learning embracing UB's commitment to educating extending outside of the classroom.

Building on the momentum of season two, we expanded our approach by expressing the impact UB was making through Sustainability, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Arts and Culture, and Health. Four completely different gifts and four amazing stories. Each story was told through a variety of mediums from film, interviews, explainers, infographics, and writing. Over 85 pieces of content all said were created to bring this season to life.

University at Buffalo continues to blow through expectations. First planting a flag in the largest fundraising goal amongst SUNY's at $650. Then raising that goal to $1B. Since we've been engaged with this new content plan UB has seen it's largest fundraising year to date and including meeting their donor engagement rate by the third quarter of 2020. Bold challenges for a bold university indeed.