Raising an Impact: The shifting landscape of fundraising

University fundraising campaigns are nothing new, but in recent years, many schools have had to shift their approach to better suit an ever-changing landscape. With a more considered focus on impact-centered fundraising, community engagement, and the importance of alumni involvement within younger generations, recent fundraising campaigns tend to focus on much more than simply the number of dollars raised.

 

Leveraging Impact

Today’s generation of donors tend to prefer more grassroots, direct fundraising that can showcase proof of impact fairly immediately. As a result, universities have to keep tabs on donor interests and preferences, and better align their campaigns with the outcomes that matter most to their communities. Because community engagement is key, these messages need to feel personalized and inspiring so that donors feel that they are a part of something bigger than themselves, and that their contributions are making a tangible difference. Younger alumni are often thinking-student first, which means that their campaign participation is rooted in proof that their contributions are directly benefiting students and their experiences.

 

Gathering Campaign Building Blocks

Before developing a fundraising campaign, there are a few things you need to consider to help determine the best approach to implementing your campaign. First, auditing key values across all university units, most importantly those most closely aligned with advancement initiatives, will ensure that the campaign’s messaging and brand remains consistent. In addition to streamlining your messaging, you’ll need to review the university’s overall fundraising and institutional goals, and compare those to the goals and priorities of your constituents and consider how these can come together to elicit a strong response from the donor community.

Because fundraising priorities can change so rapidly, it is also important to consider how your campaign priorities may have shifted in recent years, and how current and future economic outlooks can influence the campaign. It could be that your campaign is better suited for a multi-year push, or given the priorities, could yield successful results from a more focused micro-campaign.

 

Leading with Connection

Now that you have outlined a series of goals for your fundraising campaign, you can begin to develop an overarching campaign concept that connects the campaign’s key values to your university’s core mission. This concept should provide a foundational theme for your campaign, while helping to build a more emotional connection with potential donors. From here, you can help guide campaign messaging with a concept-driven messaging ladder, and a campus-wide process for developing and reviewing messaging materials. This will make sure campaign messaging feels earnest, is goal-oriented, and remains consistent across all units.

Because connection is so essential to a campaign’s strength, one on one donor impact is a wildly effective way to bridge these relationships. Through tangible, inspirational messaging, schools can provide true examples of how funding positively impacts their campus and help create a more personal connection and emotional narrative.

Fundraising campaigns are crucial for universities to secure funding for ongoing growth and initiatives. In order to find success, these campaigns have to be strategic and focused, with outcomes that are guided by community interests. Conducting an audit of key values, streamlining messaging, and highlighting stories that speak to the ideal outcomes are key ways universities can ensure a successful fundraising campaign. By following recent trends, and aligning their fundraising strategies universities can build strong relationships with donors and ensure that they continue to make an impact on the lives of their students.