Eighty-one percent of college fundraisers are either in a campaign now or are about to start one, according to a new survey.
The results from the report by Ruffalo Noel Levitz, a fundraising consulting company, echo those of other recent studies that show a “perpetual campaign” atmosphere prevailing at colleges and universities of all sizes. The goals of such drives are rising, with $1 billion now the median goal for campaigns at doctoral institutions, according the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
A strong economy, the generational wealth transfer, and institutions’ ever-increasing need for more revenue are driving the trend, the Ruffalo Noel Levitz researchers report, based on their analysis of findings from 600 fundraisers at public and private institutions of all sizes.
But the never-ending campaign cycle runs the risk of creating donor fatigue, says Josh Robertson, Ruffalo’s vice president for product strategy.
“The thing that becomes concerning is, ‘Which prospects are we going to go back to?’ " he says. “Are institutions building a pipeline of enough major-donor prospects that can fuel this consistent wave of capital campaigns?”
The fundraisers surveyed online in December had spent an average of 10 years in fundraising and had worked on an average of two campaigns thus far in their careers.
More Money for Now
Fundraisers in the study said that campaigns are increasingly likely to seek contributions for their institutions to put to use right away in addition to donations for endowments or facilities. Sixty-four percent of fundraisers said a push for current-use gifts was part of previous campaigns they worked on; 79 percent expect it to be a goal of future drives.
Eighty-three percent said increasing annual giving will probably be part of future campaigns; 64 percent said it was a component of previous ones.
Some high-profile institutions, such as the University of Southern California, have extended their campaigns when they reach goals earlier than expected. But on average, fundraisers in the Ruffalo Noel Levitz study preferred that campaigns last no more than five years. Only 1 percent of fundraisers said future campaigns should be longer.
Wanted: More Training
Just over half of all fundraisers surveyed said colleges did not spend enough time training people who cultivate big gifts and other frontline donor-engagement staff members.
Robertson thinks this need for more guidance points to an emerging trend: More colleges and universities are hiring outside organizations to provide fundraiser training.
Among other findings in the latest study:
- Sixty-five percent of fundraisers said their current or last campaign did not spend enough time or resources on creating a multichannel donor-engagement plan. Nearly as many fundraisers also said the campaign didn’t spend enough time helping people on campus understand the drive’s priorities.
- Forty-four percent said they didn’t spend enough time thanking donors during their current or previous campaign. Fifty-nine percent said stewardship needed more attention.
- In future campaigns, 68 percent of fundraisers said they would like to see more effort made to engage younger donors.
- Forty-four percent would like to see more “microcampaigns” aimed at raising money for specific projects or for certain parts of an institution.
Tips for Future Campaigns
Fundraisers in the survey said institutions should increase spending on advancement by an average of 65 percent during a full campaign year. In the future, Robertson suggests, college advancement departments will need to invest more in specialized expertise than they do now.
“I think you’ll start to see a desire and willingness for institutions to invest in different types of positions, to keep their frontline fundraisers on the front lines talking to donors,” he says, “not back at the office doing administrative or nonrevenue-producing work.”
A 2017 Ruffalo Noel Levitz study suggested that major-gifts fundraisers are often dissatisfied with the quality of their prospective donors. The new report recommends more emphasis on predictive analytics, which uses data about previous giving behavior to forecast future donations. Such an approach would evaluate not just prospective donors’ wealth but also their readiness to give.
“Having a layer between the [frontline fundraiser] and the qualification or discovery officer is going to be much more common,” Robertson says.
The report offered three other recommendations for fundraisers and institutions that embark on campaigns:
- Report on the impact of campaign gifts — not just where the money went but what difference it made. “It’s not about the building, it’s about what happens inside that building and how it’s impacting the community, the state, the country, the world,” Robertson says. “I think we’re seeing more institutions use that in their marketing,”
- Personalize outreach to donors on multiple channels. Monitor donors’ engagement with the institution and use that data to send them content that aligns with their interests, “just like they experience in the commercial world,” the report says.
For example, Robertson says, “donor surveys have largely been anonymous in the past. But we see that as morphing into a way to gain insights into individual constituents and what their level of interest might be in specific parts of your campaign.”
- Find new ways to reach and energize donors. Digital advertising, giving days, and crowdfunding can help build a new donor pool, the report says.
“If there is a big focus around scholarships, you might see more crowdfunding campaigns around scholarships,” Robertson says. “It’s good to reinforce the message. But also, you may identify people who have a strong affinity for scholarships. And you might find new major-gifts prospects who had never previously given to a campaign.”