Western Carolina University uses multi-channel, person-to-person fundraising techniques to boost annual giving funds.

Western Carolina University’s Office of Development and Annual Giving
recognizes the impact of having a thoughtful, person-to-person donor
solicitation strategy. Prior to implementing Blackbaud Guided Fundraising,
the annual giving team relied on its legacy calling software and an outdated
model that was cumbersome for students, which prevented them from being
able to fully execute on their fundraising strategy.

Understanding the value of their phone program for university advancement,
Director of Annual Giving Jonathan Brooks championed fiercely to expand
the program. “For us, it was a no-brainer that Blackbaud Guided Fundraising
was the right solution to support our future campaigns,” he said.

Both the implementation and adoption of Blackbaud Guided Fundraising
were seamless, according to Brooks. “Students were really impressed with its
interface, and from an administrative perspective, it was an easy transition
with minimal challenges to overcome,” Brooks added.

Personalizing Fundraising Appeals

Upon refining their different strategies for audience and segment
preferences, the team established a benchmark that would enable
them to reach future campaign goals more effectively. “Our program is
designed with our students essentially acting as mini development officers
and managing portfolios, and it provides mentoring and professional
development opportunities,” Brooks explained. “Empowering students with
an experience that not only fosters a creative atmosphere but one that
supports their success has been equally exciting for them and us.”

Blackbaud Guided Fundraising is the primary tool used for the annual
giving team’s engagement efforts. In addition to fundraising, they use it for
prospecting for gift planning, alumni outreach, and event invitations, along
with contacting parents and other parent activities. “Our use of the solution
is highly diversified,” Brooks said. “Being able to target the right people at
the right time has helped us increase revenue by approximately 100% year
over year—and our donor capture rates through our phone program have
increased by about 20% year over year.”

Plus, with the right technology in place, Western Carolina’s annual giving
team can be agile when plans change unexpectedly. “Upon COVID-19, we
easily pivoted to student emergency check-in calls for our populations
who were highly at risk,” Brooks said. “We also suppressed our healthcare
contact lists to ensure they weren’t overburdened with messages and
solicitations while working on the front lines.”

Making Authentic Connections

With Blackbaud Guided Fundraising, the annual giving team can easily
share where donations are going and how they are supporting student
and academic success. “The students have an easier time interfacing with
people, and the reporting is a lot better,” Brooks said.

Students are also seeing great success in ongoing engagement through
text. Engaging donors via text is a new, unique benefit for the team. “We
have seen a lot of people who otherwise had never engaged with us,
either via email or phone, get in contact with us through text specifically
through the Blackbaud Guided Fundraising platform,” Brooks said. “In the
future, having students making more meaningful connections and being
empowered to operate like real alumni engagement and development
officers will drive positive impact on our annual giving program.”