Effective annual fundraising is critical for universities and other donation-driven institutions. Explore four easy tips to set your school up for success.
Adam Weinger
Updated:
April 1, 2026
Picture this: You’re the director of fundraising and development at a well-known higher education institution. You’ve recently had a ton of money coming in to support your larger-scale initiatives. A private grant-giving foundation is providing your team with the money required to open a high-tech computer lab, and a major donor is funding the building of a new wing at the school.
But what about your other day-to-day operations? You need funds to keep your institution above water, continue paying staff salaries, and invest in behind-the-scenes technology that allows your university to continue running smoothly. Oftentimes, major gifts and grant funding don’t cover those needs.
And that’s where your annual fundraising strategy comes in! In this guide, we’ll explore four powerful tips for boosting this particular type of fundraising. As you begin planning your upcoming campaign, be sure to:
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All sorts of mission-driven organizations rely on annual fundraising to help manage their in-between needs—and when it comes to university and other education-based institutions, your alumni are likely to be your biggest supporters!
Are you ready to uncover how you can position your school for the greatest annual fundraising success going into 2022? Let’s get started.
Fundraising organizations have learned a lot about effective fundraising strategies (and the way that they’re always changing) from the highs and lows of 2021. And before that, 2020. Going in 2022, reviewing efforts and results from previous years can give you a head start toward success.
To get started, take a look at where your fundraising flourished in the past year, as well as where you see room for improvement. If you notice that your efforts in the corporate giving arena could use some extra work, for example, consider prioritizing corporate fundraising in the upcoming year.
Here are some other key performance indicators (or KPIs) you might look at:
As you craft your newest annual fundraising strategy, make sure to prioritize the avenues that have historically been your most profitable while also giving extra care to channels that may be lagging behind.
A significant element of successful fundraising involves setting fundraising goals beforehand. Otherwise, how will you determine “success” in the first place?
You’ll want to choose lofty objectives that inspire donors and fundraisers alike while ensuring you don’t aim too high that it can seem unrealistic or like a “lost cause.” To find the perfect medium between the two, the best and most effective goals often follow the SMART framework.
As you craft your upcoming objectives, make sure they are:
Here’s an example of a SMART goal for an upcoming campaign - “To collect $10,000,000 in individual contributions to fund university operations by 12/31/2022.”
To contrast, a poorly crafted goal might look like this - “To raise a lot of money in the next few months.”
The former sample is much clearer and will ultimately result in greater success, while the latter is subjective and vague. When your annual fundraising objectives incorporate each element listed above, you can ensure your team is positioned for success.
The more fundraising strategies and tools develop, the more comprehensive your campaigns are expected to be. As a result, organizations are encouraged to integrate multiple channels to spread the word about their annual fundraising efforts far and wide.
The particular avenues you choose to leverage for your annual campaign can vary depending on your donors’ preferences and your team’s strong points. However, they will likely incorporate a combination of the following:
Several years ago, you may have been able to reach your goals solely through phone and in-person solicitation efforts. Now, it’s essential that you take a multichannel approach—both to meet donors where they already are and to stand out from other organizations seeking your audiences’ attention.
Did you know that more than 26 million people work for companies with corporate matching gift programs? It’s likely that many of these individuals are your alumni, donors, and other key supporters.
Before you can expect a solid flow of corporate matches coming in, however, you’ll need to enact specific matching gift marketing strategies to raise awareness of this powerful opportunity. Because although 26+ million individuals are eligible for company matches, more than 78% of this group is completely unaware.
To incorporate corporate matching gifts into your annual fundraising strategy, consider these best practices:
For you, matching gifts mean that your school has the potential to collect two donations for the cost of soliciting one. And for your donors, they get to know their contributions went twice as far.
You can’t do the big things (like your overall mission impact) without being able to fund the little things as well. An effective annual fundraising strategy allows your team to collect the dollars you need to bankroll every part of your school’s operations—from the most glamorous of tasks to the most mundane.
Luckily, integrating these best practices into your strategy will allow you to raise more funding for your institution and better situate your team for ongoing success. Good luck!
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Adam Weinger
As part of the higher education sector, your university likely depends on social campaigns like peer-to-peer fundraising and crowdfunding to fund its projects and initiatives. While these campaigns have the potential for a wide reach, they require effective promotion to maximize alumni support.
How can you retain alumni support long after they receive their diplomas? Let’s explore the top marketing practices your university should employ when planning your outreach strategy.
Your alumni may be eager to support your university, but many are unaware of the opportunities available to help them maximize their contributions—namely, matching gifts.
Matching gifts are a type of corporate social responsibility initiative wherein businesses match donations made by their employees. Double the Donation defines corporate social responsibility as “a company’s efforts to improve society” in a multitude of ways, from directly donating to supporting employee giving. Matching gifts combine both of these efforts and represent a major revenue opportunity for universities.
Identify match-eligible alumni by looking into your existing donor base. Specifically, take a look at your alumni and major donors who represent your largest match opportunities. Then, secure matching gifts from alumni by promoting the opportunity to match-eligible individuals through:
As you solicit matched gifts, maintain an open line of communication with major employers who offer matches. Periodically review their policies and ask them to notify you if any changes are made to their matching gift program. Both universities and donors should stay on top of employers’ match guidelines to avoid missing out on matching gift revenue.
Communication is the foundation of a successful fundraising campaign. While some approaches are more effective than others, the best results come from incorporating multiple channels—especially for larger donor bases.
There are two types of marketing your university can leverage, and each type has a plethora of channels you can use to spread the word about your campaigns:
Remember, communication is a two-way street. You won’t just want to send messages to alumni, but to stay in touch with them over time. Ensure that alumni and any volunteer fundraisers feel free to voice their feedback or concerns.
Effective communication is about more than just an open line of communication—it’s about powerful storytelling, too. Stories encourage alumni to form stronger connections with your university’s mission, students, and impact.
As part of your marketing approach, implement the following storytelling strategies into your content:
Storytelling and powerful imagery compel users to share content with their networks, so it’s crucial that you make your storytelling components shareable. For example, you might place a “Share” button next to the content on your alumni website that makes it easy for viewers to repost an article or video to their social media channels.
In all your digital marketing materials, make it easy for viewers to take action by directing them to your donation page. Make the most of clear calls to action, prominent buttons, and QR codes across all the channels you use. To ensure shareability, use an effective social campaigning platform and the right social media platforms.
Additionally, when alumni land on your fundraising page, they should be able to take action easily. Check to ensure your donation form can be quickly completed and doesn’t require any unnecessary steps. With a compelling marketing strategy and simple form, your university can seamlessly convert alumni into dedicated supporters.
Now that you know the best marketing practices, share this information with your fundraising team, and plan your best campaign yet! Then, as donations start to roll in, be sure to show your appreciation for donors’ support and continue to engage them by offering additional involvement opportunities. The more active your donors are in your university’s activities, the more likely they’ll be to continue their support.
Adam Weinger is the President of Double the Donation, the leading provider of tools to nonprofits to help them raise more money from corporate matching gift and volunteer grant programs.
Double the Donation's robust solution, 360MatchPro, provides nonprofits with automated tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts.
4 Marketing Strategies University Fundraisers Need to Know
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Last year, countless fields witnessed tremendous shifts in trend in the wake of a global pandemic. While most of them were not on the positive side, fields like Philanthropy thrived as more and more people donated to help others in need. Blackbaud’s Charitable Report tracks donations in the United States, amounting to over $40 Billion in charitable giving; needless to say, it stands as one of the most reliable sources on fundraising trends.
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Fundraising trends are imperative to understand what is working with donors and what’s not. Online Giving Trends, in particular, are undeniably crucial for advancement professionals, owing to the digital shift of 2020. So what are some online trends from FY 2020 that are here to stay, and how do they affect your fundraising and engagement strategies? Let’s find out.
Online Giving continued to bloom with a 21% year-on-year growth in FY 2020. This number stands as a 32% increase over the last three years. It comes as no surprise, owing to the digital shift of 2020 during the pandemic. What is remarkable is the fact that donors are growing more comfortable with the online medium. Now that things are easing back to normal, online engagement still stands as a pivotal gear in alumni engagement strategies - virtual events, clubs, and reunions will continue to play a massive role in engaging alumni.
Many experts in the advancement field believe that the digital shift of 2020 will have a significant impact on the industry for years to come - Advancement Offices have realized the power of online engagement to motivate donors. From acting as fillers between the major in-person fundraising events planned for the year to engaging international and young alumni who would otherwise stay severed from their alma mater, virtual solicitations & online giving campaigns will undoubtedly lead the way.
The takeaway: Online Giving will continue to grow in years to come, thanks to online engagement that is thriving and helping offices connect with alumni far and wide. Aligning your alumni engagement strategies to these numbers are a must - having a robust online engagement plan, and an active online presence are sure to pay off.
Numbers show that 28% of online donations were made through mobile devices in FY 2020. This growth is not sudden, but surely steady - since 2014, Mobile Giving has grown more than 3X and will only continue to increase. Donors are now using their mobile phones to make donations more readily than ever. The growth in Mobile Giving further substantiates the shift to online platforms in 2020.
The takeaway: Overcoming the barrier of accessibility, Mobile Giving is unfolding to be a major source of donations. Institutions should maintain websites that are not only mobile-friendly but also support frictionless mobile donations. Regularly test your platform to ensure that the user experience is seamless for your donors. If your institution doesn’t already support gifts via mobile device, it’s high time you look into adding it as a medium for donation.
Online Donor Retention measures how well your institution is connected to your donors - whether or not your engagement strategies are facilitating continuous support from your donors. These numbers are essential to track in order to benchmark the growth of various giving channels. In FY 2020, 25% of the first-year, online-only donors were retained, whereas, for multi-year, online-only donors, the retention stood at 66%.
The takeaway: Online engagement is certainly gaining momentum, leading to high Online Donor Retention. Blackbaud also infers in the report that Sustainer Programs have helped achieve these numbers. Sustainer Programs provide more control to the donors with gradual bite-size increments on their donations. They keep your alumni engaged from the very beginning - turning small gifts into bigger ones over the years without losing your donors. Look into how you create these programs at your institution and reap the benefits of the same.
Alumni Engagement Metrics (AEM) are beginning to be a vital part of engagement strategies. AEM reflect how connected your alumni are with the institution across four modes - Philanthropic, Volunteer, Experiential, and Communications. These metrics provide a more structured view of many less tangible aspects of your fundraising and engagement strategies, paving the way for a more efficient version of them. Many institutions are reaping the benefits of using AEM and Benchmarking to obtain better results and generate more long-term donors.
The takeaway: If you are on the fence about how to start using Alumni Engagement Metrics and Benchmarking, Blackbaud offers four tips to help you kick-off:
Fundraising trends can help you understand the orientation of your donors and strategize your campaigns accordingly. The digital platform has equipped Advancement Offices with many tools that will continue to shape the industry in the coming years. Giving trends reflect the growth of the entire industry - contrast them against the numbers at your institution, and you have a more tangible view of many elements of your strategy. If you are looking to improve your engagement and fundraising strategies, understanding fundraising trends are certainly a way to get a head start.
What can you learn about fundraising in 2021 from Blackbaud’s Charitable Report?
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Kalyan Varma
July 19, 2021
12 minutes
As another year approaches its end and the holiday spirit hangs high in the air, how prepared are you to leverage this holiday season to double the impact of your donations?
Gift matching programs are a great way to drive revenue for your institution - they allow your donors to increase their donation amounts through employer benefits instead of their own wallets. Despite this, there is an estimated $4 to $7 billion in matching gifts that go unclaimed each year. Academic institutions could really benefit from that cash - so why aren’t they taking advantage of it?
Well, many organizations and donors alike are not very familiar with matching gift programs. In fact, 78% of match eligible donors don’t know anything about their gift matching programs. That means they are certainly not taking the extra step of submitting matching gift requests. So the most important thing to know about gift matching is that not enough donors know about gift matching programs.
Once you know that it is an awareness gap and not a motivation gap that stands in the way of matching gift revenue, it becomes easier to educate your donors and encourage them to drive their matching gift requests to completion.
This holiday season, leverage these 3 matching gift strategies to fuel your institution's fundraising efforts and upgrade your alumni programming.
As mentioned above, the main reason that your organization does not reach its potential in matching gifts is because donors are not aware that they are eligible for gift matching programs. As a nonprofit organization, it is your job to educate these donors because it can result in a lot of extra cash for your mission.
One of the best places to educate your donors is on your donation confirmation screen. Many matching gift requests are time sensitive, so it is important to educate your donors quickly, and the easiest way to do that is, of course, directly after their donation has been made.
Educating your donors on the confirmation screen also allows you to target them while they are still in the giving mindset. The donor obviously feels connected and committed to your organization, so they will welcome additional ways to increase their initial contribution.
To do this, simply add a couple of sentences about gift matching on your confirmation page. You can even use tools like 360MatchPro by Double the Donation to allow donors to search for the name of their employer and then read more about their own specific gift matching program.
By placing matching gift information directly onto your confirmation pages, you can target donors quickly and efficiently while they are still feeling connected to your organization. This increases the chances that they will learn more about employer gift matching and then pursue a matching gift request.
After your donor learns more about gift matching, you still want to ensure that they take action and submit their matching gift request. That is why our next must-know strategy also involves direct donor communication. This time, however, it entails using automated emails to follow up with donors after the donation process.
Email messages are a great way to provide additional gift matching information that might not fit on your confirmation page. It also provides a second chance for your donor to submit their gift matching request. There are many automated email stream options that allow you to send matching gift emails to donors after the donation process.
If you use gift matching software like 360MatchPro, you can even automate these messages to contain gift matching information that is specific to your donor’s employer.
These messages contain specific guidelines based on the information that your donor entered on the confirmation page.This can include employer match amounts, eligibility and a link to submit a gift matching request. This makes it easy for the donor to learn more about gift matching and take the final step of driving their gift to completion.
Automated emails that contain general matching gift information are especially important because even if your donor did not enter their employer into the gift matching tool you’re using, they might still be eligible for a matching gift. They might have simply neglected to read the confirmation page or they did not think that matching gift programs applied to them, which could be based on the awareness gap that we discussed before.
Most nonprofits choose to customize this email so that it matches their brand’s unique voice. Automated email outreach is a lucrative strategy that encourages donors to complete gift matching requests. It is a great way to further educate donors and help them secure extra funding for your organization.
The gift matching process produces valuable insights about your donors. This can include where they work, their matching gift eligibility and their response to automated outreach. It is important to keep track of this data so that you can better develop your ongoing fundraising strategies.
That is why the final need-to-know strategy involves tracking donor insights. By tracking the information that is produced from matching gift strategies, you can tailor future outreach and ensure that you are creating an effective matching gift approach.
360MatchPro can actually track all of these insights for you using its automated technology. While you could manually record all of this data, the 360MatchPro dashboard stores it for you in one, easy-to-navigate space.
Using this information, you could thank your donors for their matching gift request, or you could automate follow up emails to donors who did not open your first message. For example, if you have a donor named Jenny from the Home Depot who submits a matching gift request, you could wait to receive the gift, then send Jenny a personalized message that thanks her for her request and explains how it helped your organization. You could then track Jenny’s future contribution habits to see how this positively affected her donor behavior. Keeping track of this information is vital to maintaining a lucrative gift matching strategy.
The fundraising strategies don’t stop there! While you just learned about the most important matching gift strategies for the year-end holiday season, there are certainly more tools to explore. For example, if you are interested in learning more about which companies have the best matching gift programs, check out this page. This list details the most impressive matching gift programs, and it can help you target the most profitable matching gift employees.
You can also check out Double the Donation’s educational blog to discover more matching gift resources. Happy fundraising!
Adam Weinger is the President of Double the Donation, the leading provider of matching gift tools to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. Adam created Double the Donation in order to help nonprofits increase their annual revenue through corporate matching gift and volunteer grant programs.
Everything You Need to Know About Matching Gifts to Fuel Your Fundraising Efforts This Holiday Season
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