Life before Almabase

• No way to split a gift. Donors needed a separate transaction per fund, limiting multi-fund giving entirely
• Large staff teams required to manage gift processing manually. Even a record 6,385 gifts in 2025 stretched the team
• Post-event reports took weeks to compile. Donor stewardship and leadership updates were delayed every year
• No dynamic donor experience, no rotating imagery, no fund-level storytelling. A functional page but not an inspiring one

"We needed a platform that could handle the complexity of 276 funds without adding complexity for our donors or our team."

For twelve years, Elon University ran their annual Day of Giving on in-house infrastructure. The platform worked, but donors who wanted to support multiple causes had no choice but to complete a separate transaction for every fund. Multiple charges, multiple emails, a giving experience that felt more like admin than generosity. Meanwhile, the advancement team needed large day-of staffing to manage gift processing, and post-event reporting consumed weeks before leadership updates and donor stewardship could begin.

John H. Barnhill, Associate Vice President of University Advancement, needed a partner that could simplify the donor experience while reducing the operational burden on his team.

"The platform's intuitive fund organization ensured that we captured donor intent accurately"

After switching to Almabase, Elon delivered their most ambitious Elon Day yet. Donors split one gift across as many funds as they wanted in a single seamless checkout, for the first time in 12 years. The result: 6,214 gifts flowing to 276 campus funds on a single day, with $3.6M raised overall. Dynamic rotating thank-you images delighted donors at every confirmation, and DAFPay giving was re-enabled via Chariot to capture major donor intent.

"This is not just data accuracy, but intent. To have it set up so that their intentions were accurately met is great." - Jessica Stevens, Assistant Director of Advancement Services

Gift officers got real-time visibility, reports came a week early

Gift officers across every school and college filtered down to their specific funds and confirmed donor activity independently. No bottlenecks, no calls to the central team. Athletics used unique payment links per sport, letting coaches and student-athletes drive contributions directly to their programmes. The team set up hourly donor list exports so relationship managers could send personalised thank-yous on the same day gifts came in.

Behind the 6K+ gifts was a complex mix of channels: online donations, payroll deductions, cash, checks, pledges, and Venmo. Almabase's gift ID logic ensured nothing was counted twice, and a 1:N counting toggle let a single gift count toward multiple fund goals simultaneously across all 276 supported funds.

With final reports delivered a full week earlier than ever before, the reclaimed time went straight back into relationships with 6,214 donors. Personalised follow-ups, early major gift stewardship, and a faster handoff to leadership after a $3.6M day.

"You guys are so responsive. I know you've heard me, even if you can't help me right away. At least I know you heard me. That's important." - Sara McCall, Sr. Director of Advancement Services

Key results

• $3.6M raised on Elon Day 2026, a 15% jump from $3.1M the year before
• 6,214 gifts received across 276 campus funds in a single day
• 18% increase in average gift size, from $488 to $577
• 1st vendor-managed Giving Day in Elon's 13-year history
• 1 full week faster on final post-day reports than any prior year
• Zero duplicate gifts processed across all channels

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