Leading Higher Ed Institutions Achieve Record-Setting Campaign Success with Blackbaud CRM™

Colleges and universities around the country have generated trillions of dollars through capital campaigns to fund scholarships, research, program expansions and other critical strategic initiatives that help advance their missions. Blackbaud has a long history of supporting these comprehensive fundraising campaigns and today, we proudly partner with 93% of institutions that have billion-dollar campaigns.

We continue to see more and more record-setting campaigns with institutions exceeding their goals far ahead of schedule. Many of them, including Boston University, University of Georgia and University of Central Florida, are using Blackbaud CRM ™ to strengthen supporter engagement, boost fundraising outcomes and expand campus-wide collaboration, enabling impressive campaign success.

Boston University Trusts Blackbaud CRM to Power its First Comprehensive Fundraising Campaign

In 2012, Boston University (BU) launched its fundraising campaign, The Campaign for Boston University, with a $1 billion goal for financial aid, faculty support, expanded research and facility improvements. The final tally, announced at the campaign’s end on September 21, 2019, was $1.85 billion.

Understanding the importance of having modern technology to support this major initiative, BU knew the legacy infrastructure powering its development efforts needed a major upgrade. The team chose Blackbaud CRM and within months of being live, it was clear they had made the right investment. The solution delivered a consistent, reliable foundation for their data needs and provided the flexibility to support their growing advancement initiatives.

“The Campaign for Boston University was the primary driver for selecting Blackbaud CRM,” said Stephen Witkowski, senior associate vice president of development. “By having an accurate view of constituents’ records, our fundraisers were able to make data-driven segmentation decisions and confidently solicit support from donors most likely to give.”

University of Georgia Exceeds Campaign Goals Ahead of Schedule with Blackbaud CRM

The University of Georgia (UGA) kicked off its Commit to Georgia Campaign in 2015 with the goal of raising $1.2 billion to support scholarships, enhance the learning environment and solve grand challenges through research and public service. Having a solid community of loyal Bulldogs, it’s no surprise UGA surpassed its campaign goals early and is still receiving strong support as the campaign’s conclusion approaches.

Since going live on Blackbaud CRM in 2014, UGA continues to demonstrate success in leveraging technology to focus fundraising efforts, drive campus-wide collaboration and cultivate relationships to boost support.

“With so many multidimensional relationships to manage, we rely on our CRM solution to provide a 360-degree view of those relationships to keep supporters informed, engaged and connected to the institution,” said Greg Harmelink, senior director of advancement services. “Blackbaud solutions enable us to work smarter and more efficiently and contributed to our reaching the campaign goal 16 months ahead of schedule. Ultimately, we rely on this technology to help us in our pursuit to improve lives, communities and habitats around Georgia and the world.”

University of Central Florida Selects Blackbaud CRM to Scale Growing Campaign Needs

In October 2019, the University of Central Florida (UCF) celebrated its most ambitious and successful fundraising campaign – IGNITE: The Campaign for UCF – in the university’s 51-year history. The IGNITE campaign raised over $531 million for student success, faculty endowments, athletic excellence and more within eight years.

After the IGNITE campaign launched in 2011, executive leaders enlisted industry advisors to develop a strategy that would ensure campaign success. As part of this strategic initiative, UCF adopted Blackbaud CRM to support its growing fundraising needs, build stronger constituent relationships and scale its complex reporting needs.

“The Blackbaud CRM implementation coincided with UCF’s increased interest in a data-driven approach,” said Rachel Schaefer, associate vice president and chief operating officer. “As a result of the work completed by the UCF team, advancement capitalized upon new reporting techniques and tools and data enrichment activities to propel the campaign forward.”

Institutions that equip their advancement teams with the right technology that enables data-driven decision making and empowers users are better positioned to cultivate lifelong relationships with donors while achieving their record-setting campaign goals. Visit www.blackbaud.com/highered to learn how Blackbaud’s solutions for higher education can help you ensure a thriving institution today and in the future.