Ready to raise more for your university? Fundraising for higher education requires some careful finesse and innovating strategizing. In this article, we'll share nine university fundraising best practices that are easy to enact and can help you raise even more for your school.
With reduced levels of public funding and increased competition, universities around the world must work harder than ever to come up with the resources to support research and teaching.
In addition to that, university fundraising can be very challenging. Not everyone perceives universities as ‘causes’ – the way they do other nonprofit organizations. This is especially the case in countries where universities are traditionally funded by the government.
This makes it very difficult for fundraisers to communicate to the public the importance and purpose of universities, as well as the wider positive impact they have on society.
Higher education institutions greatly benefit from diversifying their income sources. These additional funds can help extend and strengthen the university’s research programs or improve the learning environment so all students can prosper.
In this article, we’ll share our top nine best practices for university fundraising to help you bring in those crucial funds.
Communication is the key to everything, and university fundraising is no exception. If the only time you communicate with your donors is to ask for donations, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to build stronger donor relationships.
Your donors should be kept apprised of all of your activities through regular communications. Consider adding the following content to your outreach:
And more. University fundraising is about more than just making the ask! Keeping your communication strong all around will make donors feel included in your institution’s activities – and more likely to give when you do ask.
Universities that have been the most successful in fundraising are those that have been able to build and sustain thriving communities. Foster a collaborative culture by making sure students, staff, and alumni have plenty of opportunities to work together on projects and initiatives. Take some time to come up with unique traditions that students will remember for years (like game songs or dances).
Creating a sense of community also relies on creating a sense of common purpose. Encourage students to get involved in volunteer groups and clubs.
When reaching out to alumni, take the time to understand their needs and wants, and think about how you can help each other. For example, an alumni networking event can go a long way to build a sense of community with your alumni – while also cultivating them as donors.
Instead of simply soliciting donations for your university’s advancement and growth, present your potential donors with a couple of specific projects or campaigns to choose from.
Donors often feel more motivated to give when they can understand exactly how their donation will help your university. For example, giving to a capital campaign for a new building has more concrete results than your annual fund. Plus, these kinds of specific initiatives often have a clear goal in mind – meaning donors can see how their gift will make a difference toward meeting that goal.
Check out how the University of the People lets donors direct their donations to different funds, as shown below. Donorbox makes it easy to add designations right on your donation form so donors can select what areas they want their gift to support.
Naturally, there are also benefits to unrestricted giving. Unrestricted giving enables your university to address its most pressing needs, whenever and wherever they arise. It’s likely that offering both options to donors is the most effective approach, but only you will know what works well for your university’s unique circumstances.
Donors are tech-savvy these days – and they also don’t have time to waste. It’s crucial that your donation form provides quick and easy ways to give with many options to meet all of your donors’ preferences.
Here are some of the giving options you should consider adding to your donation form:
Donorbox UltraSwift™ Pay makes your donation process a breeze. Donors can choose from different digital wallet options such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, and PayPal as well as other payment methods like credit cards, bank transfers, and direct debit. Giving with a digital wallet allows donors to skip adding in their contact information, which makes the Donorbox form checkout process 4x faster than others!
Plus, the Donorbox + Giving Block integration makes it easy for donors to give stock and crypto, which can bring in larger gifts for your university.
Every donor, regardless of the size of their gift, should be well-stewarded – meaning your university should maintain a strong relationship with them to encourage repeating their gift. Good stewardship creates a positive experience for the donor, who is then likely to stay on, give again, and give more.
Naturally, how the donor is stewarded will depend very much on the capacity of your university. If your university has thousands (or even tens of thousands of donors) – you’re doing a great job – but it’s also close to impossible for one or few people to personally steward all of them.
Although every donor should be stewarded, the stewardship should be proportionate to the size of the gift and the donor’s expectations. Major donors usually expect a personal relationship, invitations to events or maybe even a mention in your annual report. It’s crucial to familiarize yourself with the expectations of your major donors during the solicitation phase.
There are many things you can do to effectively steward your donors: efficiently process their donations, thank them in a timely manner, publicly recognize them, invite them to events, send them progress updates, send them photos and videos, share stories of impact, and more.
Let’s face it: there is a lot of information on your website. Academic programs, application instructions, general university information…it’s easy for your fundraising to get lost. That’s why it’s crucial to make your donate button stand out.
Your donate button should be boldly colored, in a prominent location, and “sticky”– meaning it stays in the same place as someone navigates your site, meaning your donation form is always just a click away.
We love how The American University of Rome has made its donate button one of the first things you see on its homepage. The color stands out boldly against the other colors on the page. Plus, the whole menu bar scrolls with you as you navigate the page, keeping donating at the top of your mind. Once you click the button, you’re directed to their donation page featuring their Donorbox donation form.
Donorbox’s Sticky Donate Button is another great and easy way to make your donate button stand out. Choose to anchor it to the left or right of your screen, where it will stay put as someone browses your website. Plus, it employs a subtle animation to draw donors’ attention.
However you do it, making your donate button easy to find is a crucial university fundraising best practice.
To raise more funds, universities need to demonstrate the impact of their programs and initiatives. Today’s donors are increasingly interested in knowing where exactly their money goes. They want to see the positive impact of their donations – and understand the effectiveness of your university.
To respond to this need, make sure your giving page(s) showcase multiple stories of impact. Share infographics to present data in an interesting way. Naturally, to be able to do this, you need to evaluate your programs and measure your impact. Here’s a blog post that can help you measure impact.
You can also showcase impact on your donation form! Add concise impact details under each suggested donation amount on your donation form. This demonstrates the value of each giving amount and encourages donors to give more.
Check out how this organization added the impact of each donation amount for their programming with the University of Georgia.
A donation form that matches your university’s brand can boost donor trust and bring in 38% larger gifts. This is because it has the look and feel of your university, reminding new donors and alumni donors alike that your donation page is connected to your university.
For example, check out how Edward Waters University chose colors that match their branding for their donation form. These colors make their form pop!
Create a Customized Donation Form
Donorbox offers many ways to customize your donation form, including changing the colors, button corner roundness, and call-to-action text, as well as adding images to further demonstrate your impact.
If you’re still relying on cash for your in-person donations, you’re missing out – big time. People simply aren’t carrying cash anymore. And although they may want to support your university, if they don’t have cash they won’t give.
Donation kiosks are the perfect solution for university fundraising because they allow donors to give with credit cards, smartphones, and smartwatches – which they almost always have on them.
The Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app turns your card reader and tablet into a powerful donation kiosk. It allows you to collect donor information like name and email, making it easy to connect with your donors in the long term.
Higher education is a worthy cause – but university fundraising isn’t always easy. Donorbox helps colleges and universities from all over the world raise more to fund their important programming and initiatives.
From our state-of-the-art donation forms to creative fundraising tools like peer-to-peer and crowdfunding, we have the flexibility you need to try new avenues to raise more. Plus, innovative tools like Donorbox Events and Donorbox Live™ Kiosk can help you diversify your income, resulting in a healthier fundraising strategy.
Check out all of our features and sign up today!
University fundraising has always been a major effort. However, the nature of fundraising for higher education institutions has changed worldwide. Gone are the days of relying solely on large endowments and significant, regular gifts from major donors. Now, we understand the importance of our lower-stakes donors, who come together to make a real impact on our colleges and universities.
We hope these nine best practices have inspired you to revamp your fundraising strategy. We have tons of fundraising tips and how-to guides on our Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the best of the blog in your inbox every month.
Ilma Ibrisevic is a content creator and nonprofit writer. She’s passionate about meaningful work, sustainability, and social movements. If she’s not working, she’s obsessing over coffee or cooking. You can connect with her on Linkedin.
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Ilma Ibrisevic