A Dialog With West Virginia College Basis’s Kristen Shipp
Particular thanks: It’s a privilege to assist West Virginia College (WVU) Basis’s annual giving outreach and large tent Giving Day Initiative. For nearly 10 years, the WVU Day of Giving has relied on digital-giving-online-giving/giving-days/”>the ScaleFunder platform to energy its marketing campaign, resulting in record-breaking success and an enormous optimistic influence all through the WVU group. The Basis has additionally used the RNL360 report to ascertain a place to begin for the strategic planning, hyperlink their wide-reaching fundraising efforts to main donations, and determine actions that may be applied straight away to spice up the efficiency of their annual giving program.
Our work within the development and nonprofit area feels fairly unsettled nowadays. There’s no scarcity of uncertainty and every day headlines that usually add to the confusion and concern. Navigating the distractions is tough and might be exhausting.
What helps reduce by means of the noise and retains us targeted on the work at hand? Our reply is knowledge. Particularly, our RNL360 analytics report has confirmed to be a useful useful resource. Possibly it’s unusual to consider knowledge as a pal, however it may be a supply of consolation, creating a little bit calm and offering readability and steerage as we do our greatest to ship for the folks and communities we serve.
We developed the RNL360 for example historic and present giving tendencies. The report highlights metrics you’d count on, together with donor retention, consistency, path to main giving, and behaviors by technology. It affords necessary context for leaders and stakeholders, particularly these new to or outdoors the development area. Insights from the evaluation assist form our work with shopper companions. Whether or not it’s improvement of the fiscal yr plan, segmentation, revisiting ask arrays or figuring out precedence donors for greater contact outreach. The “readout” additionally brings colleagues from throughout campus collectively for a greater understanding of the overall fundraising panorama and related, institution-specific tendencies.
Concentrate on what’s actionable
At a time when sources are stretched and the stakes are excessive, RNL360 is used to tell each strategic planning and sensible execution—it’s designed to supply particular takeaways and determine donors who needs to be prioritized.
We simply wrapped up a report with our companions at West Virginia University Foundation (WVUF). We discovered rather a lot, and requested Kristen Shipp, the Basis’s government director of annual giving, to weigh in and share her priceless perspective.
Success in bringing (and preserving) new donors on board
WVUF’s rely of 1,745 new alumni donors final fiscal yr was nicely forward of the benchmark group and the Basis additionally obtained first-time items from a formidable rely of greater than 5,000 household and buddies.
Q: As you consider acquisition, what’s working for you? What are the campaigns or messages that truly convert?
Kristen Shipp: WVU Day of Giving has been one of many key drivers in buying new donors. Every taking part group is very engaged on social media and takes full benefit of the challenges to encourage alumni and buddies to provide. One other efficient technique is peer-to-peer fundraising, which permits people to advertise particular initiatives inside their very own networks, making a extra private and highly effective connection to the trigger.
Q: How are you approaching stewardship with new donors?
KS: Our donor engagement workforce leads first-time donor stewardship by sending personalised messages by means of ThankView. This has been an efficient stewardship technique that has helped us strengthen donor retention. Total charges have improved since our final RNL360, and retention amongst new alumni donors is up greater than ten factors.
Median items on the rise
We all know that whereas youthful generations are philanthropic, and lots of have capability to increase items, most are directing their philanthropy elsewhere—giving to different causes and charities. WVUF has elevated median reward quantities throughout all generations.
Q: Are there one or two methods you’ve discovered profitable in driving motion with reward quantities? Any which are particularly efficient with youthful generations?
KS: Whereas the realm of best want will all the time stay a precedence, we additionally try to supply alternatives all year long for alumni and donors to provide to areas that align with their private pursuits. By way of our latest alumni survey, fielded by RNL, we discovered that many are significantly eager about supporting psychological well being providers, the scholar emergency fund, and initiatives that help first-generation college students. These priorities are featured in WVU Day of Giving, and we additionally leverage crowdfunding and peer-to-peer fundraising to boost consciousness and assist for these necessary areas.
Sensible, real-world software
New donors = No reward historical past or no giving within the final decade.
Q: Are you able to share a few particular methods that you’re utilizing the RNL360 outputs? Is the info useful throughout groups and departments?
KS: By way of RNL360, we discovered that in FY25, 44% of our particular person donors have been alumni. This reinforces the significance of creating audience-focused methods for our annual giving campaigns to make sure our messaging resonates with each alumni and non-alumni donors. One other useful perception was the variety of new alumni donors—solely 30% have been graduates from the final decade. This highlights the necessity to higher join latest graduates with causes they’re obsessed with and to interact them by means of the communication channels they like.
Retaining the religion and focus
Q: Circling again to the unsettling occasions…you’ve skilled a whole lot of change at WVU and the Basis. What helps you cut back the noise and keep targeted? Something professionally or personally that helps hold you optimistic and motivated?
KS: There have been many adjustments at WVU and the WVU Basis, however with change comes new alternative. I really feel extremely lucky to be increasing the Annual Giving workforce by welcoming new workers members. It’s thrilling to construct a workforce that shares the identical imaginative and prescient, drive, and fervour—and to have enjoyable collectively alongside the way in which. I prefer to hold issues mild and fascinating, so at any time when the second permits, you’ll most likely catch me sharing a humorous film quote or GIF with my teammates.
Prepared to extend engagement along with your donors?
Reach out to us today, and we’ll arrange a time to debate your greatest fundraising methods. Our strategists can focus on methods to optimize your fundraising methods with the best knowledge, how one can have a terrific Giving Day, and far more.
Or watch our webinar, Starting at the Source: A Look into Data-Driven Paths to Donor Growth, the place we dive into extra element on insights we’ve discovered from an evaluation of greater than six million cohort data.
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