University shifts to “brand new way of thinking”
with analytics-driven fundraising.

The University of Delaware was established in 1743 with three signers of the
Declaration of Independence among its earliest graduates. State-assisted yet
privately governed, the university has grown to an enrollment of more than
23,000 and now receives state funding, but only enough to cover 11% of the
university’s annual operating expenditures.

As the university strives to create new opportunities for innovative
student programs and academic research, two members of the Division
of Development and Alumni Relations spearheaded changes to make
fundraising decisions guided by a shared understanding of data analytics,
clear objectives, and consistent benchmarking. Once key elements of the new approach with Blackbaud Fundraiser Performance Management
were in place, the year-over-year results showed clear impact:

• 247% increase in the number of qualified prospects
• 24% increase in proposals of $25,000+ submitted by
fundraisers to prospects
• 46% increase in successfully closed/granted proposals of $25,000+
• 22% increase in donors
• 43% increase in dollars

Making Data Accessible to the Entire Team

Kate Long, the division’s associate vice president and chief of staff, arrived
at University of Delaware knowing the power of Blackbaud Fundraiser
Performance Management from her work at another university. She helped
create a new position at UD—director of donor insights—and welcomed
Katharine Wiseman to fill the role, which has included overseeing the
adoption of Blackbaud Fundraiser Performance Management at the university.
“This is a brand-new way of thinking for folks here at University of Delaware,”
Wiseman explained as she and Long sat down to discuss the transformation.
“It’s taking what used to only live with the division’s reporting team and
providing everyone with that same access. It’s really infusing the idea of
analytics and the idea of being purposeful in our activity across the division.”
“We talked about how this was going to democratize data within the division,”
Long added. “Data had been hidden before. Not intentionally, but it wasn’t
accessible. You had to request it through reports.”

Long explained that the division, which is staffed by 100 or so employees and
encompasses most of the university’s fundraising, has faced challenges similar
to those faced by other institutions: Decisions were often based on anecdotal
information intuition, without meaningful data insights to guide them, and
when teams did consult data, they didn’t necessarily compare the same data
sets in the same ways, making it difficult to assess what was working well
across the organization.

Now, with Blackbaud Fundraiser Performance Management, the division has a
common framework to report and compare data, with easy-to-use viewports
and mobile tools that help keep track of contacts, proposals, and prospect
information. The solution also promotes consistent benchmarking among
colleagues, which provides an apples-to-apples perspective and matches up
with many other higher education institutions. These changes give every team
member the opportunity to perform at their highest potential as they help the
division and the University of Delaware achieve their overall goals.

Making Change Meaningful and Fun

Members of the division also meet regularly with a dedicated strategic consultant for Blackbaud Fundraiser Performance Management who makes the data even more meaningful. “One of the great things about our consultant is the partnership and expertise she brings in talking through our quarterly and annual reports as a part of the Fundraiser Performance Management experience,” Wiseman said.

During quarterly reports, their Blackbaud consultant focuses on the University
of Delaware’s progress in fundraising while identifying top-level trends with the
benefit of custom predictive models that drive consensus and smart decision
making. With an annual report, the consultant helps the division look outward
with peer benchmarking that helps the team draw insights based on how their
performance compares to 200 or so of other colleges and universities.

“We can get a sense of how everyone else is doing in this space and ask ‘Do we
have the opportunity to do it differently? Are we leading somewhere, or should
we rethink why we do a thing if other schools aren’t doing it that way?’” Wiseman said.

Their Blackbaud consultant is also at the ready to assist with specific issues,
Wiseman said, for example, researching the success of virtual college visits at
other universities during the pandemic. Long agreed. “What I really enjoy and appreciate about our Blackbaud consultant is that she’s up for anything, and she appreciates the uniqueness of the University of Delaware.” Knowing that they were introducing a new way of work to the division, Long and Wiseman teamed up with their Blackbaud consultant early in planning a day-long learning event with their colleagues. “We called it Blackbaudpalooza,” Long said, “and we made it fun.”

Using Analytics to Shift Mindsets, Stir Curiosity

With Blackbaud Fundraiser Performance Management, fundraisers have a system that enables them to easily create a contact report for each prospect on the front end and update the status using an outcomes field with a customizable dropdown menu—UD has 18 options. Nearly all fundraisers now use the field, which provides valuable data and allows staff to be more deliberate and efficient in “how we’re reaching out, and who we’re reaching out to.”

During the early pandemic restrictions, the division took the time to refocus
efforts on growing a major gift pipeline supported by the entire division, where
everyone is considered a fundraiser, and qualifications are being done at scale.

With information gained largely through Blackbaud Fundraiser Performance
Management, the division created a set of eight new segments that tie prospects with the greatest wealth, opportunity, and inclination to donate with key university priorities. “That would have been impossible without the scoring that we get from Fundraiser Performance Management and the way it allows us to look at that information,” Long said.

Successful in their efforts to democratize data, Long and Wiseman have also
shifted mindsets and stirred curiosity through analytics. “Every program is
assessing why they do what they do by using this data in real time,” Wiseman
said. “Fundamentally, that has been such an empowering part of Fundraiser
Performance Management.”