With integrated technology, advancement team
sees advantages that are ‘way over the top’

With a history dating back to 1878, Western University currently has 40,000
enrolled students and an extensive network of 325,000 graduates living not
only in the Ontario region and across Canada, but also around the world.
Since 2007, the University Advancement division at Western University has
relied on the robust technology tools of Blackbaud Luminate Online for
fundraising and marketing campaign automation. And in spring of 2019, the division adopted Blackbaud CRM to bolster its extensive database,
which also serves as the institutional source of truth for historical
alumni records.

This powerful combination of integrated cloud-based solutions supported
the division as they stayed connected with alumni through virtual
channels during the first two years of COVID-19 and exceeded their annual
fundraising goals. “I’m a believer in Blackbaud,” said Drew Martin, director of
technology services for University Advancement. “They have the products
that help our institution succeed.”

Now, Blackbaud solutions are bolstering the division as fundraisers engage
in the early stages of the most ambitious fundraising campaign in Western’s
history. “Our Blackbaud systems are ready.” Martin said.

A High-Capacity Digital Marketing Solution

Martin sums up the primary advantages of Blackbaud Luminate Online for
University Advancement at Western in two words: volume and reach.
Before adopting Blackbaud’s solutions, the division didn’t have any outreach
for alumni on the Internet, but Martin and his team saw the need, and selected
Luminate Online with an eye for capacity and innovation. Adopting new
software platforms require change management, but Martin said the effort
has been worth it, with advantages that have “exceeded our expectations.”
The division also achieves volumes through Luminate Online that are “quite
large,” he explained. “We send about 8 million emails in a given year. We hold
about 300 events through Blackbaud Luminate Online. And our transactions
flow through Luminate Online to Blackbaud CRM.”

While it wasn’t an original focus, the division has increasingly looked to
Luminate Online to power events. Participation in Western University’s virtual
homecoming in 2021 far exceeded expectations, with staff tailoring emails and
other content for groups based on age, faculties, majors, and other interests.
“The segmentation we can do in Luminate Online is quite robust,” Martin said.

Working Together in Sync, with Flexible Solutions

The division initially hired two web developers who specialize in Luminate
Online and have eventually added another. Compared to other content
management systems used at the university, the developers feel Luminate
Online is easy to work with, robust, and allows for greater creativity. “They’ve
worked some wonders with it,” Martin said.

Moreover, the division’s web development team has created templates that
colleagues—both in the division and in faculty fundraising teams—can plug
content into easily. “Blackbaud CRM and Luminate Online have allowed us
to decentralize the knowledge and the use of the system,” Martin said. That
has enabled staff and faculty fundraising teams to solve many questions and
issues on their own, without having to ask Technology Services for help.

With the move to Blackbaud CRM, the division now has a holistic fundraising
and relationship management system—one that enables more than just gift
management. Because it syncs with Luminate Online, which easily captures
contact information changes as constituents register for events or make new
donations, those updates essentially flow overnight into the database. That
growing database is substantial as it holds all alumni and donor records for
the university for a total of more than 650,000 records.

Responsive Customer Support

While many employees come to the division with experience working with
Blackbaud products, those who don’t “can pick it up really quickly,” Martin
said. Training modules have been completed that increase the adoption of
the product.

“Blackbaud customer support is just great. We find it very responsive,” Martin
said, explaning another reason he feels confident as the division works
toward greater goals in alumni engagement and annual fundraising.

“Overall, we needed a foundation—a set of systems—to eliminate any hurdles
for our fundraising and engagement efforts. We wanted state-of-the-art,
proven technology, which we found in Luminate Online and Blackbaud CRM,”
Martin said. “Blackbaud is only one piece of the puzzle but a very large piece
on our path to raising $100 million annually.”