1 / 18

Advancement’s State of the Union

Advancement’s State of the Union. A Look at Fundraising and Engagement Trends for 2019. Advancement Forum. Mindshare Challenges Grow. Academic Partnerships Prove Elusive. Immune to the Noise. Constituents Tune Out High-Volume, Sophisticated Communications.

kamali
Download Presentation

Advancement’s State of the Union

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Advancement’s State of the Union A Look at Fundraising and Engagement Trends for 2019 Advancement Forum

  2. Mindshare Challenges Grow Academic Partnerships Prove Elusive

  3. Immune to the Noise Constituents Tune Out High-Volume, Sophisticated Communications Shift #2: Overloaded Attention Spans Sources: Jason Wyatt Pro, “10 Marketing Trends to act on in 2018,” Become a Master Marketer, 2018.; "2018 Nonprofit Benchmarks!," M+R Benchmarks, 2018, https://mrbenchmarks.com/.; “2010 Nonprofit Benchmarks!,” M+R Benchmarks, 2010, https://mrbenchmarks.com/. Marketing Activity Across Sectors… …Makes Audiences Less Responsive Nonprofits Ramp Up Volume Fundraising Email Clickthrough Rate 57% Increase in nonprofit emails per person, 2007-2017 40% decline Commercial Marketing Innovates “What marketing activity will have the largest commercial impact for you in 2018?” Fundraising Email Response Rate Journey mapping Machine learning 50% decline Digital retargeting Marketing automation Artificial intelligence Big data

  4. A Problem We Don’t Want to Acknowledge: “Declining event attendance is something that everyone is aware of but is reticent to talk about. That’s because attendance serves as a proxy for engagement at a lot of schools. To say you have fewer event attendees is to say you have fewer engaged alumni. This isn’t necessarily true, but it looks that way.” Dr. Jay Le Roux DillonDirector of Alumni EngagementUniversity of San Francisco Source: Advancement Forum interviews and analysis. Overreliance on Events for Engagement

  5. Higher Ed Feels the Heat from Loyalty’s Decline Pipeline KPIs Entering Red-Alert Territory Source: “donorCentrics Annual Report on Higher Education Alumni Giving,” Blackbaud, 2010-2018; Advancement Forum interviews and analysis. Harder than Ever to Hold Onto Donors… …And Few New Donors to Fill Gap Every year we get fewer new donors giving to us. Our pipeline to the future is shrinking.” Associate Vice President of Alumni Relations and Annual GivingPrivate Master’s University -15% Decline in new donors, 2008-17 What’s Driving Away Our Loyal Donors? Digital platforms give every nonprofit global fundraising reach 24/7 news cycle inspires impulse gifts, draws attention to causes Loyalty-based case for support hits dull note with new generation

  6. The Personalization Imperative Bespoke “Just-for-Me” Constituent Experience the Rule, Not the Exception Sources: "Marketers Disclose Personalization Opportunities and Challenges in New Study,“ Conversant, September 2, 2014.; Amy Gesenhues, “Stop Being rude: 22 Data-Backed Reasons to Personalize Your Marketing,” HubSpot Blog, September 12, 2013.; Google Trends, 2018.; "Meeting Consumer Expectations in a Personalized World - Think with Google," Google, July 2018.; "New Epsilon Research Indicates 80% of Consumers Are More Likely to Make a Purchase When Brands Offer Personalized Experiences," Press Room, January 9, 2018.; "Study: Personalized Emails Deliver 6X Higher Transaction Rates, But 70% Of Brands Fail To Use Them," Marketing Land, February 6, 2014.; Advancement Forum interviews and analysis. Data snapshot taken from April of each reported year. Data represents “for me” as percentage of all Google searches, indexed to 100. Constituents Seek Out Personalization Companies that Deliver See High Returns Normalized Google Search Ranking of “For Me”1 16% Lift in sales from personalized web experiences Of consumers are more likely to buy if their experience is personalized 80% What running shoes are best for me? Of marketers say personalization is important to meeting their goals 94% Which dog is right for me? What is the best haircut for me?

  7. Higher Ed’s Not Exempt from Personalization Pressures “People now expect personalization from their alma mater. They expect us to keep track of their interactions and preferences, and tailor our offerings to meet their needs. It’s not just about changing how we talk to people. We have to create more customized offeringsto begin with.” Jennifer CampbellAssociate Vice President, College Relations and CommunicationsIthaca College Source: Advancement Forum interviews and analysis.

  8. New Budget Reality Accelerates Mindset Shift Post-Recession Academic Leadership Largely Onboard with Advancement Source: “2018 outlook changed to negative as revenue growth moderates,” Moody’s Investors Service, Dec. 5, 2017, https://bit.ly/2LmJyJK; Jeffrey Selingo, Sonny Chheng, and Cole Clark, “Pathways to the University Presidency,” Deloitte Insights, April 18, 2017, https://bit.ly/2NnA6TZ; “Chief Academic Officer Survey: The CAO Job,” American Council on Education, 2014, https://bit.ly/2L7kYNR; Advancement Forum interviews and analysis. Financial Concerns Persist as Revenue Sources Under Growing Pressure Resulting in Cascading Expectations for Advancement Moody’s Gives Colleges a Negative Grade Meet the Guy Who Turns Off the Lights When a College Closes 65% 47% Of provosts are frustrated by the stress of financial needs Of presidents say advancement is one of their top priorities Deans Expected to Prioritize Fundraising Projected Increase in Deans’ Time Spent on Development Federal research funding State support Enrollment

  9. The End of Business as Usual Compounding Factors Necessitate New Approach to Academic Partnerships Source: Council for Aid to Education Voluntary Support of Education Survey; ”The Campus Leadership Role with the Shortest Tenure,” EAB Daily Briefing, May 8, 2018, https://www.eab.com/daily-briefing/2018/05/08/the-campus-leadership-role-with-the-shortest-tenure; Brian Kaskie et al, “Promoting Workplace Longevity and Desirable Retirement Pathways Within Academic Institutions,” TIAA Institute, Mar. 2012, https://www.tiaainstitute.org/publication/promoting-workplace-longevity-and-desirable; Advancement Forum interviews and analysis. Median alumni population in United States higher education. 1 2 3 Supply-Demand Mismatch Revolving Door of Academic Leaders Faculty Retirement Crisis Prospect pools growing faster than ranks of advancement champions on campus Turnover requires constant onboarding of new partners Current partners leaving campus with few obvious replacements 52% 5 years 33% Growth in alumni of record, 2007-20171 Median tenure of university presidents Of faculty members are over age 55

  10. Pulled in Many Directions Academics’ Time Stretched Thin Between Current Responsibilities Source: Colleen Flaherty, “So Much to Do, So Little Time,” Inside Higher Ed, April 9, 2014, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/04/09/research-shows-professors-work-long-hours-and-spend-much-day-meetings; Advancement Forum Interviews and Analysis. Everyone Is Asking for More Yet Faculty Members Already Working Overtime Academics’ Weekly Time Allocation Dean: Publications Email EnrollmentManagement: Student recruitment • Other activities: • Student and faculty recruitment • Conferences, peer reviews • Marketing, public relations • Mentorship • Fundraising Meetings President: Strategic planning Advancement: Donor engagement and stewardship Research Teaching 61 16% Academic partners feel like more and more has been added to their plates over the years, and nothing has been taken away.” Average number of hours faculty work per week Of faculty work time takes place on weekends DeAnna Zink, Chief Executive Officer, UND Alumni Association and FoundationUniversity of North Dakota

  11. Losing Sight of What’s Important Deans Distract Staff with Low-ROI Activities Source: Chelsey D. Megli et al, “Optimizing Fundraiser Performance,” Bentz Whaley Flessner, Dec. 2014, http://www.bwf.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/December2014.pdf; Advancement Forum interviews and analysis. Deans Ask MGOs to Do More than Ever …Taking Time Away from Major Gifts MGOs’ Intended and Actual Time Dedicated to Frontline Fundraising, 2014 Coordinate event logistics Create new events from scratch Good intentions… …but “busy work” abounds Plan advisory board meetings Jane Q. Fundraiser Manage unit marketing Steward annual fund gifts

  12. Staff Size: The Best Predictor of Success Growth in Shop Size Boosts Top-Line Returns Source: EAB Advancement Investment and Performance Initiative dataset. More FTEs Bring More Dollars Total Advancement FTE Counts and Total Annual Fundraising Production The Business Case for Staffing Growth $665,271 Average marginal revenue from each additional advancement FTE At the end of the day, what’s going to make a difference is more boots on the ground.” Foundation PresidentPublic Research University

  13. Not All Staffing Structures Created Equal High-ROI Shops Direct Staffing Growth to Where It Matters Most Source: EAB Advancement Investment and Performance Initiative dataset. More Investment in the Front Lines… …and Strategic “Back Office” Support… …but Less Investment in Engagement +1.1 +6.9% -4.4% More advancement services FTEs per 10,000 alumni at high-ROI shops (2.5 FTEs) Greater share of staff assigned to development at high-ROI shops (48.9% of all FTEs) Smaller share of staff in alumni relations at high-ROI shops (11.6% of all FTEs)

  14. Principal Gifts Drive Performance As More Revenue Comes from Fewer Gifts, Dollars and ROI Climb Source: EAB Advancement Investment and Performance Initiative dataset. Seven-Figure Gifts Speed Up Growth… …and Boost Fundraising Efficiency Annual Fundraising Production by Share of Revenue from $1M+ Gifts ROI by Share of Revenue from $1M+ Gifts Marginal revenue gains come disproportionately from $1M+ gifts Principal gifts, while challenging, are the “cheapest” to fundraise

  15. Fundraising “Throughput” Ensures Sustainability Mega-Gifts Depend on a Well-Cultivated Pipeline Source: EAB Advancement Investment and Performance Initiative dataset. Top-Performing Shops Close Major Gifts at a Quick Clip… …While Building a Pre-Major-Gift Pipeline $25K+ Gifts per Major Gift Officer $1K-$24.9K Gifts per $25K+ Gift High-ROI Shops 16.4 15.0 Mid-level gifts per major gift Low-ROI Shops 10.5 11.8 Mid-level gifts per major gift Laying the Groundwork for Transformational Giving Seven- and eight-figure gifts don’t come out of thin air. The pipeline is critical to principal gifts. The only way to succeed at the top is by building a strong middle.” Foundation PresidentPublic Research University

More Related