Fundraising Voices from RNL

RNL's Autumn Horton and Brian Cass unveil the new way we're talking about and thinking about students who can now make contact via expanded, integrated methods like P2P texting, personalized video, and are doing much more than annual giving outreach. It's time to retire the term "student caller" and take our donor engagement to the next level!

Find our more about about RNL Digital Engagement Centers

How do you reach the right donor at the right time with the right message? Advanced, predictive and prescriptive analytics can help you do that. Harnessing the data you have, with data available out there in the world can help you maximize your ROI, and provide a better donor experience. Don't worry if it sounds confusing - RNL's Josh Robertson breaks it down and shares what RNL Advanced Analytics can do for your results.

Communicating with supporters about social change initiatives takes planning, investment, and careful use of resources. Vanessa Wakeman, futurist, acclaimed speaker and CEO of the Wakeman Agency knows this. She's helping amplify the voices of mission-driven causes and the people that lead them every day.

We talked with Vanessa about how to organize a communication plan, some of the short and long term strategies needed amidst the health crisis, and success she's had with virtual events.

The Wakeman Agency

We've launched something big here at RNL. The RNL Digital Engagement Center combines advanced predictive analytics with calling, texting, personalized video and integrated email to create the first ever omnichannel solution that continues to leverage your engagement ambassadors to connect personally with donors. We've done this successfully for decades with student ambassadors. And now this outreach can be made and managed remotely, to keep our relationships growing without interruption. I RNL's Renee Vaillancourt, Autumn Horton and Shad Hanselman to talk about the Digital Engagement Center revolution and what it means for Advancement.

Find out more about the RNL Digital Engagement Center

Making a strategic plan for your donor outreach that encompasses all levels of donors is really important. With resources tightening, that strategy has high stakes now more than ever. Our RNL consultants have been working on a daily basis with partners facing these challenges. One of them is Jay Finney, who has been doing this for decades across a wide range of charities. Jay grew up around philanthropy, and for decades now has helped organizations craft donor outreach strategy. I got on the line with Jay to talk about crafting a strategic engagement strategy, how to look at ROI, and the best ways to move forward with a tight or uncertain budget.

Making sure your books are clean, and that you can account for how gift resources were driven to your cause is a key part of engaging donors. We talk with with Tosha Anderson, founder of the Charity CFO, about what good non-profit and charitable accounting looks like, how it's more than just numbers, and how we can best serve supporters who want transparency and accountability.

The Charity CFO

Pressure in higher education advancement offices is high right now. In part from the economy and how tough it is for many donors. And in part because the double whammy of economic issues and real enrollment concerns amidst this crisis are causing institutions to evaluate budgets. Motivating your team, especially when you can't be with them physically during a difficult time is a key challenge. RNL's Meg Weber has been through tough economic times before in her career and has successfully led teams through them. I got on the line with Meg to talk about how to be a good campus partner, maintain the morale of your team, and do what's necessary to emerge from a crisis like this with strong donor engagement.

On this episode, Shaun Keister, Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations at the University of California, Davis talks to us just a few days before their annual giving day. We discuss maintaining relationship with donors amidst the COVID-19 crisis, how donors are responding, and what we've learned from previous financial crises.

Matching gifts can increase an annual giving total in the range of 10% and also can really help boost major gifts. But it's a challenging time right now. I was wondering, are companies pulling back on this support during the challenges of this health crisis and economic slowdown? Teddy Callow at HEPData reports that corporate social responsibility through matching gifts are an important part of the philanthropic response to the crisis and numerous companies have increased their matches.

As we navigate uncertain times, a big question has arisen for many higher education fundraisers: What do we do with our spring or summer giving day? About half of higher education giving days are held between February and June, and they've really taken off in popularity. Many institutions rely on them for end of the year excitement, and to meet their important donor and dollar goals. In a recent RNL poll, most respondents told us that they have altered their giving day strategy due to the COVID-19 crisis.

But that doesn't mean it's time to cancel your giving day. A number of recent giving day successes have shown that it is possible to host an engaging, exciting, and even record setting giving day even in this economy and amidst the crisis. RNL's Chad Warren and I sat down (virtually) with Lola Mauer, Associate Vice President of Strategy and two time alumnae of Ball State University on their record breaking "One Ball State Day" on April 7, which eclipsed over $511,000 from nearly 5,400 donors from all 50 states.

Give a listen to our Fundraising Voices podcast to hear Lola tell us about the day, and the team's strategy going into the event.