The University of Oregon crushes targets with an 157% increase in parent donors for their 2024 day of giving
The University of Oregon (UO), a leading public research institution, believes that a strong parent and family philanthropy program begins with engaging families early, building strong relationships, and delivering targeted appeals.
In August 2023, the University of Oregon implemented CampusESP for Family Communication to better reach families with regular updates and personalized information. Four months later, after seeing high levels of engagement, UO added CampusESP for Parent Giving to connect with families on a philanthropic level.
With a new engagement platform in their tool belt, the UO team set a big goal: double parent and family participation in Ducks Give 2024.
The results? Even better than expected! Here’s how the Ducks achieved record-breaking success in their annual day of giving.
The path to success
Amy Swank, the Senior Director of Parent and Family Engagement and Philanthropy, sought to enhance OU’s Family Giving Program to “foster a robust culture of philanthropy that begins right at the onset of a student's journey with us.” According to Amy, “by engaging families early and giving them opportunities to support specific colleges or programs their students are part of, we aim to create a more meaningful giving experience.”
Amy and her team brought in CampusESP to help:
Connect with families: Engaging families early helps them feel more connected to the UO community, increasing their likelihood of contributing.
Personalize philanthropy: Allowing families to choose where their contributions go ensures that their donations align with their interests and their student’s educational experiences.
Build relationships: Early engagement lays the groundwork for long-term relationships, which is vital for future major gifts.
Utilize the data: Robust lists and data collected within the CampusESP portal leads to more informed and impactful conversations with families.
With automated campaigns and real-time analytics, the Oregon team could scale their efforts, track their progress, adjust their strategies on the fly, and stay on track to meet their goals. Within six months of using CampusESP, the Oregon team was communicating with over 43,000 parents and achieving open rates over 53% on solicitations!
Record-breaking results
The University of Oregon had ambitious targets: They aimed to double the number of parent donors for Ducks Give from 199 in 2023 to over 398 in 2024. With the help of CampusESP, they surpassed this goal… and others. The University of Oregon achieved:
1. Growth in parent donor participation.
UO achieved a 157% increase parent donors for Ducks Give 2024. Originally targeting 400 parent donors, they achieved 129% of their goal.
2. Growth in parent dollars raised.
UO raised 217% more dollars from parent donors for Ducks Give 2024. That translates to an additional $149,654 raised from parents!
3. Knocked ROI out of the park.
UO achieved a 43x return on their CampusESP for Parent Giving investment for Ducks Give 2024.
Future plans for sustained growth
The Oregon team is excited to build on the momentum of their successful Ducks Give initiative. With a strong foundation of annual gift donors now in place, UO aims to grow parent participation by 10-20% each year. The team will rely on CampusESP to meet these growth goals, focusing especially on the following areas:
Connect with Major Gift Prospects. With 775 major gift prospects already identified by CampusESP, UO is adapting their major gifts strategy for parents and families. This includes more personalized outreach, cultivation events, and stewardship programs.
Dig a level deeper with the parent data to tailor communications based on a family’s giving interests and history
Implement virtual engagement opportunities to reach families who may not be able to visit campus frequently
Set up surveys to collect more robust parent feedback and continually improve their approach
With personalized outreach, automated communications, and real-time analytics, the Oregon team exceeded their ambitious goals for Ducks Give 2024. Here's to continued success and even greater achievements ahead!
Thank you to Amy Swank, David Boudreau, Dee Dee Kanikkeberg, Kathie Stanley, and the entire University of Oregon team for being awesome partners – and congrats on your success!