Lock Haven University
Moving From Events-Based Fundraising to a Relational Approach
Lock Haven University had always relied on events-based fundraising: athletic tournaments, sports games, and donor events. The university needed a strategy for developing long-term relationships with donors so that they didn’t depend solely on events for giving. When COVID-19 suspended all in-person activities in 2020, they faced significant loss of revenue and their need became immediate.
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Problem / Challenge
The donor file assessment from Veritus showed that Lock Haven was seeing average annual value attrition rates of 60%, largely hidden by gifts from new donors. (This meant that, while they were retaining the donor, giving from retained donors was decreasing by an average annual rate of 60%.) To tackle this problem and train up a new MGO in his first-ever fundraising role, the university decided to partner with Veritus Group to implement a relational fundraising approach and improve donor retention and engagement outside of events.
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Solution
The Veritus team saw an opportunity to develop longer-term, relational strategies. With the help of the Donor Engagement Plan, the new MGO was able to have a holistic view of his donors, which helped him consistently connect and start building relationships with caseload donors. Veritus also identified a need to understand and communicate true program costs so that the MGO could better share with donors the impact of each gift. Veritus and the MGO proactively collaborated with internal departments to access the data required for impact reporting and for bringing specific offers that matched donors’ interests.
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Results
Veritus helped this first-time fundraiser stop the value attrition trend and increase his caseload value and annual revenue during one of the most volatile periods in recent history. By adopting The Veritus Way with just this one caseload, the university raised $138,000 more than their projected revenue for the year. Donors expressed deep appreciation for the MGO’s genuine engagement and proactive communication, especially as the pandemic presented a challenging time for the university. In addition, the MGO led a culture shift among faculty, helping them take a long-term view of fundraising, rather than depending on events and ticket sales.
“I couldn’t be happier with the Veritus partnership. During an incredibly difficult time, they helped me build a system focused on our donors. I discovered how to communicate with them in a truly meaningful way, despite the many challenges and demands we all faced.”
Staying on track when things change
How ‘The Veritus Way’ can reassure donors and stabilize income
Veritus Group began working with Lock Haven University in January 2020, just weeks before COVID-19 turned the world upside down.
The massive shock of COVID-19 meant that their new MGO needed to find innovative ways to engage donors who had mostly been giving through fundraising events and sports games – all of which were suddenly canceled.
Veritus Group provided a solution to move away from events-based fundraising and implement a relational fundraising strategy. The strategy included a focus on understanding program costs so that the MGO could bring specific donor offers that aligned with their passions and interests. The solution included:
✔ Focusing on building meaningful relationships with donors and learning the donor’s passions and interests.
✔ Shifting donors’ focus from one-off gifts and ticket sales to a long-term vision of program needs and targeted donor offers to match those interests.
✔ Creating and staying accountable to using a Donor Engagement Plan (DEP) to stay on track with donor touch points and impact reporting.
The Results
106%
Value Retention in Year 1
At the start of the partnership, the program had -60% donor value attrition, which means the donors they were retaining were giving 60% less, year over year. After implementing The Veritus Way, Lock Haven saw their donor value retention increase by 106% for their major gift caseload.
Donor Offers
Sharing True Costs
Donors heard for the first time how much their favorite sports teams and events really cost. They were surprised and inspired to give more through specific offers that connected to their passions and interests and related back to the calculated program need.
$138k
Caseload Revenue Increase
By adopting The Veritus Way, the university raised $138,000 over their projected annual revenue from just one major gifts caseload.
Ready to take your fundraising program to the next level? Get started with our free donor file assessment. There’s no obligation to work with us, and it will provide valuable information about the health of your donor file, with revenue projections and critical insights into how you can transform your fundraising approach.
And if you’d like to have a conversation about your organization’s unique needs, schedule a time to connect with Amy Chapman, our Director of Client Engagement. Amy is passionate about understanding the needs of your organization to ensure we are supporting you in the best way possible. We would love to hear from you.
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