donorCentrics Annual Report on Higher Education Alumni Giving · least keep pace with alumni donor...

© February 2015 | 10128T 800.443.9441 E [email protected] W www.blackbaud.com

donorCentrics™ Annual Report on Higher Education Alumni Giving

Summary of Annual Fund Key Performance IndicatorsJULY 2013–JUNE 2014

3© February 2015 T 800.443.9441 E [email protected] W www.blackbaud.com

donorCentrics™

Annual Report on Higher Education Alumni Giving

2014: A BANNER YEAR FOR HIGHER EDUCATION A strong economy, coupled with new techniques that appear to be taking hold, helped lead higher education annual giving programs to higher levels

of revenue in 2014 compared to 2013. In fact, the revenue growth across the board, and in nearly every key metric, speaks to the ability of annual

giving programs to secure multiple gifts from donors during the year, upgrade donors, and grow revenue. Of course the long term benefit of such

tactics is the building of a major gift pipeline. This past year stands in stark contrast to just five years ago, when in 2009, annual giving programs saw

revenue decline for the first time in history. Not only have these programs recovered, but they are also thriving in their ability to secure more and more

dollars for the private and public institutions using them in their programs.

This past year was even a good year for donors to annual giving programs. While donor counts have been down over the past few years, 2014

experienced stabilization among donors to the degree that participation rates and donors counts were flat but stable. Believe it or not, this is good news

considering the declines most programs have posted over the past several years. In 2014, retention rates were flat but steady, reactivation rates were flat

or slightly up (perhaps the most noteworthy trend in the 2014 data), and acquisition efforts generated stronger results than any year in recent memory.

And while many institutions continue to discuss moving toward new models such as recurring gift programs, a few have done so with good to strong

results within the first year of implementation. The advent of “giving day” efforts, for those institutions doing them, appears to be a welcomed boost to

donors and dollars. These new (at least to higher education) strategies are beginning to move the needle for many programs.

In all, with key metrics stabilizing or moving in a positive direction, it is hard not to look at 2014 as a strong year for higher education annual giving

programs, if not a banner year!

ALUMNI PARTICIPATION

Median Participation RatesParticipation rates, after a steady decline over the past several years, have appeared to stabilize with private institutions medians holding at 19% and

public institutions holding at

6%. The increased activity

among student giving programs,

particularly senior class gifts, has

allowed some institutions to at

least keep pace with alumni donor

counts and thus participation rates.

While still only a few programs

have implemented aggressive

(and successful) sustainer giving

programs, this too can have an

impact on long-term participation

rates if the success of signing up

large numbers of alumni for such

programs grows overtime.

2012 2013 201420%

19% 19%

7%

6% 6%

Private Public Overall

11%

10% 9%


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DONOR RETENTION

Median Donor Retention RatesMedian donor retention rates

continue to be very consistent

overtime. Private institutions

dropped 1% to 66% and public

institutions held at 58% since

2013. Over the course of the last

decade, these rates have typically

varied by less than one percent for

any given year to another, marking

an incredible consistency among

alumni donors and annual giving

programs ability to consistently

retain their best donors. Retention

rates among alumni donors

continue to be a bright spot for

many programs.

Median New Donor Retention RatesWhile relatively flat, median new

donor retention rates at private

institutions did slightly better

in 2014 with an increase from

27% to 28% year-to-year. Public

institutions saw their median new

donor retention rates dip slightly

from 25% down to 24%. Senior (or

class) giving programs tend to pull

these percentages down since

these donors are less likely to be

retained in year two than other

alumni. Many institutions report

increased efforts to communicate

with seniors directly after graduation as a means of engaging, updating records, and keeping them as donors in the year immediately following

graduation. It remains to be seen if these increased efforts will have significant impact overtime, but for 2014 the trend in retention rates for first time

donors is relatively flat compared to the past three years.

2012 2013 201467% 67%

66%

57%58% 58%


61% 61%

60%

2012 2013 2014

29%

27% 28%

24%25%

24%


26% 26% 26%


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Median New Donor Retention Rate ChangeNew, first-time donors have

historically been a difficult group

to retain in year two. This has

become even more challenging

as senior giving programs have

become more robust since new

alumni donors are significantly

more difficult to retain in year two

than their alumni counterparts.

Private institutions had a positive

1% median change in their ability

to retain first year donors, while

public institutions saw a negative

2.7% median change in their new

donor retention rates.

Median Multi-Year Donor Retention RatesMuch like the overall retention

rates, multi-year donor rates were

relatively flat compared to 2013.

For private institutions, donor

retention rates moved up slightly

from 70% to 71% and it was

exactly even for public institutions

remaining at 63%. This stable,

loyal group of donors continues to

perform similarly from year-to-year

(dating back to 2009).

2012 2013 2014


0.7%

-4.8%

2.1%

0.2%1.0%

-2.6%

-2.7%

-0.5%

-2.2%

2012 2013 2014

71%

70% 71%

62%63% 63%


66% 66% 66%


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Median Revenue per Retained DonorWhile retention rates held

steady, donors that were

retained gave significantly more

in 2014 compared to 2013. For

private institutions, the median

revenue moved from $870 in

2013 to a strong $938 in 2014.

Likewise, public institutions saw

a significant jump from $535

to $597. A strong economy,

aggressive second (or multiple)

ask programs, and specific

upgrade strategies have all paved

the way for this significant growth.

DONOR REACTIVATION

Median Donor Reactivation RatesReactivation rates may have finally

stabilized. After an extended

period of steady decline, it appears

reactivation of lapsed donors

(one to five years) appears to

have evened out among public

and private institutions. Private

institutions held steady with a

median reactivation rate of 17%

while public institutions climbed

1% to 13% overall. The three

year trends now demonstrate

consistency with less than one

percent fluctuations between the

three years. Sustainer programs can also significantly influence this group of donors overtime, as more programs implement recurring giving as a

standard practice. Young alumni, and more specifically senior giving programs, have created more instability overtime among reactivation rates, but

this seems to be leveling off.

2012 2013 2014

$829$870

$938

$510 $535$597


$651$708 $763

(1-5 years lapsed)

2012 2013 2014

17% 17% 17%

14%

12%13%


15%

14% 15%


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Median Revenue per Reactivated DonorThe median revenue per

reactivated donor moved in

different directions for public

and private institutions in 2014.

For private institutions, median

revenue was down from $467

to $441. For public institutions,

median revenue rose from $292

to $322. Given the stronger

economy and general upward

trends in giving over the past

several years, it is unusual that

the median revenue per donor

would actually decline, even from

reactivated donors.

DONOR ACQUISITION

Median Change in New DonorsLast year was a strong year for

donor acquisition, with private

institutions improving .3% and

public institutions a whopping

6.4%. This resulted in an overall

growth in new donors of 4.9%

(surpassing the 2.4% growth rate

we saw in 2013). The stronger

economy, increased focus on

younger alumni, recurring gift

programs, and likely the increase

in “giving day” efforts have helped

breathe new life into acquisition.

This positive growth was one

key factor in allowing institutions

to remain relatively flat in their

participation rates last year.

2012 2013 2014


$412

$467

$259 $292$322

$441

$315$344

$372

2012 2013 2014

-2.5%

3.8%

0.3%

3.5%

2.4%

6.4%


1.2%2.4%

4.9%


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Median Revenue per New DonorLast year the revenue per donor

spiked for private institutions from

$110 to $129. Public institutions,

which have outpaced private

institutions in this metric in recent

years, also saw growth from $128

to $133. More aggressive ask

strategies (including second ask

programs for first-time donors)

have helped push this metric

higher in each of the past

three years.

Median New Donor Revenue ChangeAfter two years of decline in

overall revenue from new donors,

public and private institutions

saw a positive change in overall

new donor revenue. Private

institutions saw a .7% increase

and public institutions saw a

.9% increase. While modest, this

does reverse the trend of recent

years and shows that donor

acquisition is still a worthwhile

effort in higher education, despite

growing national challenges from

many nonprofits.

2012 2013 2014

$107 $110

$129$122

$128 $133


$118 $121$131

2012 2013 2014


-3.8%

-0.4%

0.7%

-1.2%

-4.5%

.09%

-2.1% -1.6%

0.7%


donorCentrics™


CONCLUSIONS: PERFORMANCE OVERALL

Median Change in RevenueWith a stronger economy the

overall revenue for programs,

public and private, continues

to move in a positive direction.

The median percent change in

revenue for public institutions

was 5.4% and 5.1% for private

institutions. For many institutions,

revenue growth of 10% or more

was not unusual in 2014.

Median Revenue per DonorWhile the overall revenue was up

last year for the vast majority of

institutions, the same then can

be said for the overall median

revenue per donor which climbed

from $730 to $746 for private

institutions and from $421 to

$451 for public institutions.

Median Change in Donor CountsThe median change in overall

donor counts was up modestly

(though less than one percent)

for private institutions and slightly

down for public institutions (by

one percent). The overall median

change in donor counts was

precisely flat when combining

public and private institutions.

This is, in essence, a positive

development since alumni

donor counts in general have

been decreasing over the past

several years.

2012 2013 2014


3.5%

5.7%

5.1%4.5% 4.3% 4.3%

5.3% 5.4%6.0%

2012 2013 2014

$662 $730$746

$510 $535$597


$651$708 $763

2012 2013 2014


-0.7%

0.3% 0.9%

-1.8%-2.2%

-1.1% -1.0% -1.0%

0.0%


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Median Change in Gifts per Donor*As more institutions adopt and

promote aggressive second

ask programs (and for some

institutions multiple asks during

the year), the median change in

gifts per donors continues to rise

with a positive 1.3% change for

private institutions and a 1.4%

change for public institutions.

This movement demonstrates the

ongoing willingness of donors to

make multiple gifts during the year.

*Pledge payments, recurring gifts, and payroll deduction are rolled up and counted as one gift for this analysis.

Median Change in Gifts*The number of gifts continues

to increase due in part to more

donors making multiple gifts

during the year. For private

institutions, the median change

was 2.3% and public institutions

saw a positive median change

of 1.1%. Despite challenges in

recent years relative to number

of donors, the number of gifts to

institutions continues to rise.

*Pledge payments, recurring gifts, and payroll deduction are rolled up and counted as one gift for this analysis.

2012 2013 2014


0.6% 0.4%1.1%

0.4%1.3% 1.4%

0.5% 0.7% 1.4%

2012 2013 2014


0.8%0.1%1.0%

-0.6%

2.3%

1.1%0.6% 0.2%

1.6%


donorCentrics™


FURTHER INFORMATIONParticipation:

For more information about participating in the donorCentrics™ Annual Report on Higher Education Alumni Giving, contact Jenny Cooke Smith at

[email protected] or 843.654.3762.

Media Contact:

For press inquiries or permission to reproduce, contact Nicole McGougan at [email protected] or 843.654.3307.

Findings from recent and future reports can be found at https://www.blackbaud.com/nonprofit-resources/industry-research.aspx

ANNUAL REPORT METHODOLOGYTarget Analytics applied the following rules to standardize data from each of the institutions participating in the 2014 donorCentrics Annual Report on

Higher Education Alumni Giving:

Soft credits and matching gift payments are excluded. Direct mail, telemarketing, and digital giving are by far the dominant revenue sources for most

institutions; however events, personal solicitation, and other sources are included. Indicators are calculated on a cash payment basis, as opposed to

a pledge basis. Gifts or donors are defined as new, retained, or reactivated according to relative gift dates rather than organization-specific business

rules or source codes. Retention rates are calculated by dividing the number of donors giving in the current year who also gave during the previous

year by the total number of donors who gave in the previous year. Revenue per donor refers to the cumulative giving per donor per year.

The donorCentrics Annual Report on Higher Education Alumni Giving utilizes medians, the middle values in a ranked order of numbers, to measure

trends because it minimizes distortion caused by the wide range of organizations’ file size or extreme changes at a few organizations.


donorCentrics™


PARTICIPATING PRIVATE INSTITUTIONSAlfred University

Barnard College

Benedictine College

Boston College

Boston College Law School

Boston University

Boston University Law School

Boston University Medical School

Brandeis University

Buena Vista University

Carroll College

Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business

College of St. Benedict

College of Wooster

Columbia University

Columbia University College of Medicine

Concordia College

Cornell University

Cornell University School of Law

Cornell University Johnson Graduate School of Management

Dartmouth College

Eastern University

Emma Willard School

Emory University

Episcopal High School

Fairleigh-Dickinson University

Furman University

Gettysburg College

George Washington University

Grinnell College

Harvard Law School

Harvard Medical School

Holderness School

Johns Hopkins University

LaSalle University

Lewis and Clark College

Luther College

Marquette University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT Sloan School of Management

Mount St. Mary’s College

Muhlenberg College

Northeastern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management

New York University

New York University Law School

New York University Stern School of Business

Ohio Wesleyan University

Oral Roberts University

Point Loma Nazarene University

Presbyterian College

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rice University


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Rice University Jones School of Business

Saint Louis University

Saint Mary’s College of California

Sarah Lawrence College

Smith College

Southern Methodist University

St. John’s University

St. Joseph’s University

St. Mark’s School

Syracuse University

Texas Christian University

Thacher School

The Principia

Union College

University of Chicago

University of Chicago Booth School of Business

University of Chicago School of Medicine

University of Miami

University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania Law School

University of Redlands

University of San Francisco

University of San Diego Law School

Wake Forest University

Webb Schools

Wentworth Institute of Technology

Whitman College

Wofford College

Yale Law School


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PARTICIPATING PUBLIC INSTITUTIONSArizona State University

Auburn University

Bemidji State University

Bowling Green State University

Cal Poly Pomona

California State University Bakersfield

California State University Fresno

California State University Fullerton

California State University Los Angeles

California State University Northridge

California State University Sacramento

California State University Stanislaus

Carleton University

Colorado State University

College of William and Mary

Concordia University

Dalhousie University

Darden School of Business

East Carolina University

Ferris State University

Georgia Regents University

Georgia Regents University Medical School

Humboldt State University

Iowa State University

Indiana University

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

James Madison University

Kansas University

Kennesaw State University

McMaster University

Michigan State University

Montclair State University

North Carolina State University

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Ohio University

Oregon State University

Pennsylvania State University

Queens University

Rutgers University

San Francisco State University

San Jose State University

Stony Brook University

Southern Alberta Institute of Technology

Texas A&M University

Texas State University

The Ohio State University

University of Arizona

University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business

University of California, Davis

University of California, LA Anderson School of Management

University of California, LA School of Law

University of California, Riverside

University of California, Santa Barbara


© April 2015 Blackbaud, Inc.

This white paper is for informational purposes only.

Blackbaud makes no warranties, expressed or

implied, in this summary. The information contained

in this document represents the current view of

Blackbaud, Inc., on the items discussed as of the

date of this publication.

All Blackbaud product names appearing herein are

trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackbaud,

Inc. The names of actual companies and products

mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their

respective owners.

About Blackbaud

Serving the nonprofit, charitable giving and education communities for more than 30 years, Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) combines technology

solutions and expertise to help organizations achieve their missions. Blackbaud works in over 60 countries to support more than 30,000

customers, including nonprofits, K12 private and higher education institutions, healthcare organizations, foundations and other charitable

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Carolina and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland and the United Kingdom. For more information,

visit www.blackbaud.com.

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University of California, Santa Cruz

University of California, San Diego

University of Cincinnati

University of Delaware

University of Florida

University of Georgia

University of Georgia School of Law

University of Guelph

University of Houston

University of Kentucky

University of Maine

University of Maryland

University of Michigan

University of Minnesota

University of Nebraska

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

University of North Carolina, Greensboro

University of North Carolina, Wilmington

University of Northern Colorado

University of Oregon

University of Saskatchewan

University of Tennessee

Washington State University

York University

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