Client Spotlights: Campaigns and Fundraising Strategy

In FY23, Mississippi State University (MSU) completed its most successful fundraising year in its history. The $259.9 million MSU raised far exceeded expectations and broke the state’s single-year fundraising record.

In 2013, the University of North Dakota (UND) concluded its first comprehensive campaign, raising $324 million towards a $300 million goal. Three years later, having taken fundraising to a new level, university leadership commenced with planning for the next comprehensive campaign, again ultimately working with BWF as campaign counsel as they had done in 2013.

In launching its first-ever comprehensive campaign, St. Petersburg College decided to retain an outside communications partner to provide the overarching strategy, core messaging, creative platforms, and timely communications counsel.

In planning the scope of its next campaign, Viterbo University saw a need to further enhance its brand awareness and ensure communications efforts are more strategic and proactive prior to launching a campaign. The University decided that an outside assessment of its communications function across the enterprise was in order.

The International OCD Foundation had a successful development program, but leadership suspected that they were maxed out with their current resources, including staff, and were therefore not able to capitalize on certain opportunities. Leadership wanted to know both how much the organization could grow and the best path forward for that growth.

While planning for the most ambitious campaign in its history, the SDSU Foundation built momentum toward being more data driven, having clearer insights into its operations, having the ability to make strategic decisions and make them faster, and having a better way to validate its strategy, thereby saving time and resources.

Leadership at Utica University wanted to help gift officers better understand their role as brand ambassadors and build their communications skills in fundraising.

Campaign ASU 2020 raised over $2.3B and was successful by all measures. ASU sought to fully understand what worked well in this campaign and where opportunities exist to improve fundraising in the next one.

UA leaders needed to determine the feasibility of launching a comprehensive campaign that would be the largest fundraising effort in its history.