The title of the article: Direct marketing fundraising: talking to donors one-on-one.

Direct Marketing Fundraising: Talking to Donors One-on-One

From connecting with new donors to encouraging current supporters to upgrade, marketing is a core part of fundraising. With tools like social media, TV ads, and search engine ads, you can reach thousands of supporters at the same time. However, it’s hard to build individual relationships when talking to hundreds of donors at once.

Direct marketing fundraising allows nonprofits to connect with specific donors and build individualized relationships without overspending or wasting resources on dead ends. So, how does it work?

In this guide, we’ll break down the essentials of direct marketing fundraising, including:

If you’re ready to cultivate relationships with all of your donors, let’s get started with a breakdown of what direct marketing fundraising is and how it differs from indirect marketing fundraising.

Get more value from each supporter with improved donor journeys. Download our guide.

What is Direct Marketing Fundraising?

Direct marketing fundraising is marketing and fundraising appeals addressed and sent to an individual. For example, if you receive an email addressed to you promoting a challenge gift opportunity related to a campaign you recently gave to, that would be direct marketing fundraising.

A venn diagram showing the differences and similarities between direct and indirect marketing.

In contrast, indirect marketing fundraising consists of marketing and fundraising appeals addressed to a broad audience. Usually, this audience is the general public, even if a nonprofit has a specific target audience. For example, a social media post promoting a family-friendly event may be aimed at families in the nonprofit’s local area with young children. However, anyone can stumble upon and interact with this post, making it a form of indirect marketing.

Benefits of Direct Marketing Fundraising

By definition, direct marketing has a smaller audience than indirect marketing, but what it lacks in quantity, it more than makes up for in quality. Here’s an overview of a few benefits you can experience from a direct marketing fundraising strategy:

  • Relationship Building. It’s far easier to build relationships with specific donors when you’re communicating with them one-on-one rather than talking with hundreds of donors at the same time. As such, direct marketing is especially effective at engaging recurring supporters who have made a commitment to your cause and are looking to upgrade their support over time.
  • Metrics. When messages are sent to individual donors, it’s much easier to track engagement metrics, such as open, click-through, and conversion rates. For comparison, it can be challenging to know if a specific social media post encouraged a donation unless a supporter volunteers that information themselves. Meanwhile, you can easily see a direct connection between a specific supporter receiving a fundraising email, clicking on a link in it, and making a donation.
  • Engagement. While indirect marketing materials need to address a wide audience, direct messages are tailored to just one recipient, greatly increasing the chances they will engage with your content. For example, you might provide specific campaign updates, event invitations, educational content, or whatever else the supporter has indicated they’re interested in.

Ultimately, nonprofits should pursue a mix of indirect and direct fundraising strategies. This helps maintain a healthy fundraising cycle wherein new prospective donors regularly learn about your nonprofit, while current supporters receive continual engagement that motivates them to upgrade their support.

Types of Direct Marketing Fundraising

Now that we’ve addressed what direct marketing fundraising is, how can your nonprofit go about it? Here are a few communication channels your nonprofit can leverage for direct marketing:

  • Email. Even when sent to your entire email list, emails have individual recipients. For example, you share your email newsletter with all of your subscribers, but that newsletter is still sent to them directly, rather than hoping they stumble upon it elsewhere, like they would with a paid ad.
  • Direct Mail. Direct mail has a lot in common with email when it comes to direct marketing. However, with the prevalence of digital marketing, direct mail can feel even more personal and be your go-to channel for highly individualized communication, like personalized event invitations.
  • Phone Calls. Make an individual connection and market your nonprofit directly by speaking with supporters one-on-one on the phone. If you’re missing supporters’ phone numbers, consider purchasing an append to flesh out your donor data.
  • Social Media. Up until now, social media has been the go-to example for indirect marketing. However, you can message supporters and reply to their comments to expand your direct marketing efforts to social media, depending on the platform’s capabilities.

You’ve likely seen advice to pay attention to supporters’ communication preferences , and direct marketing is where it matters most. If a supporter says they only want to be contacted via email, be sure that you use email when reaching out to them. Direct marketing is where you show off that you have paid attention to each supporter’s individual donor journey, and the way you contact them should also reflect that.

Direct Marketing Fundraising Strategies

Just like with any marketing approach, your strategy determines whether it will resonate with donors. Here are a few top strategies for how to make your direct fundraising appeals more effective and use the information you gather about supporters to improve your marketing efforts overall.

Collect Donor Data

Donor data allows you to create individualized messages for your direct marketing efforts. For each donor, build a donor profile that contains all of the data you’ve gathered about them throughout their engagement with your organization.

The data you collect will be relevant to your nonprofit’s goals. For example, nonprofits pursuing matching gift opportunities need to collect the following data:

A sample donor profile with nonprofit data like the individual's full name, education, employment details, and charitable involvement.

  • Demographic information such as name, address, and age is essential for every nonprofit and is the building block of other fundraising strategies.
  • Corporate affiliations can reveal whether the donor is eligible for matching gifts, has a high net worth, and may be able to help facilitate sponsorships and business partnerships.
  • Net worth can be found through prospect and wealth screening tools. Donors above a certain net worth may be marked as potential major donors and be put on an intense donor stewardship track overseen by major giving officers.
  • Political and nonprofit giving history can indicate a donor’s affinity for causes similar to yours. Check the missions of nonprofits and platforms of politicians they’ve donated to in the past.
  • Matching gift potential, such as whether a donor’s employer offers matching gifts, helps you determine whether a donor is eligible for a matching gift and if it’s worth pursuing these opportunities.
  • Communication preferences are how a donor prefers to be contacted. As mentioned, these are essential for effective direct communication.
  • Interests indicate why a donor is invested in your cause and what kinds of activities they may want to engage in, such as different types of events.

Donor data can be collected in a number of ways, such as directly asking donors through surveys and in various registration and sign-up forms. If you’re missing data or worry your donor database is out of date, you can also purchase research tools, like a wealth screening or corporate giving database.

Want to learn more about pursuing matching gift opportunities? Download our matching gifts guide.

Personalize Communication

Direct marketing is so effective because it allows for personalized communication. After all, do you feel more connected to a nonprofit when you receive an email addressed to “Valued donors” and thanks you for “all of your support,” or one that addresses you by name and references your specific contributions?

You can improve your donation appeals with two personalization strategies:

  • Segmentation. Divide your donors based on key characteristics, such as demographic data, donor status, or anything else relevant to your nonprofit’s goals. For example, you might have segments for new donors, recurring donors, volunteers, and advocates. This allows you to construct messages relevant to specific groups. For example, your recurring donors don’t need to be reintroduced to your nonprofit, but new donors may prefer educational messages that acquaint them with your cause and organization.
  • Personalization. The information specific to each donor, such as their name and engagement history, are personal details, and adding them to donor communications is the act of personalization. For example, you might use your email communication tool to address each donor by name and add their last donation amount to a fundraising request.

These personalization strategies help ensure the content you send to donors is relevant to their interests, increasing the chances they will engage with it. Plus, by addressing donors as individuals, they will feel their specific contributions matter, making them more inclined to continue supporting you.

Use Automatic Triggers

Writing individual emails to each donor whenever they interact with your nonprofit is not practical. Fortunately, you don’t have to when your email and fundraising platforms allow you to set up automatic triggers.

When donors take specific actions you would like to contact them about, set up an email trigger to send an automatic message or create a flag in their profile for your team to reach out to them. Here are a few common actions you may set up communication triggers for:

  • Donations. Whenever a supporter donates, you should reach out to them with a thank-you message. You might also set up an indicator to flag donors who give above a certain amount and deserve more appreciation than a simple thank-you message.
  • Membership sign-up. If you offer a membership program, you might trigger an email series welcoming new supporters to your organization. You may also set up triggers for membership renewal reminders and upgrade thank-yous.
  • Merchandise purchase. If a supporter buys your merchandise, you might want to reach out to them in the future to promote new items, alert them about sales, and share discount codes.
  • Matching gift process. The matching gift process has a number of actions that require communication, such as prompting donors after a gift to check their matching gift eligibility, follow-up to encourage donors to submit a matching gift application to their employer, and a thank-you message for going through the matching gift process.
  • Event registration. Along with thanking donors for registering for an event and providing them with attendance information, you might also flag donors who have shown interest in events to personally invite them to future ones.

Communication tools like email platforms and fundraising software can enable many of these triggers for you, meaning all you need to do is write the basic messages that get sent.

For matching gifts, you might even go the extra mile when it comes to automation with auto-submission. Matching gift auto-submission simplifies the matching gift process by submitting donors’ matching gift applications for them. Here’s a breakdown of how this cutting-edge technology works:

Create Donor Personas

Talking with donors one-on-one sounds great, but even with automation tools and donor profiles, is it possible to build individualized relationships with hundreds of donors? With donor personas, you can!

Donor personas are representations of hypothetical donors. Rather than composing a donation request to your entire donor base, donor personas allow you to market to one individual who represents specific segments of your donor base.

Here’s an overview of the content you should include in your donor personas:

A depiction of a hypothetical donor persona.

  • Demographic information. Divide your donor segments by demographic information, such as age, location, education, income bracket, and other relevant factors. For example, you might create one donor segment for college students, one for families with young children, and another for retirees.
  • Goals. What do donors want to accomplish related to your nonprofit? This might be to make a positive difference in the world, support a friend or family member, earn tax benefits, make friends, or create a legacy.
  • Challenges. What’s stopping donors from achieving their goals? This might be limited time or resources, or it could be a lack of knowledge about your cause and opportunities.

Use this information to create message templates for each donor segment. Then, fill in specific information, such as names, donation amounts, and engagement history, to create a strong appeal for each specific donor.

While few supporters will perfectly align with your donor personas, carefully constructed personas should cover the basics and allow you to create marketing appeals that hit on some of their interests. Plus, the more data you collect on your current donors, the more accurate your donor personas will be, and the more you can use them to define your target audience when reaching out to new prospective supporters.

Use an Omnichannel Approach

Direct marketing allows you to level up your donor communications with an omnichannel approach.

You may have heard of multi-channel marketing before, which is when you spread the same message across multiple communication channels to increase the chances supporters see and act on it. Omnichannel marketing also involves marketing across multiple channels, except each message builds on the one that came before it.

Here’s an example of how you might use omnichannel marketing to promote matching gifts:

A depiction of the numerous platforms an omnichannel strategy uses.

  • A supporter sees a search engine ad promoting your matching gifts page and subscribes to your newsletter.
  • You send that supporter an email explaining the benefits of matching gifts and providing directions for how donors can research their eligibility.
  • After the donor gives, you send them a text message encouraging them to check if they’re eligible for a matching gift.
  • When you receive the matching gift contribution from their employer, the donor receives a thank-you letter via direct mail.

Each step in this process builds on the one that came before it and responds to the individual donor’s actions. This type of highly personalized donor cultivation is highly effective at driving specific actions and is only possible with direct fundraising.

More Resources for Nonprofit Marketers

Direct marketing allows you to connect with individual supporters to develop relationships, increase engagement, and earn donations. Collect donor data to reach out with personalized content that encourages people to continue being passionate supporters.

Marketing is an extensive topic, and direct marketing is just one aspect. To develop a comprehensive marketing strategy for your nonprofit, explore these resources:

Learn how 360MatchPro can help you generate more revenue and make a more compelling pitch to donors.

Sourcing & Utilizing Employment Data for Higher Ed Fundraising

Sourcing & Utilizing Employment Data for Higher Ed Fundraising

Colleges and universities often rely on generous donors to fund their academic programming, extracurricular activities, research and development, and more. In the realm of educational fundraising, understanding your supporters⁠—and their professional journeys⁠—can significantly enhance engagement and boost giving across the board. One of the best ways to do so involves making the most of employment data for higher ed fundraising.

That said, we urge you to consider the following questions:
Do you have comprehensive and up-to-date employment information for your donors, alumni, and other supporters?
And do you understand the vitality of these insights for your school’s overall fundraising?

By effectively sourcing and utilizing employment data, colleges and universities can create more personalized and compelling fundraising campaigns⁠—not to mention, target invaluable workplace giving opportunities.

In this guide, we’ll explore the importance of employment data, recommended methods for sourcing the information, and strategies for leveraging the insights in your fundraising.

If you’re looking for a way to bring your institution’s fundraising and engagement to new heights, comprehensive donor employment information is the tool you need.

Ready to get started? Let’s begin.

Why Does Employment Data Matter in Higher Ed Fundraising?

The more you know about your donors, the better you can engage them in your fundraising. Employment data in particular plays a crucial role in maximizing support for higher education. By providing insights into the professional networks and financial capacities of alumni and other supporters, you can significantly enhance targeted fundraising strategies, identify lucrative company giving opportunities, and more.

In essence, employment data equips higher education institutions like yours with the information needed to establish and grow stronger relationships with supporters⁠—individual and corporate alike. However, it’s important to take a proactive approach to continuously source new data rather than relying on stale or outdated insights. To uncover the most lucrative opportunities available to your team, you’ll want to ensure employment data accuracy as you gather the information.

6 Ways for Colleges and Universities to Uncover Employment Data

Do you lack complete or updated employment data for your donors? No worries! There are a number of ways for colleges and universities to gain access to this information.

To get the most complete picture of your school’s supporters, we recommend enlisting multiple of the following methods.

1) Donation form fields

Incorporating employment-related fields into donation forms allows colleges to directly collect information about a donor’s employer at the point of donation.

While a simple, optional form field encouraging users to supply their company name will suffice, we recommend embedding an employer search tool in your giving page instead. This way, users are prompted to enter their company name in an embedded form widget connected to a comprehensive database with information on thousands of companies’ giving programs.

Fun fact: 73% of donors will use a matching gift search field on a donation form when presented with the opportunity.

Uncover employment information for higher ed fundraising with a dontaion form tool.

2) Confirmation screens

Confirmation screen search tools can also be used to collect employment data after an individual hits “submit” on their gift. This approach ensures each donor is met with multiple opportunities to provide the information, making the process a seamless and efficient one.

Uncover employment information for higher ed fundraising with a confirmation page tool.

3) Data appends

Even after implementing the above methods to uncover employment information, a number of contacts in your database are likely to have some gaps. For this, a third-party data enhancement service might be the exact answer you’re looking for to help clean up your historical data.

All your team has to do is select an employer appends provider, supply the company with the information you do have on your donors, and they’ll fill in as much of the data as possible using a combination of public and privately held data sources.

Uncover employment information for higher ed fundraising with employer appends.

4) Email domain screening

Donors giving online are generally prompted to supply an email address so your institution can keep in touch. When an individual provides their corporate or work email address, it can offer powerful clues about their employers.

For example, you can determine that a gift made using an email ending in “@company.com” likely comes from an employee within the company.

Uncover employment information for higher ed fundraising with email domain screening.

5) Donor outreach

If, at this point, you’re still missing employer data, we recommend going straight to the source. Engaging donors directly through automated outreach is an easy, low-lift way to uncover additional employment insights⁠—especially using Double the Donation’s prewritten email cadences.

Soon after a donor gives, simply follow up and encourage them to share the name of their employer and look into any available giving programs they may offer.

Uncover employment information for higher ed fundraising with donor outreach.

6) Online research

While more time-consuming, utilizing online resources such as LinkedIn, other networking platforms, or company websites is another way to gather employment information about donors.

Top tip: Due to the manual approach it requires, we recommend retaining online research for your highest-value donors and prospects.

Uncover employment information for higher ed fundraising with online research.

Supercharge fundraising with employment data for higher education.

How to Use Donor Employment Info to Boost Higher Ed Fundraising

Once you’ve built out your donor profiles with accurate and up-to-date employment information, you have what you need to initiate a data-driven fundraising plan. Check out the following tips to maximize your potential and empower your college or university with a stronger, more well-informed strategy.

Data-Driven Tip #1: Personalize communications.

Personalized engagements strengthen donor relations by facilitating a more meaningful connection. Customizing fundraising outreach with details specific to each recipient is a great way to make your communications stand out in supporters’ minds.

This can be as simple as addressing an individual by name in your greeting. However, it can also involve more advanced fields, such as referring to a donor’s employing company in relevant messaging.

Check out these examples: “More than 20 of your colleagues at Carl’s Computer Company support our school through your employer’s giving program. Will you consider joining them to give back to your alma mater?”

“Did you know your employing company offers a generous VTO program? That means you and your colleagues can receive paid time off work to volunteer with our institution!”

Data-Driven Tip #2: Estimate wealth data and capacity to give.

Donors’ employment data can also provide powerful insights into an individual’s potential wealth⁠ level—and, therefore, their approximate capacity to give. Not to mention, if you also know the individual’s job title or status, this provides additional details to inform your fundraising strategy. This information allows institutions to identify major gift prospects, craft tailored appeals, and encourage larger gift amounts.

Here’s an example: Let’s say you determine that an existing donor holds an executive-level position at a lucrative and rapidly growing tech company. From that data, you glean insights into their expected salary range, and adjust your recommended donation ask accordingly.

Data-Driven Tip #3: Identify and pursue matching gift opportunities.

Matching gifts are a leading form of corporate giving. Yet despite their potential, more than $4 to $7 billion worth of matching gift funds go unclaimed each year. Your school likely qualifies for a significant amount of match revenue, and if you want to maximize these programs’ potential, knowing where your donors work is a must.

Donor employment data helps fundraising institutions identify employers that offer matching gift programs. This allows them to promote these opportunities effectively, encouraging donors to double or even triple their contributions.

Here’s an example: “Your employer, Pat’s Pet Supply Co., offers a generous matching gift program⁠—and your most recent donation likely qualifies for a match. By completing a brief online form, you can double the impact of your gift for our school to help us achieve [goal or project]!”

Data-Driven Tip #4: Encourage corporate volunteerism.

Tons of companies offer generous volunteer incentives⁠—such as Dollars for Doers or paid volunteer time off⁠—as a way to encourage their staff to give back of their time. Understanding donors’ corporate affiliations can enable schools like yours to uncover such opportunities and ensure supporters are well-informed.

By offering specialized volunteer opportunities that align with a company’s culture and values, your college or university can encourage volunteers to contribute their time and expertise through their company-sponsored program.

Here’s an example: “Businesses like Really Great Company offer generous grant funding to the organizations their employees volunteer with. Make your volunteer efforts count twice for our school and get involved with [upcoming event or program]!”

Data-Driven Tip #5: Facilitate prospective sponsor conversations.

Beyond existing employee-led giving programs, donor employment data can also help identify opportunities for new, broader corporate partnerships. How? The best partnerships are built around shared audiences⁠—so knowing where supporters work can be instrumental.

You can even encourage donors or alumni to facilitate a warm introduction between your team and their employer to break the ice!

Here’s an example: “In the past year, your company has matched more than 30 employee donations to our school. We are so grateful for the support, and we see an opportunity to expand our mutually beneficial partnership. Will you consider sponsoring our upcoming fundraising event?”

Top Employers with Workplace Giving Programs for Higher Education

Once you know which companies your donors work for, you can use the information to uncover the most valuable workplace giving opportunities in your network. But, in order to do so, you’ll need to be familiar with the companies that offer these programs.

We recommend investing in a corporate giving database (like Double the Donation) to gain access to thousands of companies’ program materials. In the meantime, we’ve compiled a list of ten employers with standout matching gift, volunteer grant, and VTO programs your team should know.

COMPANY NAME

MATCHING GIFTS?

VOLUNTEER GRANTS?

VOLUNTEER TIME OFF?

Allstate Insurance
DTD_Sourcing & Utilizing Employment Data for Higher Education_Allstate

YES ✔️

Donation threshold: $10 – $1,000
Match ratio: 1:1

YES ✔️

$500 per 8 hours of service

YES ✔️

Skills-based volunteer days

Cisco SystemsDTD_Sourcing & Utilizing Employment Data for Higher Education_Cisco

YES ✔️

Donation threshold: $1 – $25,000
Match ratio: .25:1

YES ✔️

$10 per hour of service

YES ✔️

80 hours per year

Ernst & YoungDTD_Sourcing & Utilizing Employment Data for Higher Education_EY

YES ✔️

Donation threshold: $100 – $1,000
Match ratio: 1:1

Not at this time ❌ YES ✔️

Quarterly days of service

AramarkDTD_Sourcing & Utilizing Employment Data for Higher Education_Aramark

YES ✔️

Donation threshold: $50 – $2,000
Match ratio: 1:1

Not at this time ❌ YES ✔️

Annual day of service

Intuit Inc.DTD_Sourcing & Utilizing Employment Data for Higher Education_Intuit

YES ✔️

Donation threshold: $15 – $5,000
Match ratio: 1:1

YES ✔️

$250 grants

YES ✔️

32 hours per year

DeloitteDTD_Sourcing & Utilizing Employment Data for Higher Education_Deloitte

YES ✔️

Donation threshold: $50 – $32,500
Match ratio: 1:1

Not at this time ❌ YES ✔️

8 hours per year

GM FinancialDTD_Sourcing & Utilizing Employment Data for Higher Education_GM

Not at this time ❌ YES ✔️

$10 per hour of service

YES ✔️

32 hours per year

Capital GroupDTD_Sourcing & Utilizing Employment Data for Higher Education_Capital Group

YES ✔️

Donation threshold: $25 – $5,000
Match ratio: 2:1

YES ✔️

$100 per 10 hours of service

Not at this time ❌

Warner MediaDTD_Sourcing & Utilizing Employment Data for Higher Education_Warner

YES ✔️

Donation threshold: $10 – $1,000
Match ratio: 1:1

YES ✔️

$10 per hour of service

YES ✔️

40 hours per year

AppleDTD_Sourcing & Utilizing Employment Data for Higher Education_pple

YES ✔️

Donation threshold: $1 – $10,000
Match ratio: 1:1

YES ✔️

$25 per hour of service

Not at this time ❌

Supercharge fundraising with employment data for higher education.


Wrapping Up & Additional Data-Driven Fundraising Resources

Employment data is a strategic tool for powering higher education fundraising⁠—from personalized engagement efforts to tailored workplace giving initiatives. When sourced and leveraged effectively, this information can shed light on groundbreaking opportunities, guiding your efforts as you enlist support from existing donors and their employers alike.

Interested in learning more about workplace giving opportunities for your college or university? Check out our recommended further reading below:

Supercharge fundraising with employment data for higher education.

Funraisin Chooses Double the Donation for Advanced Matching Gifts Automation

Double the Donation and Funraisin are proud to announce a new partnership that answers the call for advanced integrated matching technology. With the new integration between Double the Donation and Funraisin’s innovative giving experiences, guiding eligible donors to completing their match is easier than ever.

“Matching gifts is one of those rare elements that makes sense for organizations of any size. It has earned a rightful place as a permanent fixture in any nonprofit tech stack,” said Lance Melton, General Manager of North America at Funraisin. “We’re excited to continue our support of our U.S. based nonprofit partners through a powerful integration with Double the Donation’s tools.”

The integration allows donors to discover their match eligibility while they’re in the process of giving. Instead of entering plain text in a field for nonprofits to manage manually and chase after later, donors can find their company name from the Double the Donation database with Double the Donation’s autocomplete search field. 

“We’re excited to see how Funraisin and Double the Donation users will grow their matching gift revenue with a direct integration,” said Adam Weinger, President at Double the Donation. “Powerful fundraising tools plus advanced matching gift software always equals success for our nonprofit clients.”

The Funraisin and Double the Donation integration is now accessible for mutual client use. Follow our integration guide for information on how to get connected.

Ready to get started with Double the Donation to add matching gifts to the donation experience? Request a demo with us and make sure to share that you’re a Funraisin user! Want additional resources to help you take your matching gifts strategy to the next level? Enroll today in our Matching Gift Academy for in-depth content about growing your matching gift revenue.


About Funraisin: Funraisin powers innovative fundraising for thousands of charities worldwide and is known for its highly flexible web platform, empowering customers to deliver personalized fundraising experiences at scale across P2P, DIY, Giving Days, Appeals, Shop sales, Raffles, and more. Organizations can create beautiful web pages and fundraiser dashboards that reward and recognize fundraising achievements. Built-in behavioral messaging drives conversion rates, which ties back to deep integrations with CRM and marketing automation tools you already use, supported with free 24-hour weekday access to Funraisin’s in-house team of passionate fundraising software experts. 

About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The Double the Donation platform provides nonprofits and educational institutions with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. Double the Donation integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions, and even partners with select CSR platforms to further streamline matching gifts for donors. Through Double the Donation, the matching gift process has never been simpler.

The title of the article: Corporate and foundation relations: A guide for universities next to an illustration of a graduate.

Corporate and Foundation Relations: A Guide for Universities

From scholarships to research grants, universities need funding. Much university funding comes from individual donors, but corporations and foundations also play a key role in supporting higher education institutions.

Juggling relationships and grant proposals with multiple corporations and foundations for various university needs can quickly get complicated though. Not to mention, sourcing those funding opportunities can easily be a full-time job for multiple people!

This is where Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR) offices come in. In this guide, we’ll break down what CFR is, why universities need CFR offices, and how to set their CFR office up for success.

Boost alumni engagement and fundraising by adding a matching gift tool to your alumni website. Click to get a demo and see how it works.

What are corporate and foundation relations?

Many corporations and foundations offer grants that are applicable to universities. As such, universities seek out and maintain relationships with these organizations to secure funding opportunities, such as:

  • Research grants. Ongoing research projects can take months or even years to produce results. To keep your students and faculty’s work going strong, they may need research grants. While individual researchers may need to apply for these grants themselves, their university can put them in touch with or at least point them toward grant opportunities they are likely to win.
  • Work placements. Post-graduation plans are probably top of mind for many of your students, and universities with positive relationships with businesses can help their students get their foot in the door with their corporate partners. Along with work placements, this might take the form of yearly internships, spots at job fairs, and Q&A sessions with students.
  • Partnerships. Ongoing partnerships with corporations and foundations can provide funding for your university’s major projects or long-term operations. For example, a business might agree to fund the construction and upkeep of a new football stadium and request typical sponsorship perks, such as having its logo featured on signs around the stadium, in return.

While some of these funding opportunities are awarded on a merit basis—whether on the part of an individual student, the university, or a specific department—having a positive relationship with the grantmaking organization will almost always improve the odds of receiving support.

What do Corporate and Foundation Relations Offices do?

CFR offices help keep their universities funded by finding corporations and foundations and building relationships with them. By doing so, they help students and their university as a whole by:

  • Networking. When students need grant funding, only some will know where to look for these opportunities, let alone how to cultivate a relationship with the grantmakers. CFR offices work hard to establish networks of corporate and foundation partners they can then put students and faculty in contact with.
  • Negotiating opportunities. Negotiating grants and financial partnerships requires special skills, and CFR offices act as the intermediary between their universities, businesses, and foundations. Along with helping students and faculty find worthwhile funding opportunities, CFR offices also talk with businesses about what their university can offer them, whether it’s talented new employees or the positive reputation boost of supporting a higher education institution.
  • Securing funding. Only some foundations have work opportunities for students. Instead, they typically provide valuable grants. CFR offices help manage these grants and work with individual foundations to identify specific areas at the university or create new initiatives the grantmaking organization would want to fund.

Students and faculty can focus on research, career development, and university life while CFR offices put in the work to keep these activities funded. Corporate and foundation relationship networks don’t crop up overnight, and CFR offices keep these lines of communication open to benefit their universities and partners alike.

What tools and resources do Corporate and Foundation Relations Offices need?

With a complex web of connections to track, CFR offices employ various resources and specialized software solutions to stay organized, identify opportunities, and keep lines of communication open. Here are a few top tools and resources your university’s CFR office needs.

1. Cooperation with Other University Offices

CFR offices don’t act alone. To minimize confusion and create a cohesive experience for external partners and internal university members, CFR offices work with your university’s fundraising team, campus administrators, and faculty.

For example, a foundation may be interested in providing grant funding for research related to climate change. The CFR office would then need to reach out to various academic departments at your university to find programs and specific researchers whose work aligns with the foundation’s interests.

Or, the university’s fundraising team may secure a sponsorship with a business and then turn over communication to the CFR team that can facilitate funding for specific projects.

To encourage cooperation among university offices, ensure the heads of your university’s various offices understand what corporate and foundation relationships are and what your CFR office does. Additionally, improve your CFR office’s website to make it clear what the office’s purpose is, what opportunities they have available, and how various interested parties can get in touch with them. Here’s an example of Cornell University’s foundation partnerships page that checks all of these boxes:

A screenshot of a university's corporate and foundation relations office's website.

2. A Reliable Network of Connections

CFR offices are valuable due to their extensive networks of corporate and foundation connections. These networks are built on mutually beneficial arrangements and trust agreements that can take years to cultivate. As such, your CFR office’s personnel are one of your university’s most important resources.

Some team members may bring in networks and relationships they’ve developed themselves, whereas others new to CFR work may still have extensive knowledge of grantmaking and corporate philanthropy.

Support your CFR office by finding new ways for them to connect and build stronger relationships with prospects. This might involve hosting events, having flexibility in what types of projects you’ll support, and investing in necessary prospect research tools.

3. Corporate and Foundation Research Tools

Many prospective corporate and foundation partners can be sourced through your CFR office’s network. However, to assess these prospects and discover new prospects, CFR offices can benefit from corporate and foundation research tools.

Specifically, two research tools you should consider investing in for your CFR office include:

  1. Grant research tools. Many foundations do very little, if any, promotion for their grant opportunities. To find and create relationships with these organizations, CFR offices can leverage a grant research database. Look for databases that specialize in research grants for academics.
  2. Corporate giving database. Some companies publicize their philanthropic activities, but tracking down the minute details can be a challenge. With corporate giving databases, CFR offices can discover companies’ giving histories to identify if they give to higher education institutions like your university.

Additionally, consider how other fundraising tools can help facilitate relationships with corporations and foundations. For example, your CFR office may help negotiate a matching gift challenge with a business wherein the business agrees to match all donations made within a certain period of time. To track this fundraiser and promote corporate matching gifts to your school’s donors even after the challenge, you may consider matching gift and workplace fundraising software.

More Resources for Universities

Corporations and foundations have the power to open doors for your university’s community. To connect with these partners, your CFR office needs support to pursue long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with funders. And your university can provide that help with the right tools, resources, and knowledge.

To expand your knowledge of the university fundraising space even further, explore these resources:

Learn how 360MatchPro can help your education institution tap into one of the most powerful alumni fundraising trends, corporate philanthropy.

Read our recommendations for the top nonprofit technology consulting firms in this article.

Top 10 Nonprofit Technology Consulting Firms: Reviewed!

For nonprofits of all sizes, technology plays a vital role in achieving their missions. As your organization grows, you’ll need advanced software solutions to manage donor information, enhance your marketing strategies, and track fundraising data. But that’s just the beginning!

To fully harness the power of your nonprofit technology, you need guidance from experts who know how to navigate technical complexities and develop customized solutions. The answer? A nonprofit technology consultant!

A skilled consultant can help you implement your software, streamline your overall operations, and even brainstorm technology-driven marketing solutions. In this post, we’ll introduce you to top nonprofit technology consultants who excel in various areas of expertise:

ProviderSpecialty
Nexus MarketingOrganic Marketing Strategies
Getting AttentionGoogle Ad Grants
DNL OmniMediaTechnology Implementation
DonorlyFundraising Strategy Development
MorwebNonprofit Web Design
Whole WhaleWeb Data and Technology
Heller ConsultingCRM Management
Idealist ConsutlingSalesforce Implementation
ApparoCorporate Partnerships
ScienceSoftCustom Software Development

After exploring our favorite firms, you’ll be well-equipped to decide on a trusted technology partner who can elevate your nonprofit’s impact through innovative technical solutions.

Click to explore our recommended nonprofit technology consulting firm for digital marketing.

Nexus Marketing — Top Consultant for Organic Marketing Strategies

Consulting Firm OverviewNexus Marketing is our recommended nonprofit technology consultant for organic marketing strategies.

Nexus Marketing is renowned for its expertise in organic marketing strategies, helping nonprofits grow their audiences through intensive SEO strategies focused on earning conversions.

Ideal for nonprofits that sell products, programming, or services, Nexus Marketing can transform your web presence into an inbound lead generation engine. When you partner with Nexus, they’ll help you grow your SEO and digital marketing efforts and reach your target audience via search engine traffic, dynamic video content, and promotional opportunities with leaders in the mission-driven space.

Nonprofit Technology Services

Nexus Marketing offers these valuable digital marketing services:

A list of Nexus Marketing’s nonprofit marketing services

  • SEO content creation to help your website rank for relevant keywords
  • Technical SEO to address your site’s crawlability, mobile-friendliness, and other technical aspects
  • Authority and link-building opportunities with their extensive partnership network
  • Email marketing campaigns to guide visitors through their journey with your nonprofit
  • Video production services to create compelling product, demo, and educational videos

Nonprofit Technology Portfolio

With more than 10 years of experience in ROI-driven SEO for mission-driven organizations, Nexus Marketing has a deep understanding of how to lay the groundwork for long-term growth while also earning their clients immediate wins. They can accelerate your digital presence and SEO growth through their incredible partnership network of 500+ leaders in the mission-driven space.

For instance, they helped the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance (NLA) grow awareness of its Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) credential and Leaderosity programs. Through the partnership, NLA now has keyword-optimized blog posts and product pages, has published partner posts across authoritative websites, and is featured on referral pages. Thanks to these various opportunities, they’ve achieved incredible organic growth and driven more sales for their training programs.

Looking to promote your nonprofit’s products and service offerings online? Get help from our recommended SEO experts.

Getting Attention — Best Nonprofit Technology Consultant for Google Ad Grants

Consulting Firm OverviewGetting Attention is our recommended nonprofit technology consultant for Google Grants

Getting Attention is your ultimate nonprofit consultant for all things related to the Google Ad Grants program. They excel in helping nonprofits apply for and manage the grant, ensuring their nonprofit clients maximize their online presence through search engine advertising.

Getting Attenion acts as an extension of your team, ensuring they fully understand your brand and its goals. Then, they’ll create compelling Google Ads that make the most of your allotted $10,000 each month to drive traffic to your most important web pages. Plus, you can relax knowing they’re certified by Google and know what they’re doing.

Nonprofit Technology Services

Getting Attention offers these unparalleled Google Ad Grant services:

  • Google Ad Grant eligibility checks and applications
  • Ad creation backed by extensive keyword research
  • Account hygiene to keep your Ad Grants account organized
  • Ongoing Google Ad Grant compliance
  • Google Grant reactivation if your account ever gets deactivated

Nonprofit Technology Portfolio

Getting Attention has worked with nonprofit organizations to achieve a variety of goals. For instance, they helped Erika’s Lighthouse increase awareness of its mission, achieving an impressive 300 clicks in just one month. The ads also have an incredible 15.8% click-through rate, which is higher than the average Google Ad CTR of 3.17%.

A screenshot of a Google Ad that the nonprofit technology experts at Getting Attention created

Getting Attention has also worked with Glacier National Park Conservancy to drive purchases from its online store to support Glacier National Park. By targeting keywords like “Glacier National Park Tours” and “Glacier National Park Campgrounds,” their Google Ads drove an impressive 2,570 clicks in just one month. You can read more about some of Getting Attention’s other clients in their nonprofit advertising examples guide.

Click to explore Getting Attention’s Google Ad Grant services.

DNL OmniMedia — Top Consultant for Nonprofit Technology Implementation

Consulting Firm OverviewThis is the DNL OmniMedia logo

A trusted Blackbaud partner and Salesforce solution provider, DNL OmniMedia understands nonprofit software—but more importantly, they understand nonprofits.

Their full-service consulting firm will assess your technology infrastructure and provide personalized recommendations that align with your mission. Through custom web development, software configurations, and data analysis, Team DNL will ensure that your nonprofit thrives in an increasingly digital age.

Nonprofit Technology Services

DNL OmniMedia offers nonprofit-exclusive services including:

  • Technical consulting
  • Software implementation and customization
  • Website development
  • Data migration and clean-up

In addition to these services, DNL offers products that help nonprofits expand their Blackbaud Luminate system, including peer-to-peer fundraising and advocacy add-ons.

Nonprofit Technology Portfolio

Team DNL has worked with organizations across the mission-driven sector and has solved a variety of technology-related challenges.

From designing a one-of-a-kind nonprofit website for the Interlochen Center for the Arts to creating custom Blackbaud TeamRaiser donation forms for the North Shore Animal League, the DNL team has extended their expertise to a number of clients.

Screenshot of the DNL OmniMedia website


Donorly — Top Choice for Fundraising Strategy Development

Consulting Firm OverviewDonorly is a donor research-focused technology consulting firm.

Ever look at your fundraising goals and wonder if you can achieve them? The nonprofit technology consultants at Donorly know that you can if you just have the right information and assets by your side!

Under the direction of president Sandra Davis, the Donorly team channels their creativity and passion into creating elegant donor research solutions specifically for your nonprofit. With their comprehensive donor information, your nonprofit can reach higher than you thought possible.

Nonprofit Technology Services

When it comes to donor research, the Donorly team provides your nonprofit with the foundations for:

  • Capital campaign management
  • Board expansions and recruiting
  • Grant proposal writing
  • Interim staffing

Donorly promises a customized approach, based on their unique engagement model.

Nonprofit Technology Portfolio

Many of Donorly’s clients come from the arts and culture or humanities space, though the team has worked with nonprofits across the sector. Their client lists includes the Seattle Children’s Museum, Playwrights Horizons, Martha & Mary Lutheran Services, and the Studio Theatre.

Donorly offers donor research-focused nonprofit technology consulting services.


Morweb — Best Technology Consultant For Nonprofit Web Design

Consulting Firm OverviewFind out more about Morweb, a top nonprofit technology consulting firm.

For nonprofits looking to get started building a beautiful website, Morweb will be the perfect partner. Pairing their unmatched CMS with expert support services, your web design strategy will be more effective than ever.

When you leverage Morweb’s consulting services, they’ll walk you step-by-step through the website creation and implementation process.

After your website is live, you can still call on them for additional consulting if you ever want to update your style, change your strategy, or otherwise improve the functionality of your site.

Nonprofit Technology Services

Morweb offers the following nonprofit web design services:

  • Customizable themes and layouts
  • Search engine optimization
  • Form builders
  • Donation processing
  • Technology and design consulting

Even better, Morweb has scalable products to meet the needs of all kinds of nonprofits. This way, you can pay for what you need now and have the option of upgrading down the line.

Nonprofit Technology Portfolio

Morweb has experience enhancing the web design strategy of a diverse range of nonprofits, from small, regional organizations to international ones.

Their portfolio of clients includes nonprofits like 4th Street BRZ in Canada, Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County, Society of University Surgeons, and the Driving School Association of the Americas.

Visit Morweb to learn more about how their nonprofit technology consulting firm can help your team.


Whole Whale — Top Consultant for Web Data and Technology

Consulting Firm OverviewWhole Whale is a nonprofit technology consulting firm specializing in digital strategy.

Whole Whale is a digital agency dedicated to helping nonprofits enhance their strategic use of technology. They’ll help your organization learn valuable skills and implement best practices so that you don’t need to rely on a consultant or third-party administrator. 

To achieve that goal, Whole Whale provides one-on-one consulting services for clients with like-minded missions. On top of their long-term projects, this firm also offers online training courses through Whole Whale University in areas such as social media, Google AdWords, and more.

Nonprofit Technology Services

Whole Whale takes a holistic approach to digital strategy, with key services that include:

  • Google AdWords grants management
  • Google Analytics
  • Web design and development
  • Content marketing

Each Whole Whale project is customized based on nonprofit needs, so you won’t have to worry about getting a canned approach.

Nonprofit Technology Portfolio

Notably, Whole Whale worked with the Malala Fund to improve the nonprofit’s use of Google Analytics for tracking user actions on their site. Following their engagement, the Malala Fund was able to successfully implement Google Analytics on their own, without any ongoing support from a consultant.

Get started with Whole Whale, a nonprofit technology consulting firm, today!


Heller Consulting — Best Nonprofit Technology Consultant for CRM Management

Consulting Firm OverviewHeller Consulting offers nonprofit technology consulting services for organizations of all sizes and missions.

Since 1996, Heller Consulting has worked exclusively with nonprofits to develop effective strategies in data management, communications, fundraising, and other vital areas.

In particular, the Heller consultants are passionate about working with nonprofits to get more from their CRM systems. With their services, your organization can outline a clear vision for your constituent relationship management, implement and customize your technology, and learn best practices for your software.

Nonprofit Technology Services

Heller Consulting works primarily with nonprofits and higher education institutes, offering a variety of technology services such as: 

  • CRM strategy and design
  • CRM implementation
  • Online fundraising strategy
  • Google Analytics

In addition, Heller Consulting maintains an active blog on their website to help organizations continue gaining and sharing knowledge about nonprofit technology.

Nonprofit Technology Portfolio

Heller Consulting has worked with nonprofit clients in multiple sectors, including advocacy, healthcare, higher education, and social services. Some of their past engagements include the ASPCA, Make a Wish National Foundation, and the Lincoln Park Zoo.

You can check out their website for more information on recent projects and case studies detailing their work with specific software solutions, such as the Salesforce Community Cloud.

Learn more about the nonprofit technology consulting services offered by Heller Consulting.


Idealist Consulting — Top Consultant for Salesforce Implementation

Consulting Firm Overview Idealist Consulting offers nonprofit technology consulting services as well as general digital consulting for all types of organizations.

With about 60% of their clients being nonprofits, Idealist Consulting specializes in Salesforce and marketing automation consulting. They can help you build out a custom Salesforce experience that works for your organization, with strategic app integrations and personalized configurations.

Idealist Consulting works with organizations to get more from the Salesforce system and raise funds and awareness for their cause. Their four-step consulting process always concludes with increased impact made possible through strategic technology implementation.

Nonprofit Technology Services

Idealist Consulting offers services that build on your existing technology and online presence through:

  • Salesforce CRM development
  • Email marketing automation
  • Online form optimization
  • Salesforce application integration

On top of all of that, Idealist can also work with you to build out a custom Salesforce app of your own!

Nonprofit Technology Portfolio

Among their other nonprofit and for-profit clients, Idealist Consulting worked with The Banfield Foundation, an animal welfare organization, to move their data to the Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack for improved fundraising and donor data management.

By learning how to track small donations more effectively in Salesforce, The Banfield Foundation increased their online donations by over 300%! Idealist Consulting also developed custom fields within their CRM and helped them generate unique reports showing donor trends and demographics.

See if Idealist Consulting's nonprofit technology consulting approach is right for you.


Apparo — Best Nonprofit Technology Consultant For Corporate Partnerships

Consulting Firm Overview Apparo offers volunteer nonprofit technology consulting services to empower local nonprofits in the Charlotte, North Carolina area.

Apparo seeks to “empower nonprofits through technology that enhances their missions.” They provide volunteer nonprofit technology consulting to organizations of all sizes and skill levels in the Charlotte, North Carolina, community. 

All of Apparo’s consulting services are individualized and unique to the organization. They’ll get to know your organization so they can most aptly pinpoint challenges and areas for improvement before working to push your mission forward.

Nonprofit Technology Services

Apparo’s consulting team offers a wide variety of free nonprofit services, including:

  • Basic Microsoft coaching
  • Nonprofit technology panels and forums
  • One-on-one technology assessments
  • Training groups

As a nonprofit themselves, Apparo is dedicated to helping philanthropic organizations within their community. Their volunteer consultants can help organizations with almost anything, from selecting the right software to learning the most up-to-date best practices in the nonprofit tech community.

Nonprofit Technology Portfolio

Apparo’s many success stories include the Carolina Raptor Center, a nonprofit working to rehabilitate and release injured birds. Prior to working with Apparo, the Center relied on paper tracking and Excel spreadsheets for all of their volunteer information, costing them time and data.

With Apparo, the Center was able implement more strategic software that reduced paperwork and increased their supporter engagement possibilities across the board.

Check out Apparo to see if their nonprofit technology consulting services can help your organization grow.


ScienceSoft — Top Choice for Custom Software Development

Consulting Firm OverviewCheck out ScienceSoft as your next nonprofit technology consulting firm!

ScienceSoft is an international provider of IT consulting and software development services with 30 years of experience in heterogeneous IT environments. ScienceSoft is headquatered in Texas, US, and has offices in the EU and Eastern Europe. Today, the company houses a team of 550 experts, including more than 20 business analysts with an understanding of nonprofits’ specific needs and expertise in multiple technology stacks and platform-based solutions.

Nonprofit Technology Services

ScienceSoft offers an array of IT consulting services to help you achieve your organization’s mission:

Other platform-specific consulting – SharePoint, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Magento.

Nonprofit Technology Portfolio

ScienceSoft has worked with multiple types of NPOs, including educational institutions, government entities and public service providers, supporting the nonprofits’ mission to expand their outreach with available tech capabilities. The examples of such cooperation range from solutions that make an NPO visible on the internet, improve member retention and engagement to multifaceted applications for an NPO’s external interactions with the focus on integrity and confidentiality.

ScienceSoft can handle all of your nonprofit technology consulting firm needs!


Selecting the right nonprofit technology consultant can be a game-changer for your organization. A motivated and knowledgeable partner can streamline software implementation, customization, and usage, allowing you to harness the full potential of your nonprofit’s technology.

To further enhance your nonprofit software experience, explore these valuable resources:

Click to learn more about the nonprofit technology consultants at Nexus Marketing.