Harris Connect

Using the Personicx® data modeling tool to make their annual fund phone campaign more targeted, Plymouth State University increased their fund raising success and efficiency, while gaining knowledge to enhance future fund raising efforts, according to Hope Jordan, Annual Gifts Officer.

“The Personicx data helped me train my students to focus more clearly on the prospects, and it helped target our efforts more effectively within the non-donor population,” said Jordan. ”In addition to the training benefits, we raised more calling dollars per fiscal year ever, using about one third of the student labor as previous years, while increasing our average gift size.”

Personicx®, available through Harris Connect, is a data modeling solution that places an alumni population into segments or clusters based on demographic characteristics and specific purchasing and donor behavior at various life stages.

Jordan explained that Personicx® was used to target a percentage of non-donors who would be most likely to give. “I used the demographic materials to educate my student callers about the people they were going to be calling that night,” said Jordan. “The information was easy to interpret and share with the callers. It helped us manage our time more effectively, and callers were absolutely more informed about who they were speaking with.”

According to Jordan the information was also used as a valuable back-end analysis tool that produced some unexpected results. “I used the reporting tool, built into the database, to crunch giving results against segments to help us better target for the next campaign,” she said “We looked at the number of pledges, percentage of those who gave, dollars raised and average gifts, based on Personicx® cluster. The results were surprising -- I discovered that our highest giving sector is not the wealthiest sector. The second highest giving sector is also not what I had expected. It’s great to have such valuable information so specific to our population.”

“We’ve been really happy with the results,” said Jordan. “This was the first year on the campaign for me and for every single one of the student callers. The student feedback was positive, and they expressed real appreciation for what they learned.”

Another unexpected result, according to Jordan, is that this year’s campaign has achieved a very high degree of caller retention. “Typically only one or two callers return, but this time around, a majority are returning for an upcoming campaign,” she said. “I’m happy that the experience was a positive one for them, since some day, they will be part of our alumni base.”