Insights from #RuffaloCON15, Day One

We’re enjoying Minneapolis and the great group of passionate fundraisers gathered here to network, learn and participate in RuffaloCON15. Here are a few things I learned on the first day:

• Sarah Kleeberger reminded us that 80% of nonprofit gifts are made by individuals, but just 8% of alumni give back each year. It’s great that alumni donor counts were slightly up last year across higher education. But since about three quarters of our future major donors will be annual givers, we need to do more to engage our alumni and bring the number of alumni giving up even more in the coming years.
• Greg Ware from ScaleFunder talked about the process of building an early adopter group, going viral at the start and providing active stewardship in crowdfunding campaigns. It turns out this latest and greatest fundraising tool is greatly improved by our traditional best practices.
• Keynote speaker Dr. Will Miller talked about the world our young donors live in, and made us all laugh a lot. Check out more about The Graduation Jolt in a great podcast at Dr. Will.com and find out why there is “comfort in belonging.”

You know it’s a good start to the #ruffalocon15 when he audience is singing the theme to Jettson’s in the opening remarks. #singalongs

— Emily Sell (@Em7Sell) July 28, 2015

• Carl Pitruzzello and Marya Neary from the University of New Haven talked about how to become  a champion of your data. Developing long-term strategies to improve your data and reporting is key, but so is spending time each day cleaning and finding gaps in your records.

U of New Haven: designates Loyal Engaged Annual Donors = LEAD in effort to retain annual donors. Regular touch points. #RuffaloCon15

— Julie Bryant (@JulieBryantNL) July 28, 2015

• Chris Bingley from Gonzaga talked about getting leadership annual giving officers on the road immediately and absorbed in the reality of meeting donors and asking. This is a growing area of giving investment and his advice was great.
• Student satisfaction is associated with alumni giving, and the researchers at RNL showed us with data from a survey of over 350,000 how a great on-campus experience translates into a greater chance alumni will give back after graduation.

I’m looking forward to Day 2!