Podcasts about ruffalo noel levitz

Join us for this special mini-episode of the IngenioUs U podcast, where Dr. Lauren Way from Bay Path University and Julie Bryant, Vice President for Student Success at Ruffalo Noel Levitz, provide an exclusive preview of their upcoming Leading Edge webinar, Student Success: The Influence of Campus Climate. 

With so many challenges facing enrollment leaders today, we must adopt innovative, data-driven approaches to stay competitive. In our upcoming Leading Edge Thinking in Higher Education webinar, we'll explore insights from a nationwide survey of over 200 institutions, giving you a chance to benchmark your practices against the latest trends and learn about strategies like the effective use of KPIs and dynamic budgeting. To give us a sneak peek into what you can expect, listen in as Dr. Lauren Way, Director of our Graduate Program in Higher Education at Bay Path University chats with our webinar speaker, Dr. Shane Pruitt, Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Consulting Services at Ruffalo Noel-Levitz, who will share a high-level overview of the key themes we'll explore in the webinar. To register for the webinar, see here. keywords: higher education, enrollment, marketing, recruitment, webinar, trends, data-driven, synchronization, seamless experience, prospective students, AI, KPIs Takeaways Enrollment leaders in higher education need to adopt innovative, data-driven approaches to stay competitive. Synchronizing marketing and recruitment efforts is crucial for creating a seamless and cohesive experience for prospective students. Trends in graduate enrollment show a significant shift towards online programs. There is a need for better visibility and tracking of leads throughout the recruitment funnel. The webinar will provide actionable strategies for aligning marketing and recruitment, reallocating marketing budgets, incorporating AI, and tracking KPIs. The Role of AI and KPIs in Enrollment Trends and Challenges in Graduate Enrollment Chapters 00:00Introduction to the Webinar 00:34Challenges and Innovative Approaches in Enrollment 01:03Introducing Dr. Lauren Way 01:46Introduction and Background 03:45The Shift Towards Online Programs 05:02The Lack of Visibility in Lead Performance 06:24Synchronizing Marketing and Recruitment 07:50Actionable Strategies for Aligning Marketing and Recruitment 09:26Achieving Process Efficiency and a Student-Focused Approach

Are you ready to revolutionize your admissions and marketing strategies? We're excited to invite you to our upcoming leading-edge webinar, “Using AI in Admissions, Marketing, and Beyond,” featuring industry trailblazers Dr. Reena Lichtenfeld and Roger Lee from Ruffalo Noel Levitz. This highly anticipated session will take place on August 27 at 12 PM Eastern Time. Dr. Lichtenfeld, Vice President of Consulting Services at Ruffalo Noel Levitz, and Roger Lee, Senior VP of AI Solutions, will guide you through the transformative potential of AI in higher education. With their deep expertise and practical insights, you'll learn how to harness data-driven strategies, enhance personalized outreach, and streamline your admissions processes. Key Takeaways Include: Data-Driven Insights: Discover how to leverage analytics to attract the right-fit students for your programs. Personalized Outreach: Explore techniques to connect with prospective students in meaningful ways. Streamlined Processes: Learn how AI can boost your efficiency and optimize marketing workflows. This is your chance to gain valuable knowledge and practical tools to stay ahead in the evolving landscape of higher education. Don't miss out on this opportunity to hear from the experts and elevate your admissions and marketing strategies. Secure your spot now by clicking the registration link here. And listen in to this mini recording to get a taste of what you will learn at the webinar. We look forward to seeing you there and exploring the future of higher education together!

Send us a Text Message.On this episode of Speaking of…College at Charleston, we talk about the college admission process with Jimmie Foster, Vice President of Enrollment Planning at the College. The conversation covers various aspects of preparing for college, from when to start thinking about applying to understanding the importance of grades, extracurricular activities and campus visits. Foster addresses common misconceptions about college admissions, the reduced significance of standardized tests like the SAT and the holistic review process adopted by many colleges. Foster offers advice for parents on supporting their children and emphasizing the importance of finding the right fit financially, academically and socially.Foster's take away advice is that campus tours give students the opportunity to preform a bench Test. “Every student should have that moment where they can sit down for just five minutes by themselves on a bench somewhere on that campus and just watch and get that feel of campus to know if they can see themselves here.” Featured on this Episode:Jimmie Foster Jr. is vice president of enrollment planning as of May 2023. In this role, Foster leads the Division of Enrollment Planning, made up of the Office of Admissions, the Visitor Center, the Office of Financial Assistance and Veterans Affairs and the Office of Enrollment Information.Foster returns to this position at the College of Charleston after spending three years as vice president of enrollment management at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.Foster's experience at the College spans more than a decade where he held several roles including vice president of enrollment planning and director of first-year student admissions. Foster also served as dean of admissions and orientation at Northeastern University in Boston. He began his career in admissions at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.Before moving into higher education, Foster worked on national political campaigns, including time on a U.S. Presidential campaign. He has been a presenter at national professional development conferences including NACAC, ACT/NRCCUA and Ruffalo Noel Levitz.Foster has enjoyed being a part of the College's First Year Abroad Experiences where he has been involved with the UK Soccer Experience course since its inception in 2012. Foster is passionate about English football and enjoys having the opportunity to work directly with first-year students by co-presenting the eight-week long seminar that culminates in leading study-abroad experiences to the United Kingdom based on the theme of the sociology, history and economics of soccer.Resources from this Episode:Admissions website: https://charleston.edu/admission/index.phpCofC Quick Facts: https://charleston.edu/admission/rankings-accolades/quick-facts.phpHow to apply: https://charleston.edu/admission/apply/index.phpCollege at a glance: https://charleston.edu/about/college-at-a-glance.phpOffice of Admissions Hours  Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.Phone 843.953.5670Email  Office of Admissions admissions@cofc.edu International Students  international@cofc.edu  

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Ann Oleson. Ann embarked on her entrepreneurial journey in 2011. When she started her first business, Ann found herself navigating uncharted territory as a female entrepreneur. She craved role models and networks to guide her along the way. She was specifically looking for women founders of companies generating over a million dollars a year in revenue. Ann got there through creativity and persistence. Today, Ann and her network are breaking barriers and defying expectations. As a founding partner at Return on Good, Ann is a passionate advocate for using time, talent and treasure to make the world a truly better place. Return on Good, a strategic philanthropy company focused on helping its clients do the most good in the world, centers on her deep experience with her own family's family office, leading investment and philanthropy, and drives her dedication for her work. Her love rests firmly in the dynamics of the family office, the complexities of organizational structure and design, an alignment for decision-making and the ability to make exceptional opportunities toward a return on good to the world. Ann's interest in impact investment, philanthropic strategy and her savvy with streamlining it all lead her to start Return on Good with her husband, Jay Kelly. ROG uniquely partners with phenomenal clients to develop engagement strategies for philanthropic investment, working with family offices across the globe. Through impact investing, sustainable investing, Venture Funds and strategic giving, ROG is the ideal connector to bring high-impact family offices into meaningful relationships with deserving nonprofits and innovative organizations. As a frequent presenter at Family Office events in the U.S. and abroad, she speaks on current trends in philanthropy, impact investment strategy, healthcare and the inner workings of the family office. Ann's entrepreneurial journey further strengthens Return on Good; her startup digital marketing agency supported higher education and was named to Inc. 500 and 5000 four years in a row. Within seven years, this thriving business was acquired by private equity investors. Ann then served as Chief Marketing Officer for Ruffalo Noel Levitz, before being named Chief Executive Officer at Via-TRM, which specializes in international education and study abroad software. Under her leadership, the company rebuilt the marketing and sales infrastructure, turned the first profitable quarter ever and exceeded revenue goals. The ability to take 30+ years of marketing/communications/sales/fundraising and business experience to focus on helping rising social good companies find funds and nonprofits build marketing and fundraising expertise was the dream she has always been looking for. EVERY day is filled with challenge, learning, experience, passion and a chance to make one thing better than it was yesterday. Return on Good helps: family offices with philanthropic alignment and strategy, social good companies to find impact investors focused on results and good, and non-profits to build marketing and fundraising strategy long term. Her awards include Women of Influence, 40 under 40, Inc.5000, HER Woman of Achievement, and CBJ Fastest Growing Company's Award. She has served on boards and committees for Junior League, United Way, Waypoint, ISU College of Business and others.

The most massive revision ever to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid burst into the new year like a brick through a window–everyone is talking about it, but nobody is happy. Amy and Mike invited financial aid advisor Ed Recker to review the latest news and timelines to date along with our first impressions of the better FAFSA. What are five things you will learn in this episode? How has the “soft launch” of the Better FAFSA® gone? What has been the feedback about the user experience on the FAFSA®? How have college professionals reacted to the FAFSA rollout? Will the FAFSA delays impact the traditional May 1st admission decision deadline? What recommended action steps and advice should those involved in the financial aid process take to heart? MEET OUR GUEST Ed Recker is a Director of High School Relationship Management with Sallie Mae, serving high schools, states, and professional organizations throughout the U.S. He joined Sallie Mae in 2019, and has over 20 years' experience in the financial aid and enrollment industry.  Prior to joining Sallie Mae, Ed was a Senior Consultant within the Enrollment Division of Ruffalo Noel Levitz, held the position of Vice President for Enrollment Management at the University of Findlay, and held various financial aid positions at the University of Findlay, Terra State Community College, and Bowling Green State University. Ed holds a M.Ed. in Higher Education from the University of Toledo, and resides in Ottawa, OH with his wife Kate and daughter Evelyn. Ed appeared on the podcast in episode #492 to discuss The Better FAFSA For New And Previous Filers, which provides essential background information for this episode. Find Ed at Edward.Recker@salliemae.com. LINKS FAFSA® 2023: How to Apply for Financial Aid | Sallie Mae FAFSA Simplification: A Better FAFSA Process Means a Better Future for Borrowers | Federal Student Aid - Financial Aid Toolkit 2024-25 FAFSA Student Aid Index Update and Timeline RELATED EPISODES The Better FAFSA For New And Previous Filers UNDERSTANDING YOUR COLLEGE TUITION BILL WHAT IS A NET PRICE CALCULATOR? THE PRICE YOU REALLY PAY FOR COLLEGE ABOUT THIS PODCAST Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page. ABOUT YOUR HOSTS Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros. If you're interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.  

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid has always been a crucial but complicated and challenging step in receiving financial aid for college or graduate school. What improvements does the future hold? Amy and Mike invited financial aid advisor Ed Recker to explain the impact of the Better FAFSA for both new and previous filers. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What are the major differences in the current FAFSA and Better FAFSA? How do these changes impact calculation of the Expected Family Contribution (EFC)? Does this new FAFSA impact a college or university's Net Price Calculator? What changes should families with multiple students in college be aware of? Will the Better FAFSA timeline have implications for Early Action/Early Decision applications or CSS profiles? MEET OUR GUEST Ed Recker is a Director of High School Relationship Management with Sallie Mae, serving high schools, states, and professional organizations throughout the U.S. He joined Sallie Mae in 2019, and has over 20 years' experience in the financial aid and enrollment industry.  Prior to joining Sallie Mae, Ed was a Senior Consultant within the Enrollment Division of Ruffalo Noel Levitz, held the position of Vice President for Enrollment Management at the University of Findlay, and held various financial aid positions at the University of Findlay, Terra State Community College, and Bowling Green State University. Ed holds a M.Ed. in Higher Education from the University of Toledo, and resides in Ottawa, OH with his wife Kate and daughter Evelyn. Find Ed at Edward.Recker@salliemae.com. LINKS FAFSA® 2023: How to Apply for Financial Aid | Sallie Mae View your financial aid, savings, scholarships, and loans all in one place and build your bridge to college with Nitro Next. Sallie Mae - YouTube FAFSA Simplification: A Better FAFSA Process Means a Better Future for Borrowers | Federal Student Aid - Financial Aid Toolkit https://salliemae.com/fafsa https://nitrocollege.com/next https://www.youtube.com/@salliemae RELATED EPISODES UNDERSTANDING YOUR COLLEGE TUITION BILL WHAT IS A NET PRICE CALCULATOR? THE PRICE YOU REALLY PAY FOR COLLEGE ABOUT THIS PODCAST Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page. ABOUT YOUR HOSTS Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros. If you're interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.

The grit and negotiating skills Jake Strang developed making his first fundraising ask in college as a paid student caller have stayed with him as he honed his craft throughout his professional career. A series of promotions and career moves have allowed Jake to grow as a professional fundraiser within annual giving, and he's thrilled to be part of the annual giving revolution that is underway where data and technology are making stronger human connections possible. The donor connections that stay with him are when he and his team create content that compels a donor to give today and direct their support to where the funds are most needed. He confidently shares that diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are central to his work and is a priority echoed throughout the university. For those starting and managing their career, Jake reminds us that you must believe in what you're selling - the mission of the organization - and know that you cannot put a price on good leadership. Listen in to catch his must-read list and hear what he's looking for as a hiring manager. Show notes at www.askingforgood.com Jake has 15 years of experience in higher education development and is currently the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni Annual Giving at the University of Pittsburgh. In this role, he leads a comprehensive annual giving program that engages alumni constituents and secures sustainable funds for Pitt's highest priorities. Jake is a resource and convener for the annual giving staff at Pitt's regional campuses and Pitt Athletics, and has primary responsibility for the operations and staff of Panthers Forward, a signature student debt relief initiative. Prior to Pitt, Jake held leadership roles at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University in the City of New York, and the University of South Carolina with Ruffalo Noel Levitz. He has experience leading annual giving, direct marketing campaigns, reunions, volunteers, class gift campaigns, giving days, frontline fundraising, digital strategies, engagement centers, and leadership societies. In addition, he has also led alumni engagement efforts including newsletters, social media, events, webinars, and alumni magazines. Jake holds a bachelor's degree from the University of South Carolina in Marketing and Management and a master's degree from Columbia University in nonprofit management. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/askingforgood/support

The modern learner wants to be more than just a number to an institution. They want a personalized experience. In the world of Netflix and Amazon, it's critical for institutions to leverage their digital resources to deliver the experience students expect and to maximize their student enrollment. On this episode, Enrique Jasso, Associate Director of Texas Health Education Services and Vaughn Shinkus, Assistant Vice President and Senior Consultant at Ruffalo Noel Levitz talk about how to leverage digital resources to attract and retain students, and how personalization plays a major role. 

 Dr. Stacy Klippenstein is the President of Mohave Community College (MCC). Prior to joining Mohave Community College, Dr. Klippenstein served as the President of Miles Community College (Miles City, Montana) from January 2014 – June 14, 2019. Previously, Dr. Klippenstein served as the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at Montana State University Billings, which includes the City College, a two-year technical college. From this experience, Dr. Klippenstein became passionate about two-year education and helping students attain industry recognized credentials, certificates, and two-year degrees. He knows that a college education can transform the lives of so many and a community college contributes to the economic growth of any small, rural community.  Prior to his time at Montana State University Billings, Dr. Klippenstein served as the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of Housing and New Student Programs at Central Washington University. He has also worked at Texas Tech University and Northern Arizona University in various capacities. He received a bachelor's and master's degree from Eastern Montana College (now Montana State University Billings) and a doctorate in higher education leadership from Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Klippenstein also serves as a Senior Associate Consultant for the Strategic Enrollment Planning division of Ruffalo Noel Levitz. Over the past 30 years, Dr. Klippenstein served as an instructor for many first-year experience, student leadership, psychology, and graduate courses.  Dr. Klippenstein is married to Carrie Klippenstein and has two sons, Steven and Ty. Both are successful college graduates. In his spare time, Dr. Klippenstein enjoys a round of golf, spending time outdoors, traveling with Carrie, and spending time with friends and family.    

“Sending a link in your first text message is akin to asking someone to marry you on the first date.” - Shad HanselmanMike and Shad discuss Best practices for ensuring gift fulfillmentOpt-out language in advancement textingHow texting creates a natural pause to conversations, allowing your fundraising staff to better tackle unexpected questionsWhether or not to include links in advancement messaging

Jay Finney is the Vice President and Senior Consultant, Fundraising Management at Ruffalo Noel Levitz, LLC. For over 20 years, Jay has worked with a wide variety of not-for-profit organizations, helping them attract, engage, and retain more donors.  He has partnered with colleges, prep schools, hospitals, PBS stations, food banks, museums, zoos, military groups, and more. Jay has helped clients move from a single channel, spray and pray approach to fundraising to more efficient and effective annual fundraising programs. In this episode… There's a smarter way to raise funds. It has nothing to do with reaching out to as many people as you can in the hopes that they'll give. That spray and pray approach often fails because not everybody is willing to or can even afford to give. A more innovative approach uses data for targeted fundraising, reaching the right folks with the right ask at the right time. It begins by reaching out to people through their preferred communication channel and gathering specific data for each donor. Want to know how to go about it?  Listen to this episode of The Philanthropy212 Podcast with host Penny Cowden. She interviews Jay Finney, Vice President and Senior Consultant, Fundraising Management at Ruffalo Noel Levitz, LLC. Together, they discuss building multiple communications channels, gathering donor data, and using it to make the right ask at the right time.

Former NFL athlete and Iowa entrepreneur Nate Kaeding talks with Ann Oleson, the chief marketing officer at Ruffalo Noel Levitz, about learning the importance of making a lasting impression and the art of virtual sales in the latest episode of “Real Success.” Presented by MidWestOne Bank.

This Fundraising Voices podcast features RNL’s Josh Robertson who covers the importance of using personalization to communicate with your donors. Josh and Brian discuss: Why personalization is important for engaging the 21st century donor. How artificial intelligence (AI) and new, easy to use platforms can transform your communications. How to get started with turnkey solutions like RNL QuadWrangle and harness the power of this technology immediately. Find out more about RNL QuadWrangle here Our guest: Josh Robertson, Senior Vice President Joshua Robertson joined Ruffalo Noel Levitz in 1997 as a student fundraiser at The University of Georgia and has since risen to become the chief architect of our donor and student engagement solutions. Josh works daily with hundreds of institutions to transform their donor engagement with new and emerging technology and data-driven strategy. He has worked with more than 60 institutions in managing their multichannel, on-site phonathon programs, including Stanford, New York University, UT Austin, UGA, Pepperdine University and the University of Sydney. 

Kris Hardy is passionate about making the web a better place for prospective students and their families during the college search process. Kris currently serves as the Director of Web and Digital Marketing at Messiah College and works part-time at Ruffalo Noel-Levitz as an Associate Consultant. He specializes in user experience, information architecture, digital marketing, and web analytics. What you'll learn about in this episode: How Kris first got involved in higher education, and how he made the transition to web-based digital marketing early in the field's existence Why analytics is a great first step to a career in digital marketing, and why a data-driven mindset helps How Kris developed his own marketing and digital skills despite a zero-dollar budget from his small higher ed institution early in his career. What advice Kris offers for e-recruiting, marketing automation, and content customization How Kris and his team found and implemented the right CRM solutions for Messiah College and their unique needs Why Kris believes the ability to think like a sixteen-year-old prospective student plays a major role in his success Why Kris's “Program Listing Page” has helped supercharge the tracking results from Google Analytics through event tracking What distinct strategies Kris has employed to collect user information from many different types of site visitors How Kris and his team streamlined their internal website over the course of several years to create an efficient and useful site Why there's always a risk of people looking at raw analytic data and making decisions without context, and how Kris works to better inform his departments What reporting tools and applications Kris uses in his work, and which best practices he recommends to protect user privacy Additional resources: Twitter: @krishardy83 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/krishardy83/

When you listen to alums, you give them a better experience, which leads to a higher percentage of gifts. Mike Kochczynski from Mongoose speaks with Brian Gawor, Vice President of Research at Ruffalo Noel Levitz, about improving fundraising and alumni engagement through storytelling.

Read the complete transcript on The Sales Game Changers Podcast website. RORY'S FINAL TIP TO EMERGING SALES LEADERS: "Think of others and put yourself in their shoes. I had a CEO that said to our salesforce many times, "Pull your chair around the side of the table and sit on their side of the table." Push hard at really understanding others and then doing something with that understanding." Rory Channer is the Chief Business Development Officer at the McDermott, Will & Emery Law Firm. MWE is a 2019 Institute for Excellence in Sales Innovation Award winner. Previously, he was at Ruffalo Noel Levitz, a marketing services firm. He was also at CEB, now Gartner. Find Rory on LinkedIn!

Jon Christiansen is the Chief Intelligence Officer at Sparks Research, a full-service marketing research firm. He consults for many Fortune 500 firms in the banking, automotive, retail, healthcare, and energy industries. As a higher education consultant for more than a decade, Jon has conducted more than 50 engagements, notably market research; enrollment forecasting; product, concept, and program development; marketing strategy; and econometric modeling. Much of his consulting work has been as a senior associate consultant with Ruffalo Noel Levitz, a management consulting firm specializing in higher education services. Jon's work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fast Company, Trend Hunter, Quirks Marketing Research Review, Customer Experience Insight and many more. His research has been presented at academic and professional conferences including the Academy of Management, the American Educational Research Association, as well as being published in multiple academic and trade journals, notably Leadership Quarterly. Jon has been recognized with awards for both scholarship and teaching. He currently serves on the faculty for Charleston Southern University's Department of Analytics. He was trained in computational analytics at Carnegie Mellon University, and holds both a bachelor's and master's degree in economics, and a Ph.D. in higher education from Clemson University. What you'll learn about in this episode: How Jon defines marketing research within the academic space, and how that research can be used to empower and better target marketing efforts What trends Jon currently sees in higher education, and why the conversation has changed in the last decade Why students focus on price and ROI in their decision-making process How the higher education landscape continues to change, and why non-traditional students are becoming a more key group for many institutions Why the data often contradicts what institutions believe about themselves and their peers, and why you must gain a clear view What advice Jon offers for institutions looking to collect research data, and why defining the problem you hope to answer is an important first step How to gather data and research within a tight constraint of time, budget, or resources What single piece of data Jon feels is an overlooked resource that too few institutions track Additional resources: Website: www.sparksresearch.com

Over 30 years ago, Al Ruffalo wanted to help colleges and universities, and he gave it a try. What came of his efforts, and the efforts of the people who were part of those initial experiments, was the modern college and university phone outreach program, which has raised billions of dollars. It's also been a lifeline of real, honest to goodness conversations between students and alumni for the past three decades. This work is obviously changing, and the company that Al and company built has changed, now encompassing a whole suite of tech-enabled data driven programs that serve both fundraising and enrollment goals. But the mission to make a personal connection and to make every college and university part of the family hasn't changed as the company transformed into the modern Ruffalo Noel Levitz. I got my friend Al on the line to talk about his journey and what he thinks is next for higher education donor and student engagement.

Cutler Andrews, Senior Vice President of Fundraising Consulting at Ruffalo Noel Levitz, talks about how schools can re-imagine their approach to advancement to increase engagement and alumni gifts.

Your high end donor prospects invest in experiences. This is true both in how they give to charities and how they spend their leisure time. Adam Capes knows this and he's pioneered a new way to engage high end donors with luxury experiences that also make a difference. Check out Getaway2Give here. In the 21st century your top donors are much more willing to invest in experiences than stuff. What Adam's figured out is that having a memorable experience as part of a donation is really crucial to engaging a longterm interest of your donors. This donor experience is crucial to everything that we do here at Ruffalo Noel Levitz. If you're ready to take your donor experience to the next level, get in touch with us. We're ready to help.

Looking into your database of supporters and searching for those people who are ready and able to make a major or planned gift is crucial to any organization's success. But how do you find the right people and ask them in the right way at the right time? Well, Greg Warner at MarketSmart has some ideas. In fact, he's built a name for himself by directly challenging our assumptions and the generally dated tactics we use to engage donors. I got him on the line to talk a little bit about how we can find new ways to engage major and planned giving donors. Check out MarketSmart at imarketsmart.com Making sure that you're approaching the best, most ready and most able prospects for major and planned giving is absolutely crucial to meeting your fundraising goals. If you're doing the same old thing, your gift officers probably aren't having a high level of success. It might be time to look at things differently. We agree with Greg that it's time to look at things differently. If you'd like to take your major and planned giving program to the next level, give us a call here at Ruffalo Noel Levitz. We've pioneered new technologies using your data and 21st century engagement tools to help you better engage the best major and planned giving prospects. We're ready to help.

The Philanthropy Podcast Website Email Sean at The Philanthropy Podcast   This week on The Philanthropy Podcast, Brian Gower, Vice President of Research at Ruffalo Noel Levitz discuss the modern phonathon and its place in your fundraising plan. Brian touches on what you need in place before launching your phonathon, how phonathons aid data collection, the returns you might expect, how to integrate the phonathon and social media, thank-a-thons, how your phonathon callers can build your pipeline to development staff hiring and more. If you think you know everything about the phonathon or think this fundraising tool is stuck in the age of landlines and boring scripts, listen to Brian and realize that like all programs, if your fundamentals are sound and you're willing to stay with the times, any program can be a success for your office.    If you would like to improve your meeting scheduling, Philanthropy Podcast listeners are receiving a special offer of two free weeks for ScheduleOnce, the scheduling tool I use for quickly and professionally scheduling meetings with my donor prospects. Get your two weeks free at www.thephilanthropypodcast.com/scheduleonce   With that, please consider joining our Facebook community at www.facebook.com/thephilanthropypodcast or following us on Twitter at @PhilanthropyPod. You can also join our LinkedIn group by following this link and feel welcome to follow me on LinkedIn.    Links in this week's episode: Ruffalo Noel Levitz - Research and Papers - Research and Papers Fundraising Voices Podcast Brian Gawor - Twitter

Crowdfunding has become very popular over the past few years. Following success in the commercial world, funding new products, artistic endeavors and other projects, we’ve seen hundreds of charities create crowdfunding campaigns and full portals with multiple campaigns to attract donors to specific needs. Higher education, with a wealth of student, faculty and athletics opportunities, has really benefited from this optimized, online and socially integrated technology. We’ve just released a comprehensive index of results from over 4,000 campaigns Ruffalo Noel Levitz charitable crowdfunding powered by the Scalefunder platform. And the results show that crowdfunding has really made a difference with our partners—over 22 million dollars actually. You can download the 2017 RNL crowdfunding index at RuffaloNL.com/crowdfundingsuccess. Today on the podcast, I talk with Josh Robertson about what we discovered as we looked a these great campaigns. If you are looking to attract new donors, particularly younger donors, and give your long time supporters something exciting with active feedback they can support, crowdfunding is a great tool. We’ve seen millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of donors engaged through RNL crowdfunding. You can offer campaigns that support new initiatives, student and faculty needs, and even market your traditional annual giving program through crowdfunding. We’d love to help you get started or accelerate your existing crowdfunding program. Drop us a line and we’ll help you take your donor engagement to the next level.

We’ve just released part two of our major research series Advancement Leaders Speak here at Ruffalo Noel Levitz. This time, we surveyed and spoke with 270 major and planned giving officers to find out how they do their jobs and how they feel about productivity. You can download the study at RuffaloNL.com—we included questions about average prospect pool sizes, number of visits with donors, key frustrations and challenges for gift officers, as well as what they think would make their jobs easier. I got on the line with Caryn Stein, Vice President here at RNL, to go through the results and talk a bit about what we are hearing from gift officers about their important work with donors.   Download the Report here Productivity—it’s not always the first topic that major and planned giving programs jump on. For a profession primarily focused on personal relationships with donors, we’re not really drawn to metrics and deep data on our solicitation effectiveness. But given the increase pressure all charitable organizations are facing, and definitely for higher education, putting the right tools in place so your major and planned giving team can have success is crucial. And as Caryn and I mention, focusing on the right contact to the right donors at the right time is a key donor-centric practice that will keep your top supporters happy and increase their joy in giving. You can download the full study at RuffaloNL.com. We’d also love to hear from you about your major and planned giving program. Drop us a line, and we’ll talk about how you can improve your team’s productivity and book more gifts, immediately.

What’s keeping advancement leaders up at night?   Find out what 40 higher education advancement leaders told us.   Ruffalo Noel Levitz recently commissioned a major research project to better understand advancement leaders’ priorities, challenges and strategies for the future. Through in-depth interviews with leaders across the country, we uncovered what chief advancement officers are really thinking about the future.   The results of 40 hour-long interviews with Chief Advancement Officers are discussed in this podcast. Jim Rogers, RNL CMO, talks about the budgeting priorities of today's higher education leaders, what leaders are judged on, and where they are shifting resources.   We also talk about what this means for your fundraising strategy and what's next for the higher education fundraising industry. You can download the full study here.    

Here at Ruffalo Noel Levitz, we spend a lot of time looking at higher education alumni giving patterns. Loyal alumni drive a big part of the philanthropic support to higher education. They also tend to be the biggest athletics fans. So, the NCAA basketball tournaments each spring offer an interesting laboratory for us to ask some fun questions. Last year, one of our RNL consultants asked a really interesting one: What if the NCAA brackets were decided based on alumni giving statistics? So, we created our March (Alumni Giving) madness tournament to answer that fun question. It’s a fun way to look at how institutions compare in alumni giving participation percentages, donor counts, total dollars from alumni, and even online giving strategy. On today’s podcast, we break down the 2017 results that lead to victories for Penn and Northwestern. You can see all the results, with commentary, round by round at ruffalonl.com/givingmadness. I got Josh Robertson, Vice President here at RNL on the line to go through this year’s methodology and results. Over 10 billion dollars – That’s what higher education alumni gave in 2016. That’s a huge portion of the philanthropy that makes a difference for students, faculty and all the great life-changing experiences that colleges and universities provide. It turns out that if you base the tournament on giving, not basketball, the winners end up a bit different. If you’d like to see how you compare to peers on some of these statistics, drop us a line. You can head to ruffalonl.com/givingmadness to request a customized donor comparison report. And we’ll talk about how you can recruit your best possible alumni giving team for next year’s tournament.

If you’re an annual giving professional—particularly in higher education, you’ve probably heard about Annual Giving Network. Dan Allenby, founder of the network has done a great job addressing whatever is hot in annual giving strategy today while focusing on the fundamentals. With great content, webinars, a job posting network, and great member interaction, annualgiving.com has become a destination for those of us who want to stay educated about the best ways to engage donors. In fact, Dan comes off like he was born into annual giving. And based on what he told me, that’s not too far from the truth. I wanted to get Dan on the line to talk about AGN’s strategy and what he’s trying to accomplish with the network. Dan offers a lot of great insights for how we can do the best job possible engaging, asking, and thanking our annual giving donors. Like he said, we restart every year in annual giving—but the fundamentals of a donor engagement strategy never go away. Find out more about AGN: www.annualgiving.com And check out the 2016 insights report we talked about: 2016 Year in Review Report Are you ready to take your annual giving to the next level? Ruffalo Noel Levitz has great resources, and a great team of experts ready to help you accelerate your annual giving strategy. Head over to ruffaonl.com to find out about our phone, multichannel and digital solutions which are designed to engage 21st century donors at your maximum return on investment.

You just can’t book big gifts if your fundraising team isn’t productive. This is a top concern for fundraisers who are being asked to book bigger and bigger giving totals each year. Ruffalo Noel Levitz talked to hundreds of major and planned giving fundraisers in 2016 and heard some common roadblocks that are hold teams back: finding the right donors to talk to, supporting gift officers with good information and training, and preparing donors and fundraisers for great visits. Add in gift officer turnover, and many organizations are struggling to reach their fundraising potential. So we embarked on the creation of a solution that’s great for both donors and fundraisers. This podcast features 7 RNL leaders providing a look “under the hood” to show how the solution came together.  They discuss what increasing productivity can mean for your aspirational fundraising goals. Included are: How predictive analysis of your donor base can take you beyond wealth rating How warming up donors before a conversation makes a difference. Getting help with a first conversation to qualify donors and schedule a gift officer meeting. Why productivity matters for your overall goals.   Find our more about RNL major and planned giving solutions, including case studies and testimonials at: advance.ruffalonl.com And read more about our take on major and planned giving productivity at blogfm.ruffalonl.com.

Engaging our supporters in the digital world is really important for today’s fundraisers. We’re all reaching out via social media, email, on our web pages and giving pages to attract donor interest and passion. This supplements our more traditional appeals, and everything can get a boost in donor attention if it’s done right. But pretty soon, our donor rolls really will be dominated by a new group of supporters--younger people who have had mobile phones, tablets, and apps their entire lives. These have been dubbed the "digital natives," a group of young donors we’re all looking to engage. Matt Herzberger, Executive Consultant for Web Strategy and Interactive Marketing Services here at Ruffalo Noel Levitz, helps a lot of institutions do this. Matt talked about digital natives in a recent presentation, so I got him on the line to get a perspective on what courting this rising group of well-connected supporters means for fundraising strategy.