Imagining the Future of Fundraising Through Technology

John Gough
04/04/2017

Recently, I was asked to give a presentation discussing data in both the context of the world around us and the context of fundraising. As a part of that presentation, I had the opportunity to think about the direction the field is taking and how it might be impacted in the future by some of the new technologies and systems under development today. I invite you to take a moment and dream with me…

Scenario 1: Suppose you’re in your garden on a warm spring afternoon listening to your favorite NPR program when you suddenly remember you haven’t renewed your pledge from last year to the local public radio station:

I see a future where making a donation will be as simple as speaking a command from the living room sofa.

Scenario 2: You are a major gift officer on a trip to Manhattan. Your scheduled appointment has just fallen through. You pull out your phone:

I see a future where gift officers will have actionable donor intelligence in their pockets.

Learn how EverTrue is making this happen for gift officers at Trinity University, Stonehill College, and the University at Buffalo.

Scenario 3: One of your best donors is holding a dinner party. Conversation turns to the philanthropic interests of the assembled guests, providing the hostess with the perfect opportunity to access her donor portal to brag a little bit about the research her gifts are funding:

I see a future where donors will have on-demand access to their impact stories.

Scenario 4: A former performing arts major is at home reviewing recent messages when their university’s holiday card flashes on the screen:

I see a future where the IoT will provide many new avenues for reaching our alumni and donor bases.

Scenario 5: An alum has returned to campus for a quick trip down memory lane. They come to one of their favorite campus buildings:

I see a future where a donation can take place instantaneously—reinforcing the bond between people and places, their pasts, and the future.

Although there is no guarantee that any of these scenarios will be realized, one thing is certain: the future is bright with possibilities!

John Gough is an associate director of data analytics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he is responsible for analytics within the Office of Advancement. When he’s not at work, he enjoys spending time with his family and pursuing his oil painting hobby. You can connect with John via LinkedIn.

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4. Continue to Steward Donors

Your relationship with the donors who give to your endowment doesn’t end when you secure their gifts. Because your endowment exists to make a difference in the long term, your supporters will want you to keep in touch about its progress. Ongoing stewardship means keeping donors updated about your endowment’s performance and impact. A report that strengthens your relationship with donors should cover:

The fund’s balance at the start and end of the year
Spending amounts and allocations
How the fund’s returns compare to your investment targets
A short narrative detailing the specific impacts the endowment achieved

Create a report for each endowment rather than sending an identical document to everyone. A donor who endowed a scholarship wants to hear about the students it supported, while a donor who endowed a building fund wants updates on construction projects.

5. Upgrade Your Endowment Management Tools

Your endowment management tools should make applying your spending policy across every fund easy. Investing in dedicated software is especially useful as your endowment grows. Handling unitization in spreadsheets might work for a few funds, but as you begin to manage dozens or hundreds of gifts, dedicated software can save your team time spent manually calculating gains and losses for each one.

Why Nonprofits Need Dedicated Endowment Management Software

Dedicated endowment software brings accuracy and consistency to every part of the management process, from tracking individual funds to improving security. See how these solutions compare to a spreadsheet-based approach:

nfographic table outlining the information below.

How These Methods Compare:

In managing your endowment with traditional spreadsheets, you may see:

High administrative burden: Manual entry across disconnected systems
Limited security and audit footprints: Reduced version control and audit trail visibility
Difficulty with donor transparency: Spreadsheets provide only static data that is difficult to turn into custom results.

By using dedicated software, you are likely to find the following improvements:

Lower administrative burden: Automated fund tracking and calculated allocations
Enhanced security and audit footprint: Audit-ready reconciliation with clear tracking
Greater donor transparency: Connects with reporting platforms

Dedicated endowment management software keeps your organization compliant while freeing up the time your team once spent manually managing spreadsheets.

Secure Your Endowment with Balance by EverTrue

Effective endowment management begins with excellent accounting. Balance by EverTrue handles unitization, applies spending rules, and produces audit-ready reports, so your team can spend more time on the donor relationships that built the fund in the first place.

Turn your data into a clear picture of long-term impact. Combine accurate fund accounting with donor reporting that showcases impact.
Connect with the tools you already use. Pair Balance with Impact by EverTrue and ODDER by EverTrue to create and deliver compelling digital endowment reports that you can send to donors with ease.
Know where every fund stands in real time. Check market values, gift history, and available spending for any fund. Then, share view-only versions with your team, so everyone stays informed.

With Balance, your team can stop spending all your time on manual management and instead add balance to your endowment workflow.

Additional Resources

To learn more about managing your endowment and other ways that technology can help your organization, check out these additional resources:

Webinar: Building a Seamless Relationship Between Endowment Finance and Advancement. In this webinar, we cover the keys to un-complicating your institution’s financial endowment reporting process. Explore how building a connection between your finance and advancement teams can lead to happier donors and happier staff.
The Best Alumni Management Software Solutions in 2026. Alumni management software allows your university to maintain an active community that supports your school in a number of ways. Review top software solutions.
Donor Segmentation: How Organizing Donors Boosts Retention. What is donor segmentation, and how can you use it to boost retention? Learn the need-to-know information in this guide from EverTrue’s fundraising experts.

Less stress, higher endowment funds. Discover how Balance provides the organization, security, and accuracy your endowment needs. Request a demo.

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