How Spelman College Used Text Banking to Surpass Their Annual Giving Goal
See for yourself: Hustle and Spelman College will co-present our findings and strategies at the HBCU Philanthropy Symposium on July 19th. We hope to see you there!
Founders Day at Spelman College is a time when alumnae and students come together and celebrate Spelman’s 136-year legacy. It is also a time when Spelman’s Office of Annual Giving raises funds for financial aid, academic programs, and more to help Spelman remain the №1 HBCU ranked by U.S. News. In the past, Spelman’s Office of Annual Giving used email, phone banking, and direct mail for their fundraising communication efforts. This year, Spelman entrusted the person-to-person text messaging platform Hustle to help them reach their Founders Day goal of 1,881 donors, to represent their founding year, 1881.
The Challenge
Reaching 1,881 donors was no small feat, and getting alumnae to donate, especially recent graduates and first-time donors, had its challenges as well. Before adopting Hustle, Spelman fundraisers primarily contacted alumnae via email, direct mail, and phone-banking.
According to Nandi Murphy, Spelman’s Annual Giving Officer,
“[in the past] oftentimes, alumnae sort of felt harassed from the constant emails… Once alumnae started recognizing our email, they stopped reading the content, [then] they started to recognize our phone number and were less likely to answer our calls.”
With email rates on the decline and phone calls being ignored, Spelman College needed a new solution that would enable them to start conversations with alumnae, build relationships, and secure the donations that would help them reach their goal.
Hustle for Fundraising
With Hustle, Nandi sent over 2,000 text messages to their alumnae within a matter of hours.
“Hi Kristy! This is Nandi with Spelman College. 💙 Founder’s Day is only 2 days away! Can you help us reach our goal of 1,881 donors by making a gift today? If so, can I send you a link to make a gift?”
Nandi quickly saw a 30% response rate, with 90% of respondents pledging a donation via text message — the highest engagement rate they’ve ever seen.
“If anyone asks, this method was very successful since what I received in the mail is still sitting on my kitchen table waiting for me to put it in the mail! Now my donation has been made in under one minute!” -Spelman alumna
Not only did Nandi’s team reach their goal of securing 1,881 donors, but the Hustle conversations between Nandi and Spelman alumnae helped cultivate personal relationships that will lead to further donations.
According to Nandi,
“It really felt personal and easy to use. It felt like you were actually talking to a real person and a lot of time the alums would respond back like ‘Oh hey! Are you in my class?’. They really felt comfortable and it felt like a personable touch… I also think people liked the fact that it was on their phone and they could donate without going into their email. It felt much more personal than other communication.
Other Uses of Hustle
Even outside of their annual giving campaigns, Nandi saw uses of Hustle for college events.
“I think it could work well for our upcoming reunion when our alums come back and celebrate their different milestones,” said Nandi. “…we know alumnae want to give, they just need the reminder, and I think Hustle will be an effective way to correspond with them.”
With Hustle, Spelman was able to communicate with their alumnae, build relationships, surpass their giving goal, and secure 1,881 donors!
Interested in learning how Hustle can help your college or university achieve their giving goals? Request a free demo today!
