Campus Community Raises $14M While Maintaining Daily Support
Hillel is the world’s largest Jewish campus organization, serving over 180,000 students each year across more than 850 colleges and universities.
One of its university-based centers provides a home for Jewish life on campus, supporting over 5,000 students through cultural, religious, educational, and social programs. As participation grew, the center needed a new space that could accommodate 30+ student organizations and reflect the vibrant, inclusive spirit of Hillel.
Challenge
Fund a new building, relocation, and ongoing programs with limited resources
Built in 1956 for 1,200 students, the center could no longer meet the needs of the growing campus community.
The team needed to raise $14 million for a new building, $3 million for an endowment, and relocation funds—all while maintaining support for daily operations.
Solution
Streamlined donor management and targeted fundraising
The team adopted a more structured, strategic approach to both capital and annual campaigns. Though they had long used DonorPerfect, they began fully leveraging its capabilities for segmentation, tracking, and outreach.
For the capital campaign:
- Identified their top 50 major donor prospects in DonorPerfect using DonorSearch
- Equipped solicitors with donor profiles that included the likelihood of giving
- Engaged donors through individual meetings, direct mailings, and community events like bar nights
- Targeted donors aged 30–45 for multi-year pledges
- Offered naming opportunities
For the annual campaign:
- Conducted 20+ weeks of segmented phone outreach
- Used geographic and donor-type segmentation to personalize calls
- Sent three direct mailings with volume and cost tracked in DonorPerfect
DonorPerfect is the backbone of all we do to raise funds. It [integrates] with other programs like DonorSearch wealth screening service, manages our fundraising activities, and provides the reporting and analysis of these activities.
Key results
- Raised $14 million for a new building and relocation expenses
- Grew donor base by 4x
- Received a record 2,500 gifts in a single fiscal year
- Sustained daily fundraising success during a capital campaign
We have quadrupled our donor base. We had roughly 2,500 gifts, a record number. We raised the $14 million for the new building…in addition to raising the funds we need to cover our regular expenses. I can honestly say we would not have had all this success without DonorPerfect.
Lasting impact
By fully utilizing DonorPerfect tools like custom codes, donor segmentation, automation, and reporting, the team evolved from basic data entry to data-informed fundraising.
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Related resources
Practivated Fundraising Conversation Practice
Major Gifts with Meaning Building Trust Through Human-Centered Fundraising
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