Campaigns in Context: Strategy, Structure, and Signals from the Field-Presentation

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The "Campaigns in Context: Strategy, Structure, and Signals from the Field" report by CASE Insights and partners (December 2025) explores contemporary fundraising dynamics in higher education. Key trends include a decline in the share of U.S. adults donating to charity—from 66.2% in 2000 to 45.8% in 2020—though total giving to education institutions has continued to grow. Despite education falling to the third most common gift destination, alumni and high-net-worth donors remain critical to raising significant funds, with younger donors seeking impact-driven philanthropy.<br /><br />Fundraising campaigns have grown larger and more complex, with billion-dollar campaigns becoming more common and median campaign goals rising markedly from 2018 through 2030. However, the philanthropic landscape has shifted, presenting challenges such as increased competition for donor dollars, recurring strategic priorities, and a greater reliance on a few major gifts.<br /><br />Innovative campaign models like micro-campaigns focused on specific, transparent goals with short timelines have gained traction, allowing institutions to remain agile, especially during leadership transitions. Some institutions employ a series of micro-campaign "sprints" tackling discrete priorities, balancing centralized leadership with decentralized fundraising efforts.<br /><br />Effective campaigns emphasize focused branding, consistent messaging, and clear impact demonstration. Data-driven strategies are vital, with reliance on peer benchmarking, return on investment (ROI), and alignment with strategic plans to optimize resources. Challenges remain in competing organizational priorities, leadership understanding of ROI, budget restrictions, and insufficient data infrastructure.<br /><br />Engagement strategies now explore broader alumni involvement to enlarge donor pipelines, converting non-monetary engagement into giving. CASE Insights surveys reveal fundraising staff often face bandwidth and prospect data challenges and indicate increasing adoption of AI tools for fundraising communications, data analysis, and predictive modeling.<br /><br />Survey findings from diverse global institutions show wide ranges in campaign size, goals, donor numbers, and fundraising expenditures. Common preparatory steps include feasibility studies, wealth screenings, new CRM purchases, and hiring external counsel.<br /><br />Overall, the report underscores that successful higher education fundraising campaigns today require strategic agility, data-informed decision-making, targeted engagement, and tailored campaign structures responsive to evolving donor behaviors and philanthropic environments.

Keywords

higher education fundraising

donor trends

alumni giving

high-net-worth donors

micro-campaigns

fundraising strategy

data-driven fundraising

campaign goals

philanthropic challenges

AI in fundraising