April's Fundraising Best Practices

Paciolan
May 2
1 min read

Giving Day Landing Page

The University of Iowa hosted its annual giving day, "One Day for Iowa," on March 26, 2025, leveraging a competitive approach to drive donor engagement. To maximize participation, they organized a competition between sports programs, challenging each team to secure the most donors.

A key strategy in this campaign was the real-time leaderboard, displayed on their dedicated landing page. The page was updated throughout the day to reflect each sport’s standings, fueling competition and encouraging fans to contribute.

3,000+ donors totaling over $250k in donations

For more information, please reach out to your Marketing Automation Specialist.

Donation Automation with Ballena Process

James Madison University launched an automation strategy in Eloqua to support the 2025-26 basketball season ticket Entry Process and drive donations to the Duke Club. Fans who joined the Entry Process received a confirmation email outlining the season timeline and how their Duke Club Priority Point rank would impact seat and parking selection. A follow-up email encouraged participants who hadn’t yet donated to contribute $75 or more to the Proud & True Fund to boost their standing. This was built as a recurring, multi-step campaign running through May 15. A separate post-renewal thank you email was also deployed to fans who completed their season ticket payment, excluding those with outstanding balances on specific bill plans. This full-funnel approach ensured timely, targeted communication and supported both ticketing and fundraising goals.