Willamette University, the oldest university in the western United States, has selected Engaging Networks as its primary digital engagement technology platform for fundraising and marketing campaigns. Last year, the Willamette Annual Fund raised $2.788 million from 5,668 donors to provide scholarships for 98% of its student body, making 2020-2021 its highest fundraising year ever for the Willamette Annual Fund. Engaging Networks will serve as a catalyst to take this accomplishment to new levels with its own launch of an updated peer-to-peer donation module, new SMS text messaging features, and other powerful fundraising tools in 2022 to help higher education organizations connect with more donors.
We knew we had to change our fundraising strategy and Engaging Networks was the best platform available.
Lauren Saxton, Director of the Willamette Annual Fund
“We are very excited to support the online fundraising program of Willamette University. It’s very rewarding to know that our technology will be used to help the university build funding for scholarships and create educational opportunities,” said Graham Covington, CEO of Engaging Networks. “We have a proven track record of adapting our technology to meet the specific needs of universities. In fact, a core philosophy of the company has always been a commitment to constant product innovation.”
“Willamette has an incredibly generous community of donors made up of alumni, family, friends and community partners,” said Lauren Saxton, Director of the Willamette Annual Fund. “In the past year, we’ve seen a surge in individual gifts, 63% of which were $250 or less. We knew we had to change our fundraising strategy to capitalize on this new trend, and Engaging Networks was above and beyond the best digital engagement platform available for our needs.”
Willamette University and Engaging Networks grow into the future
Founded in 1842, Willamette University is a nationally recognized premier liberal arts university located across the street from the historic Oregon State Capitol. It boasts an alumni of over 37,000 community leaders, CEOs, senators, authors, and artists living in 84 countries worldwide. Willamette merged with Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) in June 2021, bolstered by the support of a $2 million gift from the Arlene Schnitzer Estate which will create the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer PNCA Dean’s Initiative Fund.
Engaging Networks is the all-in-one fundraising, advocacy and marketing platform for other renowned educational organizations such as the University of British Columbia and American University. The Engaging Networks platform features future-forward modules such as a supporter hub for recurring gifts, strict data security protocols, out-of-the-box donation page templates, marketing automation journeys, robust data and reporting visualizations and fully-integrated artificial intelligence tools. The Engaging Networks platform is updated constantly with new features and upgrades every six to eight weeks. For more information on how Engaging Networks is changing the nonprofit landscape, read some of our recent client case studies.
About Willamette University
Willamette is the premier private university in the Pacific Northwest with campuses in Salem and Portland, Oregon. Willamette’s beautiful, historic, and innovative campuses — located across the street from the Oregon State Capitol and co-located with Tokyo International University of America and in the heart of downtown Portland — feature the College of Arts and Sciences, the Pacific Northwest College of Art, the College of Law and the Atkinson School of Management. To learn more, visit willamette.edu or follow @willamette_u on Twitter.
