How Athletics and Advancement collaboration can grow donor pipelines

Across higher education, one of the most overlooked opportunities for growth sits in plain sight: the relationship between athletics and advancement.

Both teams share the same audiences – alumni, families, fans, parents and community supporters – yet often pursue them independently. The result? Duplicate outreach, donor fatigue, conflicting storytelling, and missed revenue opportunities.

As institutions face new pressures, rising expectations and tighter resources, aligning these two powerhouse units isn’t just good practice – it’s becoming a strategic necessity. 

One shared mission, two different playbooks

Athletics and advancement ultimately want the same outcome: meaningful engagement and lifelong philanthropy. But historically, they’ve taken different paths to get there.

• Advancement brings structure, stewardship discipline, segmentation, and long-term donor strategy. 
• Athletics brings visibility, built-in engagement rhythms, emotional storytelling and deep community reach.

Without coordination, donors may experience multiple asks, inconsistent messaging, or unclear giving pathways. But donors don’t experience the institution in pieces. To them, it’s one brand and one relationship.

The opportunity isn’t to merge operations but to complement strengths. When athletics and advancement align, pipelines expand, stewardship improves, and the donor experience becomes frictionless and memorable.

A new era of Athletics fundraising

The athletics ecosystem has shifted dramatically, and fast.

• NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) and revenue sharing have reshaped how supporters engage and where dollars flow
• The transfer portal has influenced roster stability and alumni-athlete identity
• Booster groups now operate alongside, and sometimes apart from, institutional fundraising strategy
• Independent alumni-athlete and fan communities are growing because affinity is strong but access and connection points are fragmented

These shifts introduce both risk and opportunity. When athletics fundraising happens in isolation, complexity increases.  But when aligned with advancement strategy, athletics becomes one of the most powerful engines for donor discovery, engagement, and retention..

Four building blocks of alignment

Bringing athletics and advancement together doesn’t require a new org chart or reinventing the wheel, just intentional coordination.

1. Assess the overlap: Audit shared audiences, stewardship touchpoints, and outreach calendars to identify duplication and blind spots
2. Align on shared goals: Establish common KPIs, joint planning cycles and communication rhythms between teams. 
3. Act through pilot efforts: Start with something small; a shared giving day, an alumni-athlete campaign, or a joint stewardship series.
4. Amplify what works: Track outcomes, celebrate wins, and share success stories across departments to build momentum.

Turning passion into philanthropy

Athletics drives deep emotional connections most institutions spend decades trying to cultivate. It fuels belonging, identity, nostalgia and loyalty. When advancement applies strategic stewardship to that passion, possibilities compound.

• Growth in applications, pride, and visibility often follows athletics success, and that visibility fuels donor interest. Division I schools see an average 41% increase in applications after postseason play.
• Major Athletics moments like championships, reunions, and senior days become natural touchpoints for donor cultivation and stewardship.
• Alumni-athletes, families and fans can be nurtured into year-round engagement communities.

Athletics brings energy and connection; advancement brings structure and sustainability. Together, they build a lifelong donor journey and move the organization forward.

The bottom line: One institution, one story

Athletics and advancement don’t need to operate as separate teams competing for attention. They thrive when working as aligned partners with shared data, coordinated strategy, and intentional donor experience design.

When they work in rhythm, the outcome is bigger than revenue: it’s stronger relationships, sustained engagement, clearer donor pathways, and a unified institutional voice. Because at the end of the day, donors don’t experience departments, they experience one institution, one relationship, and one story worth investing in.