Old Dominion University achieved over 1,000 additional donor outreaches per fundraiser in its first year with Gravyty’s AI-powered fundraising platform

About Old Dominion University

Old Dominion University is Virginia’s forward-focused research university with rigorous academics, an energetic residential community, and entrepreneurial research. Located along the Elizabeth River in Norfolk, Virginia, the ODU campus boasts state-of-the-art academic facilities and 14 residence halls for its undergraduate enrollment of 17,000 students. It has a five-person academic development team of fundraisers that raise approximately $5 million per year.

The challenge

Old Dominion sought to seamlessly incorporate new technology into their existing processes because of small staff size and a vast but engaged non-donor population. Its large donor database was in need of significant updates and cleanup before it could become a fully actionable resource. It was difficult for fundraisers to target potential new donors while effectively stewarding large portfolios of existing donors. This issue made it harder to pursue promising leads and fully engage potential donors.

The size of fundraiser portfolios had grown and was increasingly difficult to manage without the help of technology and automation. The team had to keep potential future donors engaged in addition to securing new gifts, which made it difficult to prioritize outreach. Gift officers struggled with “analysis paralysis” and the overwhelming amount of outreaches in front of them. Without the ability to identify the most impactful outreaches quickly, valuable opportunities were being missed.

As a result, the Old Dominion team was at a crossroads: they needed a more effective way to manage their portfolios while increasing outreach to potential new donors and developing a donor pipeline. Without a scalable solution, they risked missing fundraising goals.

The solution

To tackle these challenges, Old Dominion University implemented Gravyty’s AI-powered fundraising platform to help streamline and enhance outreach efforts. The team was able to increase department-wide efficiency by personalizing outreach in less time through AI-generated email drafts and prompts. The tool empowered fundraisers by allowing them to focus on high-impact tasks — such as building relationships — rather than getting bogged down with time-consuming administrative tasks.

By automating key aspects of the outreach process, Gravyty effectively alleviated the fundraisers’ “analysis paralysis.” The platform established clear priorities and actionable steps, allowing fundraisers to approach their portfolios with confidence and clarity. Instead of being overwhelmed by the vast number of outreaches, ODU’s team could now focus their energy on those most ready to give while also stewarding their full portfolio.

The outcome

In the first year of implementation, Gravyty’s AI-powered platform generated a total of 8,984 unique email drafts, leading to an astounding 83% fundraiser interaction rate with those emails. The personalized drafts resonated with donors and allowed fundraisers to cover more of their portfolio on a daily basis. Additionally, the most engaged non-donors could be moved into frontline fundraising portfolios.

In addition to the direct outreach, fundraisers set 1,490 follow-up reminders and Gravyty’s AI prompted fundraisers on the designated dates. This ensured that donors were not forgotten and well stewarded throughout the year. The platform also integrated with Old Dominion’s CRM, with 11,116 contact reports and communications recorded into the database.

The use of Gravyty’s AI-powered platform not only enhanced donor interactions but also improved job satisfaction among fundraisers by streamlining their workflow and reducing manual tasks.

Solution spotlight

Gravyty’s AI-powered fundraising software significantly amplifies the capacity of fundraisers to engage with up to four times more donors, leading to improved outcomes. By leveraging AI technology, Gravyty creates a sustainable and scalable pipeline for donor discovery, integrates digital giving data, and ensures comprehensive portfolio saturation through omnichannel outreach. The smart prompts, video messaging, and AI-drafted donor communications provided by Gravyty enable fundraisers to reach the right donors at the optimal time, enhancing both donor engagement and fundraising success.