University of Maryland Global Campus

How HelioCampus is Transforming Advancement Success at UMGC

University of Maryland Global Campus

Overview

A pioneer in adult and distance education since 1947, University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC, formerly University of Maryland University College) got its start after World War II with a mission to educate veterans and active duty military. With students and faculty spread all over the world, it was no surprise that the university became an early adopter of online learning in the mid-1990s and is now the largest public, primarily online university in the country.

Fueling that large community, however, would require a more tactical approach to connecting with alumni, strengthening advancement capabilities, and informing donor relations. Recognizing that these critical areas of the university could benefit from an analytics program, UMGC’s Office of Institutional Advancement (OIA) partnered with HelioCampus to leverage data in more efficient ways—and reach potential donors more strategically.

Read the case study to learn how UMGC used data to transform their advancement office. 

“In the future, we’ll have HelioCampus add a few more features, and we know it will all happen seamlessly whether it’s an upgrade or change— without impacting our end-users. I really can’t overstate how transformative the predictive analytics program has been for us and our team."

Danielle Veness

Assistant Director of Annual Giving, Office of Institutional Advancement, UMGC

Using Analytics to Improve Donor Acquisition

Empowered with a capacity to mine the rich alumni data they already possessed, the OIA team was now able to leverage data in new ways, including:

  • Viewing past donor and engagement trends;
  • Analyzing why donations trends change and what’s driving first-time donors;
  • Developing a first-time donor model;
  • Monitoring results throughout the year using user-friendly dashboards.

Results

The results have been impressive, with the predictive model being credited for...

  • A 5 time increase in first-time donor acquisition this year, compared to last year.
  • The acquisition achievement was an astounding 42 percent above their targeted expectations.

Learn More About UMGC's Story

Read the Case Study