From the Nominator

Our entry showcases an innovative data integration and analytics solution that transformed the management of The University of British Columbia's major annual giving campaigns—Giving Day and Back the Birds. These 24-hour fundraising events feature multiple donor challenges that unlock matching funds based on complex criteria such as donor demographics, gift timing, constituent types (number of donors, number of first time donors, etc.), and participation rates. The strategic goal was to automate challenge tracking and donor verification across disparate systems while improving accuracy and staff efficiency. Previously, a team of over ten fundraisers manually downloaded and analyzed hourly data from Engaging Networks, cross-referencing it against Blackbaud CRM to verify donor status, details, and challenge achievements. This labor-intensive process was time-consuming, cumbersome, error-prone, and pulled staff away from important donor engagement activities during critical campaign hours. In collaboration with the Annual Giving team, the Business Intelligence team developed a near real-time analytics dashboard that automatically pulls EN data, cross-references it with Blackbaud CRM, and updates every 15 minutes. The dashboard features sophisticated filtering and aggregation capabilities to track multiple challenge criteria simultaneously, including new or repeat donors, geographic location, constituent type, and hourly participation rates. The impact has been transformative: fundraisers now focus on donor engagement instead of spreadsheet management, challenge verification is automated and error-free, and reporting frequency increased from hourly to every 15 minutes. This solution has significantly enhanced the team's ability to run dynamic, multi-challenge campaigns while improving the accuracy and timeliness of donor recognition and matching fund deployment.

From the Judges

This submission impressed us with its smart use of automation and real-time data integration to solve a complex, high-pressure challenge. The transformation from manual tracking to a near real-time dashboard represents a significant leap in operational efficiency and accuracy. We particularly appreciated the collaborative approach between fundraising and business intelligence teams, which enabled fundraisers to refocus on donor engagement. This is a standout example of using technology to enhance campaign execution and donor experience.