Colleges, universities, and independent schools that are in the public phase of a comprehensive campaign or have completed a comprehensive campaign in the last five years can participate in this survey.

Comprehensive campaigns (or “capital campaigns”) extend over multiple years and raise funds for a variety of purposes that may include unrestricted operating support, scholarships, faculty support, academic programs, building construction or renovation, endowment, or other strategic priorities of the institution. The survey is not intended for special purpose campaigns (e.g., initiatives to raise funds for an individual building or a specific program).

Participation in CampaignSource surveys enable institutions to compare campaign goals, participation, and outcomes with peer institutions from around the world. Since the surveys differentiate between campaign funds that are counted in keeping with the CASE Global Reporting Standards and other funds that some institutions may include in published goals and outcomes, CampaignSource allows for apples-to-apples comparisons between campaign outcomes while providing transparency regarding campaign goals and outcomes as published in institutional reports, websites, and other media.  

Participation in CampaignSource surveys also allows institutions to examine data on campaign outcomes in relation to annual fundraising outcomes and alumni engagement collected in CASE’s regional fundraising surveys and CASE Insights on Alumni Engagement.  While transparent, comparable data is critical in benchmarking campaign outcomes and planning future campaigns, it also helps advancement leaders understand and explain differences among campaigns with similar goals but different policies or counting practices.  

The CASE Insights on Voluntary Support of Education Survey, CASE Insights on Philanthropy (Canada), Canada, CASE-Ross Support of Education Survey, UK and Ireland, and CASE Support of Education Survey, Australia & New Zealand collect data for a single reporting year, counting only Funds Received and New Funds Committed as defined in the CASE Global Reporting Standards.

CampaignSource surveys collect data on funds raised during the silent phase of campaigns and throughout the duration of completed campaigns. CampaignSource surveys also collect data on donor populations and participation based on soft or recognition credit while CASE’s annual fundraising surveys generally only capture data on donor populations based on hard or legal credit. CampaignSource surveys also capture information on campaign policies and practices and non-financial campaign objectives.

The CASE Global Reporting Standards exclude certain funds from counting in annual fundraising reports because they are not in keeping with the Standard’s definition of philanthropy or because the value of the gift is too uncertain.

“New Funds Committed,” as defined in the standards, exclude government funds, certain research funds, bequest/legacy commitments from donors under 65 years of age, and gifts of intellectual property, among types of funds. Counting campaign giving in accordance with the Standards’ definition of New Funds Committed enables reliable apples-to-apples comparisons between institutions and aligns with the industry-standard counting practice that will inform all of CASE’s annual fundraising surveys starting in 2022.

CASE recognizes that campaigns’ counting policies may predate the publication of the Global Reporting Standards in March 2021 and that some institutions’ campaign goals may include securing funds that are excluded from counting by the Standards but are, nonetheless, of critical importance to the institution. To accommodate this reality, CampaignSource surveys allow institutions to report, separately from New Funds Committed, any Other Campaign Funds that they include in their published goals and reports but that are excluded from counting as New Funds Committed. 

CampaignSource findings will be shared in annual reports and other CASE publications.  CASE members will be able to access complete CampaignSource data through CASE Insights data portal. CampaignSource data is intended to be fully transparent so survey participants can identify specific institutions by name to include in benchmarking reports.   

Institutions that are in the public phase of a campaign that has not yet been completed should complete the Survey for Active Campaigns.  The public phase of a campaign begins when the campaign is announced to the community and stakeholders and official public marketing and reporting start happening. 

Institutions that have completed a campaign in the last five years should complete the Survey for Completed Campaigns.

At the present time the surveys and guidance documents are only available in English, but we are in the process of translating and programing the surveys in Spanish. 

Identify the individual at your institution who will have primary responsibility for submitting campaign survey data. 

Complete the CampaignSource Survey Registration Form.

CASE Insights staff will provide an individual survey link for the staff member you identify as the primary survey contact.

Review the survey script, data assembly form, and survey guidance document (all linked below).  While the guidance document provides question by question guidance, we also strongly encourage survey participants to review the CASE Global Reporting Standards with special attention paid to Chapter 7:  Guidelines for Campaign Management.