The investment higher ed advancement is overlooking

Last month, I led a convening of nearly 40 fundraisers at EAB’s Advancement Leaders Summit, our biannual workshop focused on building stronger donor pipelines. The group was united around that shared priority, but their approaches varied. Some institutions continue to rely heavily on traditional channels such as direct mail and email, while others are embracing innovations like virtual engagement officers and AI agents to extend staff capacity and scale personal outreach. 

Yet most teams are overlooking a critical bridge that can strengthen both approaches: outbound, paid digital marketing. Used consistently, digital marketing helps teams reach beyond the people already responding to their marketing—making their storytelling and engagement efforts that much more effective.

Here’s why broader engagement now requires an always-on digital strategy, and how that investment can strengthen your entire donor pipeline.

Why advancement teams need a broader engagement strategy

Higher education is raising more money, but fewer people are giving.

Across the nonprofit sector, total dollars raised grew 5% in 2025 even as donor counts fell 3.6%, with most of that growth coming from major donors. Higher education is seeing the same trend. CASE reported that median dollars from alumni increased 8.7%, while alumni donor counts declined 3.5% for the fourth consecutive year. It also found that just 2% of donors accounted for 89% of all funds received.

That concentration may sustain revenue today, but it increases institutions’ dependence on a small group of donors and limits future growth. A broader base supports annual giving now and develops future leadership and major gift donors. Institutions can accept continued donor decline or invest in strategies that broaden and deepen engagement.

Reaching that broader base is difficult. Mail and email miss people when contact information is outdated, email response rates are falling, and direct mail is costly. At the same time, other organizations are competing for attention with urgent needs and clear stories of impact. Higher ed must reach beyond the people already responding and give broader audiences reasons to see the institution in a new light, stay connected, and act.

At EAB, we call our always-on, year-round approach digital engagement marketing. It is designed to move audiences from awareness to engagement to action by keeping institutions visible and consistently showing why their mission and impact deserve support.

Three ways digital marketing strengthens donor engagement

Digital engagement marketing builds a stronger foundation for donor engagement by keeping your institution visible and relevant to a much larger audience.

1. Reach people your current channels miss

Digital can take your institution’s strongest stories far beyond the names in your database. It allows advancement teams to efficiently reach large audiences of alumni, parents, friends, community members, and other potential supporters on the channels they already use. EAB focuses on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, where we can match close to 85% of an institution’s total alumni population. That scale makes digital a powerful tool for expanding the donor pool, acquiring new donors, and reengaging people who have drifted away.

2. Show the impact of your institution’s mission

People are more likely to pay attention and give when they understand why an institution’s work matters and how their support can make a difference. Year-round storytelling gives advancement teams more opportunities to bring that case to life through stories about students, research, programs, and community impact. Video can be especially powerful because it captures attention quickly and makes that impact feel personal. A short, authentic video featuring a student, researcher, or donor-supported program can help audiences see the institution in a new light and connect its priorities to causes they already care about. By turning those priorities into tangible reasons to give, digital builds the case for support long before the next appeal arrives.

3. Give every other channel a stronger starting point

Mail, email, event invitations, and personal outreach work better when audiences already recognize the institution and understand why its work matters. A consistent digital presence builds that familiarity between appeals, making people more likely to pay attention and respond when the next message arrives. Rather than rebuilding the connection with each campaign, every touchpoint builds on the awareness and interest created by the one before it.

How digital marketing supports growth across the full donor pipeline

Digital is not just for small-dollar fundraising. Your $10 donor and your $10,000 donor spend time on the same platforms, where consistent campus stories can inspire both to stay connected and deepen their support. That gives digital engagement marketing an important role across the donor pipeline.

Make digital your next strategic investment

As advancement leaders decide where to invest next or how to redirect current resources, digital must be part of the conversation. Few investments can influence donor relationships so broadly, from helping new audiences discover your institution to encouraging longtime supporters to deepen their commitment.

Through EAB’s Advancement Marketing Services, we help institutions develop digital strategies aligned with their goals and determine the investment required to grow donor support over time. Let’s talk.

Mark Shreve

Managing Director, Partner Development

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