What to say to a donor who’s lost faith in higher ed

Not long ago, an Advancement Marketing Services partner shared a response their team received after sending an appeal email. It came from a longtime donor who had given small but consistent gifts for years. “Money’s tight right now, and I need to be more intentional with my donations. Supporting a local nonprofit feels like a better fit for me than giving to the university this year.”

This kind of message can feel like a gut punch, especially when it comes from a loyal donor. But this type of response is becoming more common. In 2025, there are roughly 1.8 million 501(c) nonprofit organizations in the U.S., all competing for support from individual donors.

As advancement professionals, we play a critical role in shaping how donors think about the value our institutions bring to society. That means clearly articulating our mission, showcasing the tangible impact of their giving, and reinforcing why investing in higher education remains a powerful and worthy choice.

In this blog, I’ll explore how your annual giving team can rebuild donor trust through thoughtful messaging, cause-based framing, and consistent storytelling.

More donors want to give to causes, not just institutions.

Donors today are increasingly cause-driven. They want to support work that feels urgent and personal, like disaster relief, local food banks, mental health access, environmental action, or racial justice. These causes stand out because the need is clear, the stories are personal, and the impact is easy to measure.

Higher education, on the other hand, doesn’t always feel like a timely or compelling cause. Growing public skepticism around the value of a degree, combined with frustration over rising tuition costs, has made donors more hesitant to give. Many have come to expect the “same old, same old” messages from universities about school pride, long-standing traditions, athletics, or broad scholarship support. And when their attention is drawn to urgent headlines and deeply personal causes, it’s easy to see higher education as too large or well-resourced to need their help. It doesn’t feel as immediate, as pressing, or as relevant.

This is where your annual giving efforts can make a significant impact. When you frame your messages around impact, tell meaningful stories from your campus, and connect those stories to the values your donors care about, you start to shift that perception. You can show that a gift to higher ed does support real and lasting change.

How to Stay Ready for Donors Who “Aren’t Ready Yet”

Show donors what their gift supports.

One of the most effective ways to re-engage skeptical or hesitant donors is to be specific. In your appeals, emails, and social content, move away from broad phrases and focus on real people, real needs, and real outcomes.

• Replace “support the next generation of students” with “help a first-generation college student stay enrolled after losing their job”
• Replace “fund student success” with “make sure no student has to choose between buying groceries and paying tuition”
• Replace “support innovation on campus” with “help a student-led team design low-cost water filters for rural communities”

Put yourself in your donor’s shoes. Like you, they’re getting requests from every direction. Their inboxes and social feeds are filled with emotionally charged appeals that are direct, urgent, and personal. If higher ed wants to stay competitive, our stories need to meet that standard.

Use photos, quotes, or short videos that spotlight individual students, faculty, or programs. Stories with a name and a face are far more likely to spark emotional connection and inspire action. Your message should make it clear that giving to your institution is just as timely, meaningful, and essential as any other cause they care about.

Tap into cause-based giving with what you already have on campus.

You don’t need to create new initiatives to engage cause-minded donors. In most cases, your institution is already advancing a lot of the issues they care about—mental health, food insecurity, climate change, social equity, and more. The opportunity lies in how you identify and frame that work.

Start by having informal conversations with faculty, staff, and program leaders. You’ll likely uncover powerful stories that bring your mission to life and speak directly to donor values.

As you have those conversations, consider how the work happening on your campus aligns with the causes that resonate most with different segments of your audience. For example:

• Donors passionate about economic mobility might connect with financial aid initiatives or student emergency funds
• Those who care about public health could be drawn to your mental health services or nursing students serving in the community
• Environmentally minded donors might respond to sustainability programs, student-led conservation projects, or green research initiatives

The goal is to help every donor see how a gift to your institution supports the same causes they already care about and to position your campus as an active part of that solution.

What to do next

The bottom line: if you want to keep donors connected, you need to uncover and share more impact stories.

Begin by identifying the causes that matter most to your donor segments. What issues have they supported in the past? What themes consistently resonate in your appeals or engagement data? Then, seek out stories on campus that align with those interests.

Over the next three months, challenge your team to build a story bank you can pull from for appeals, emails, social media, and stewardship. Connect with student affairs, admissions, faculty, alumni engagement, and program leads—anyone who sees the impact firsthand.

The more clearly you can show the human side of your mission and the real-world difference it makes, the more likely donors are to view your institution as a cause worth supporting.