Analysing a campaign as a lens to the future: A case study

On 31st December, 2021, North Carolina State University concluded a successful, nearly ten-year US$2.1bn fundraising campaign, breaking past both the initial US$1.6bn goal and the US$2bn stretch goal. Simultaneous with celebrating their success, the institution looked back at donor behaviour across its campaign period for insights to leverage in future advancement operations. This paper analyses the reviewing of donor behaviour in NCSU’s ‘Think and Do’ campaign. The paper starts by giving background information and then presents the findings. By analysing donor behaviour throughout the campaign, NCSU discovered how institution-specific priorities allowed leadership to strategise around the next campaign, as well as how alumni and donors can best be reached.