The Shrewsbury School Foundation was created in 1965, making it one of the oldest independent school development offices in the country. The Foundation’s charitable purposes are to provide bursarial support for qualified means tested pupils who otherwise could not attend Shrewsbury School and to fund a number of other prioritised projects designed to keep Shrewsbury School at the cutting edge of independent education worldwide. Like many other independent schools, Shrewsbury has fantastic, engaging Alumni which Supported Giving are helping to provide a smart, easy and simple way for those Alumni to make a donation. It’s proving harder and harder for donation collections following the decline in cash; however, providing a simple mechanism targeting all demographics has helped to increase the donations.
Shrewsbury School Foundation produced an Alumni Regular Giving campaign using Supported Giving QR Codes in 2021 these were included on marketing materials; posters/leaflets, direct mail and digital newsletters. Soon into the fundraising campaign, the number of donations increased alongside Regular Donors building their supporter base and allowing Shrewsbury School Foundation to forecast monthly income and distribute the donations accordingly with our Select an Appeal Feature, allowing donors to choose how their funds are allocated.
Alongside the Alumni donations, Shrewsbury School Foundation staff often attend oversea events, in particular, in America. With Supported Giving’s multi currency feature, this allows donors to donate in their chosen currency with the currency dropdown option, no matter where they are in the world. The campaign has been regarded as a huge success.
The Supported Giving’s platform gives the opportunity for charities to build long term relationships with their donors, from the initial ‘Thank you’ message, to the donor becoming a Regular Donor and hopefully in the future, taking part in their own fundraising campaigns to raise money. The data capture is just as important as the donation for converting one off donors to become long standing supporters and collecting Gift Aid information.
Supported Giving are excited to continue working with Shrewsbury School Foundation for a second year and look forward to helping increase donations through all fundraising areas.