Clinton Community College Foundation
In a forested setting overlooking Lake Champlain, Clinton Community College (CCC) is a member of the State University of New York (SUNY). The school’s mission is to provide educational opportunities that help students bridge academic, economic, technological, and cultural divides; participate in local and global communities; and enhance their lives in practical and visionary ways. Through a non-selective, open enrollment model, the school offers anyone who wants to pursue an education the chance to do so.
The Clinton Community College Foundation is a separate, yet affiliated organization that raises private funds annually and awards those funds to CCC students through various scholarships and financial assistance programs. Scholarships are often the only way that many students are able to complete their education. Financial assistance helps students navigate unforeseen expenses and emergencies that could lead to them leaving school. The Foundation works closely with faculty and staff to find ways to help these students succeed.
“We’ve been clients of Blackbaud since 1985. It’s a very complex system, and we maybe utilized 10% of it. I worked at another school for three years and saw the power of Raiser’s Edge NXT. When I came back to CCC, I wanted to make sure that our system was properly set up so we could do more with it.”
Steven G Frederick
Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Clinton Community College
Untapped Potential
A Blackbaud customer for nearly 40 years, the CCC Foundation had barely scratched the surface of Raiser’s Edge’s potential. Starting out on MS-DOS and evolving to newer iterations of the software through the decades, the Foundation had a lot of people using the system with inconsistent data entry practices. The database grew to nearly 14,000 records, but the system lacked accuracy. Simple importing mistakes had been made, and as a result the right data was not in the correct fields. In short, they didn’t know what they didn’t know.
It wasn’t until a key CCC team member took a job at a private university and saw the capabilities of Raiser's Edge NXT, that the seed would be planted to give the Foundation’s system a significant update. After returning to work for CCC after three years at the private school, the new Vice President of Institutional Advancement looked to elevate the Foundation’s use of the software. But, decades of people entering records inconsistently meant a lot of data clean up, and expert guidance would be needed.
“NPact has done more to train our team in six months than some people have learned in years. We’re able to be much more efficient in our work and decisions. What did it cost to raise money? What was the ROI? NPact has taught us where to find the info. It’s been an incredible experience.”
Steven G Frederick
Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Clinton Community College
Increased Efficiency
The CCC’s Vice President of Institutional Advancement contacted an NPact consultant who they had worked with in the past. He remembered how the consultant had taught them how to run a consecutive giving report, which helped the Foundation identify a company that had been donating for decades. This prompted them to meet with the donor, who in turn made a two million dollar gift. Ready to see what more they could achieve together, the Foundation signed a 12-month contract with NPact, which was extended to two years. The scope included a two-hour call with the Foundation every other week with assignments for both sides to accomplish in between.
The project began with a large amount of data clean up as well as training on how to enter data correctly and run reports. After the improvements, the Foundation’s staff felt more confident to make key decisions—from 1:1 conversations with stakeholders to changes to their overall communications strategy. Excited to implement more new ideas, the team incorporated Blackbaud’s JustGiving online fundraising tool into their year-end appeal. Thrilled with the support of their NPact consultant, the Vice President of Institutional Advancement believes the investment will pay them back “one hundredfold in terms of efficiency and yield.”
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