The Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE Riga) is a business school ranked by the Financial Times to be among TOP25* business schools in Europe. Fifteen years of effort were at stake, when in 2008, along with the financial crisis, came an increase in tuition fees, reaching EUR 3,300 per study year. Potential students from less well-off families had trouble covering their studies, but it has always been important for SSE Riga to provide equal study opportunities regardless of financial background. They turned to fundraising from alumni. But they did not have a budget for a traditional fundraising campaign, therefore a novel approach was needed.
The university’s alumni association, which functions independently of the school with the help of volunteers, looked to established American colleges for fund-raising inspiration and soon began emulating their techniques. But Raimonds Kulbergs, the association’s president at the time, realized that traditional approaches had their limits because European schools lacked the established alumni relations culture found at most American institutions.
“We tried most of the traditional approaches. They do work. But they all require asking for a gift. Which is why telephones, direct mail and standard online fundraising approaches are under-performing when it comes to creating an experience people enjoy. And therefore costly,” Raimonds Kulbergs said. “There is so much potential to unleash when we stop asking for gifts, and start recognizing the human being in our prospects - giving an experience designed to show instant impact and gratification, recognize publicly, and allow experiencing a sense of belonging.”
After seeing the results, the core team behind the campaign decided to establish Funderful (www.itsfunderful.com) that would help also other institutions around the world do online giving on alumni terms.
A recent NY Times article about Funderful and this campaign (http://nyti.ms/1Dgjdyb) explains the potential and significance of this achievement.
Learn how SSE Riga increased alumni giving participation rate by 318% in this infographic: https://infogr.am/beyond_crowdfunding
