3 AwardSpring Features That Drive Donor Engagement

Donor engagement is an essential component to any scholarship program and a top priority for our customers. That’s why AwardSpring includes three features that help foundations, colleges, and universities draw their donors closer to their scholarships and recipients. Donors who wish to be active participants in the award process can do so with the tools offered on the platform, while donors who prefer less direct involvement can still benefit from processes used by administrators.

Start engaging your donors today by:

You can create profiles for your donors that include as much or as little detail as you (or they) would like, from photos to short biographies to their social media contact information. In our experience, donors feel more connected to the institution and the scholarship when they have a profile. Plus, it helps students connect the scholarship with the person who funds it. It’s a simple way to offer donors recognition for their investment without requiring any proactive engagement from them.

Donors who wish to be more actively involved and informed about their awards and recipients will appreciate having access to their own donor portal. As an administrator, you can control how much - and how little - information your donors can access through the portal. We recommend that you allow donors to access both applications and awarded student profiles. That way, your entire scholarship process is transparent and accessible. Over time, as more and more students are awarded scholarships, your donors will be able to see the impact of their investment on your student population.

Administrators can use their AwardSpring platform for professional, streamlined donor outreach - most notably, for “thank you” letters from awarded students to donors. Simply create a follow-up or essay question for awarded students to answer with their expressions of gratitude and then share the “thank you” letters with donors in their portal. You’ll save time and effort on gathering, printing, and mailing these letters while your donors will enjoy a “feel-good” experience on the platform that might just encourage greater future engagement.

If you need any help setting up any of these features, we’re always here for you. Just submit a support ticket or reach out to our sales team to learn more!