Education Archives - Heller Consulting

A graduate in a black cap and gown with a yellow stole stands facing a set of stairs outdoors. The background is blurred, showing greenery and part of a building. The focus is on the back of the graduate.

Technology Strategy

Best practices in advancement tech

Advancement teams are the backbone of financial stability and growth for educational institutions, but they face significant challenges both internally and externally. Engaging donors across an increasing number of channels in a complex fundraising landscape is no small feat. Many institutions struggle with outdated and fragmented technology systems that hinder operational efficiency and personalized appeals.

Lyndal Cairns March 15, 2025

A collection of university students illustrates the complexity of alumni engagement.

CRM

Inside the University of Toledo Foundation’s CRM transformation

By Barbara Fischer, Associate Vice President IT and Data Analytics, The University of Toledo Foundation At The University of Toledo Foundation, we faced a common tech challenge like many in higher education advancement: an outdated database from the early 1990s. Our data was scattered across multiple systems, leading to inefficiencies and hindering our engagement with

Lyndal Cairns February 4, 2025

CRM

Advancement Tips and Tech for Alumni Engagement in 2025

If your advancement org is typical, you’re faced with the challenge of making donor and alumni engagement more effective with technology that you may have used for 10, 15, or even 20+ years. It lacks the features and functionality you need to deepen connections and provide a more modern donor and alumni experience. So, how

Lyndal Cairns November 21, 2024

Salesforce

3 Steps to Move Your Higher Ed Advancement Team Forward with Salesforce

Many higher education advancement teams are ready to implement more sophisticated approaches to donor and alumni engagement. But to do so, they need to move away from their aging software. They need technology that gives them better access to their data, helps them work more efficiently, and generally supports more innovative and modern practices. That’s

Lyndal Cairns November 19, 2024

Education

Top Considerations When Moving to New Higher Education Advancement Software

The start of a new year is a common time for reflection. But for many, it’s also a time to prepare for any changes or decisions that may be coming. For example, colleges and universities typically use this time to prepare for the spring, when budget planning for the next academic year kicks off. As

Kaia Swift January 24, 2024

Education

Takeaways for Advancement Services Professionals from AASP Summit 2023

Here at Heller Consulting, we always look forward to attending the annual AASP Summit. It’s a great opportunity to hear more about what’s on the minds of advancement services professionals from higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations. Last month’s AASP Summit 2023 didn’t disappoint. What advancement services professionals are talking about We had multiple conversations

Kaia Swift October 9, 2023

CRM

Connect with Donors and Alumni Through an Online Portal Built on Salesforce

As a higher education advancement leader, you’re probably on the lookout for ways to engage more effectively with donors, alumni, and other constituents. If you use (or are thinking about using) the Salesforce platform and ecosystem, one powerful and simple way to deepen connections and provide a great donor and alumni experience is to offer

Kaia Swift July 26, 2023

CRM

5 Big Wins for Higher Education Advancement Teams Using UC Innovation ascend

When we started working with ascend from UC Innovation a couple of years ago, we were excited about its potential as a modern software solution built on the Salesforce platform to help higher education advancement teams reach their goals. Since then, we’ve had many opportunities to see the technology up close as an ascend certified

Kaia Swift June 26, 2023

CRM

Why Use Salesforce for Advancement in Higher Education?

In the realm of higher education, advancement initiatives, including fundraising, alumni engagement, and constituent relationship management, play a vital role in the success of institutions. To streamline and optimize these efforts, many higher education institutions are turning to Salesforce, a powerful customer relationship management (CRM) platform known for its adaptability and scalability. In this blog

Kaia Swift June 12, 2023

CRM

Takeaways for Advancement Professionals from Salesforce Education Summit 2023

Our team at Heller Consulting was excited to sponsor the Salesforce Education Summit 2023. This was the first in-person Education Summit in three years, and it was great to be back together again with this community. The conference featured a variety of topics around education technology. However, a big topic of discussion was the new

Kaia Swift April 27, 2023