An image of the campus of University of St. Thomas in St. Paul Minnesota.

University of St. Thomas

Marts & Lundy recommended Heurista for an audit of donor relations and stewardship practices at the University of St. Thomas. The audit returned both anticipated and surprise results: the donor relations team was understaffed and overworked and some of their deliverables had become stale. However, Heurista also found that the expectations placed on the team were poorly defined and often reactionary. By maximizing on a new team structure, a strong advancement operations team, and advice from Heurista, the team was able to quickly improve their understanding of what work was being done by whom and to build consistent, data-driven tools to manage and report both the quantity and overall quality of stewardship activities across the universities advancement teams and units.

Outcomes

  • So many people fear the dreaded consultant! Whether the process is couched as an audit or assessment, it strikes fear in the hearts of many. Heurista hopes to change that! We come to the process with a smile and genuine curiosity. We know the job we’re there to do and we’re willing to ask for insight that may inform a win-win solution. Such was the case for the University of St. Thomas. By leveraging a strong team under new leadership, great technical skill elsewhere in university advancement, and a sensitivity to leadership’s needs and objectives, we were able to help reframe what had been seen as a problem. The work was redistributed and supported by data, allowing the central donor relations team to design and implement new systems that better address the workload and provide more insight for fundraisers.

  • Heurista takes pride in being friendly, intentional listeners in order to dispel the anxiety many feel about assessment.

  • Less than one year after the assessment, the client presented on the experience, focusing on both the process and the outcomes.

  • Following Heurista's recommendation, the team analyzed their workload using a highly detailed a matrix of stewardship activities.

  • The ongoing effort resulted in a stewardship report that reflected the quantity and quality of stewardship activities across all teams.