How institutions are unlocking parent giving with CampusESP
As colleges and universities navigate declining enrollment, rising financial aid demands, and increasing competition for donor dollars, one audience is often overlooked: the parents of current students.
Parents have a deep emotional and financial investment in their student’s success. They want to support the experiences, programs, and communities shaping their student’s journey — but too often, institutions lack the infrastructure to engage parents in meaningful, timely, and personalized ways.
That’s where CampusESP comes in.
A new CampusESP case study analyzing fundraising results from five institutions and more than 156,000 parent users reveals a clear pattern: when parents are engaged intentionally, they show up — especially on giving day.
Make a quick impact on donor participation.
Institutions see an average 25% jump in donor participation in year 1 of using CampusESP for Parent Giving.
University of Oregon and Miami University added on CampusESP for Parent Giving in 2023 and 2024 respectively. As these institutions ramped up parent engagement, their parents developed a deeper connection to the university and a stronger likelihood to give. CampusESP also helps these institutions learn more about family giving preferences, so when it comes time to make the ask, they can deliver more personalized and effective solicitations.
Double down on your giving day.
Institutions see an average 2x increase in giving day donations from families using CampusESP.
Giving days are a core revenue driver for universities, but have often focused on alumni and other constituencies. Families are a prime audience for this annual event, and often want to participate as a way of showing support for their student’s current home. Welcoming families into this community and making them feel a part of the event via CampusESP can turn parents into one of the day’s most impactful contributors.
See the return on your investment.
Across the board, institutions achieve an average 28x return on their CampusESP investment.
Whether your institution has an established parent giving program or you are trying to get one off the ground, CampusESP’s parent giving module pays off — literally. CampusESP empowers institutions to develop a parent donor pipeline, cultivate parent donors and deliver personalized solicitations to grow giving. With a 3-week implementation, 90% content curation by CampusESP, and a playbook of best practices, CampusESP helps you do more with less.
Engagement today builds the donors of tomorrow.
Parent giving success isn’t just about the ask — it’s about the relationship.
CampusESP enables institutions to:
Engage families early in the student lifecycle
Personalize content and solicitations based on engagement data
Build trust and familiarity long before fundraising moments arise
