Grove City College Case Study Snapshot

Turning Engagement
into Major Gifts.

When Grove City College partnered with MarketSmart, their advancement team uncovered powerful new ways to identify, qualify, and inspire major donors. By leveraging MarketSmart’s engagement system, they transformed casual supporters into committed philanthropists - unlocking six-figure gifts and lasting relationships.

The challenge.

Grove City College sought a more effective way to identify and engage potential major donors within its alumni and parent base. Traditional outreach methods had limited success in motivating donors to deepen their commitment, resulting in stagnant giving levels. The team needed a smarter, data-driven system to uncover high-potential prospects and facilitate meaningful conversations.

The results.

The implementation of MarketSmart's system yielded exceptional donor growth:

Donor #1:
- Gave $1,450 lifetime before leaning in to engage with MarketSmart’s System in 2019
- Has given $91,649 after engaging with your System and being assigned
Donor #2:
- Gave approximately $4,500 lifetime before engaging in 2014
- Has given over $122,000 after engaging with your System and being assigned
Donor #3
- Gave $450 lifetime before engaging in 2014
- Has given $18,300 after engaging with your System and being assigned, and recently verbally committed to $100,000
Donor #4
- Gave approximately $3,000 lifetime before engaging in 2014
- Has given $15,000 after engaging with your System and being assigned

Donor #5
- Gave roughly $1,950 lifetime before engaging in 2016
- Has given $65,000 after engaging with your System and being assigned

Donor #6:
- Gave about $3,155 lifetime before engaging in 2014
- Has given $51,000 after engaging with your System and being assigned
Donor #7:
- Gave about $17,000 before engaging in 2014
- Has given over $425,000 after engaging with your System and being assigned
Donor #8
- Gave about $13,000 lifetime before engaging in 2014
- Has given $120,000 after engaging with your System and being assigned, and recently
Donor #9
- Gave approximately $6,000 lifetime before engaging in 2014
- Has given $80,000 after engaging with your System and being assigned

Conclusion.

With an enrollment of 2,272, Grove City College’s advancement team demonstrated the transformative potential of a targeted, engagement-driven fundraising strategy. As Powell noted, these successes represent “just the tip of the iceberg,” with even more opportunities visible in their MarketSmart dashboard.

About MarketSmart's Engagement Fundraising System.

Fundraisers, nonprofit leaders, and board members come to MarketSmart when they realize their traditional fundraising efforts are no longer working.

We help them implement our 'Engagement Fundraising System’—a powerful ‘done-for-you' software and service duo that helps fundraisers pre-qualify people for outreach and land meetings with the wealthiest and most passionate supporters when they are ready to involve themselves more deeply with your cause.

Unlike big data or mysterious black box wealth screening services, our System is donor- & supporter-driven. It inspires people to engage, explain why they care and whether they would consider giving assets. Then it signals when they need help—so fundraising staff makes outreach at the right times.

This positions your team for success and optimizes your operations. Plus, there’s no risk because it comes with a 10-to-1 return on investment (ROI) guarantee.