AST ESM`s Brio standardises reporting for Yale University

AST Enterprise Solutions Management (ESM), a business unit of the AST Group and distributor for Brio Software in southern Africa, has announced that Yale University`s Office of Development has selected the Brio Performance Suite as the solution to enable its fundraisers to leverage the wealth of information that already existed in Yale`s data centre, and plan effective one-to-one marketing campaigns based on donor interests.

From Web browsers, over 160 fundraising staff and their managers can view information about more than 100 000 donors in real-time, enabling them to identify new fundraising opportunities and relate to donors on a more personal level.

Using Brio Performance Suite, staff members can segment alumni, parents, or friends of Yale by such criteria as potential donation amount or interest in a particular Yale programme, and then send relevant information via e-mail on a regular and timely basis. Staff members can drill down and further analyse specific donor information and contribution patterns.

Since adopting the Brio solution, Yale has also been able to standardise its report development. This has eased the burden on developers, who previously had to specialise in different aspects of querying and reporting.

"Now in a matter of minutes developers can build Web-based, interactive reports that empower users to personalise their view of the information they need," says Andrew Cook of AST ESM. "This eliminates the need for IT to frequently build custom reports and reduces the reporting backlog by making users more self-sufficient."

With Brio, Yale University has been able to become more sophisticated in its marketing efforts. Fundraisers now spend far less time waiting on reports and doing paperwork and more time talking to donors. In fact, the Office of Development has realised a 25% increase in fundraiser productivity now that the 24-hour waiting period has been eliminated. In addition, enabling real-time access to donor information has empowered Yale`s fundraisers with the ability to roll out marketing campaigns faster and more easily than ever before. Because the Office of Development staff is well informed about their potential donors, they know exactly who to target, what to ask for, and how to persuade.

"The Brio solution has made both a strategic and significant impact on Yale`s revenue stream, helping to transform the university`s fundraising efforts into a truly targeted operation," adds Cook.