U of G’s Department of Alumni Affairs and Development (AA&D) was recently recognized by Blackbaud, Inc. of Charleston, S.C., for innovation in using the software called TeamRaiser in a peer-to-peer fundraising program.

The company’s IMPACT award and a $500 donation to the University were presented at a Blackbaud conference in Washington, D.C., for 2,500 non-profit software users in North America. U of G was the first to purchase and implement a peer-to-peer fundraising model using TeamRaiser in the higher education sector.

AA&D has successfully used online fundraising for events such as a Dog Walk in Calgary that raised more than $40,000 for the Ontario Veterinary College and last winter’s grassroots drive to fund the University’s new eight-lane running track. More than 10 per cent of the $1 million donated for the track came through online giving. The online program is also being used to assist the Department of Athletics and varsity teams in their Adopt-a-Gryphon fundraising.

The Blackbaud award highlighted U of G’s upward trend in online giving and corresponding reduction in cost per dollar raised. In the last three years, online gifts to the University increased from $170,000 annually to almost $500,000.