Case Study: Oxford Brookes University achieves a modernised alumni database and improved engagement with Blackbaud

Oxford Brookes University - Customer Case Study

Oxford Brookes University’s alumni relations team shifted its focus from fundraising to engagement and found their decades‑old database holding almost 400,000 constituent entries that were often irrelevant or misclassified. The system was built for fundraisers and couldn’t track the participation and relationships the team now needed, making a full data overhaul feel daunting.

Working with a Blackbaud Customer Success manager and using Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT, the team redesigned their CRM architecture, prioritized cleanup tasks, and implemented clearer processes around student recruitment, student experience, reputation/brand, and development. Within a year they removed at least 35,000 non‑essential records, streamlined workflows, improved data storytelling and reporting, and freed time to focus on personal alumni engagement and broader institutional collaboration.

Oxford Brookes University

Daniel Coogan

Development Systems Officer