Case Study: University of North Carolina Asheville boosts scholarship fund utilization to 95% with Blackbaud Award Management (Blackbaud)

University of North Carolina Asheville - Customer Case Study

The University of North Carolina at Asheville, a public liberal arts and sciences university serving 3,000+ students, struggled with antiquated, manual scholarship processes that made it difficult to match students to nearly 400 active scholarships and left roughly 30% of funds unused. The decentralized, paper-based workflow also created inconsistent student experiences and limited the advancement office’s ability to engage donors about restrictive criteria.

By adopting Blackbaud Award Management (with integration to Raiser’s Edge NXT), UNC Asheville centralized and automated scholarship matching, renewals, departmental workflows, and student applications so answers carry across opportunities. The result: forecasted fund utilization rose from about 70% to 95%, the university typically awards over 300 scholarships annually, and the process now delivers a fairer, faster student experience while improving donor stewardship and administrative efficiency.

University of North Carolina Asheville

Brian P. Davis

Associate Director of University Scholarships