Case Study: Millikin University achieves $40K–$50K annual cost savings and boosts fundraising efficiency with VanillaSoft

Millikin University Saved Thousands in Production Costs

Millikin University, a private four-year school in Decatur, IL, needed to cut fundraising costs and boost production after its sales CRM, outsourced scripts, and management provider proved ineffective and expensive (about $100K/yr). Student callers struggled with generic scripts, the clumsy calling software made training slow, and managers couldn’t track individual fundraiser performance or donations easily.

After implementing VanillaSoft, Millikin moved to in-house, logical branch scripts and an easy-to-use interface that shortened training time, improved caller comfort and donor conversations, and enabled on-the-fly script adjustments. Enhanced reporting and tracking let managers monitor caller activity and results, increasing productivity and donor engagement and saving the university roughly $40,000–$50,000 per year.

Millikin University

Ross Williams

Associate Director of Annual Giving