Hundreds of Campaigns, ZeroDeveloper Tickets
A nationally recognized research university replaced static donation forms with a configurable Salesforce-native giving platform that supports hundreds of concurrent fundraising campaigns. Advancement teams now launch campaigns without developer involvement, and donors manage their own recurring gifts through Apple Pay, Google Pay, cards, ACH, and PayPal.
Who is the client?
A nationally recognized research university modernizing its online fundraising platform.
The institution supports annual giving, athletics, scholarships, endowments, and program-specific fundraising, managing hundreds of campaigns each year. Each one needs its own branding, messaging, fund configuration, and donor experience, which is the volume that breaks a form-based approach.
What problem did the university need to solve?
The legacy giving platform had become difficult to maintain and lacked the capabilities modern donors expect.
Campaign pages required developer involvement to launch or update, which meant the fundraising calendar ran at the speed of the IT queue. Mobile payment options such as Apple Pay and Google Pay were unavailable, on a platform where a significant share of donors arrive on a phone. Recurring donors could not manage their own gifts, so every change routed through support. The university needed a platform that could support hundreds of campaigns through a single configurable architecture, give advancement teams control, and offer donors a modern, frictionless experience.
Requirements that defined the architecture
- Modernize online giving
- Support dynamic fundraising campaigns
- Enable self-service donor management
- Add modern payment options
- Integrate with Salesforce CRM
- Reduce ongoing IT involvement
How did Red Van solve it?
Red Van implemented a Salesforce-native giving platform on Salesforce D2C Commerce and Salesforce CRM, with a dynamic giving architecture driven by the university's custom API.
Because the architecture is API-driven, new funds, campaign content, and giving configurations are reflected across giving experiences automatically, with no code changes and no developer involvement. That single decision is what converts hundreds of annual campaigns from an IT workload into a marketing workflow.
What the platform includes
Configurable Giving Platform
A dynamic giving architecture driven by the university's custom API, so new funds, campaign content, and giving configurations appear across giving experiences automatically without code changes.
Campaign Management Without Development
Configurable campaign parameters that dynamically populate funds, suggested donation amounts, and messaging, letting fundraising teams launch annual giving campaigns, athletics initiatives, scholarship drives, and targeted appeals through email and digital advertising while supporting hundreds of concurrent campaigns.
Modern Payment Options
Stripe payment processing introducing Apple Pay, Google Pay, credit cards, ACH, and PayPal, making donations faster across desktop and mobile.
NetID SSO and Personalized Giving
NetID single sign-on providing authenticated, personalized giving experiences tied to the donor's own record rather than a generic form.
Self-Service Donor Account
My Account lets donors view giving history, manage recurring gifts, update saved payment methods, and maintain their accounts without contacting support.
Bi-Directional Salesforce CRM Integration
Salesforce APIs synchronize completed gifts with the university's CRM while continuously updating giving forms with current fund information, establishing Salesforce as the single source of truth and eliminating manual synchronization between fundraising systems.
What were the results?
The university replaced static donation forms with a configurable Salesforce-native fundraising platform, and campaigns now launch without developer involvement. Donors get a modern payment experience across desktop and mobile, manage their own recurring gifts, and see a personalized experience tied to their NetID. Gift data synchronizes with the CRM in real time rather than being reconciled later.
- Campaign launches without developer involvement
- Hundreds of concurrent fundraising campaigns supported
- Modern payment experience across desktop and mobile
- Self-service recurring gift management for donors
- Personalized donor experiences through NetID SSO
- Real-time Salesforce CRM synchronization
- Centralized management of campaigns and funds
- Ongoing platform evolution through managed services
The university now operates a connected fundraising platform unifying campaign management, donor experiences, payment processing, and CRM data within a single Salesforce ecosystem. What once required static forms, ongoing developer support, and disconnected systems now runs on a configurable platform that launches campaigns faster, streamlines administration, and gives donors an experience that matches what they expect everywhere else they pay for something.
What services did Red Van provide?
- 01Discovery and Architecture
- 02Salesforce D2C Commerce Implementation
- 03Salesforce CRM Integration
- 04Stripe Payment Integration
- 05NetID SSO Integration
- 06Dynamic Fund Configuration
- 07Campaign Routing Architecture
- 08Donor Self-Service Development
- 09QA and Launch Support
- 10Ongoing Managed Services and Platform Enhancements
Frequently asked questions
How do you run hundreds of fundraising campaigns without developer involvement?+
Through configurable campaign parameters rather than built pages. This university's fundraising teams launch campaigns using parameters that dynamically populate funds, suggested amounts, and messaging, driven by a custom API. Annual giving, athletics, scholarships, and targeted appeals all launch from configuration, supporting hundreds of concurrent campaigns.
Can donors manage their own recurring gifts?+
Yes, with an authenticated account area. This platform's My Account lets donors view giving history, manage recurring gifts, update saved payment methods, and maintain their accounts without contacting support. Recurring gift changes are one of the highest-volume support requests in advancement, and self-service removes most of it.
How do you add Apple Pay and Google Pay to university giving?+
Through a payment processor that supports them natively. Red Van implemented Stripe for this university, introducing Apple Pay, Google Pay, credit cards, ACH, and PayPal. Mobile wallets matter disproportionately in giving because a large share of donors arrive from an email or ad on a phone.
How does a giving platform stay in sync with Salesforce CRM?+
With bi-directional APIs rather than scheduled exports. This platform synchronizes completed gifts into the university's CRM while continuously updating giving forms with current fund information. That makes Salesforce the single source of truth and removes the manual synchronization that usually sits between fundraising systems.