The Challenge
Michigan State University’s advancement operation is one of the largest in the Big Ten, with over 300 staff members. In late 2025, MSU launched a centralized Digital Gift Officer (DGO) team focused exclusively on qualifying and advancing major gift prospects at the $50,000+ level. Each of the three DGOs brought strong fundraising and engagement experience. However, they needed to quickly build confidence and skill in major gift conversations while managing a broad and complex portfolio across multiple units. Bryan Hoch, a Regional Director of Development with over 20 years at MSU, was tasked with building and managing this team from the ground up.
The challenge was clear: these talented professionals needed to rapidly develop major gift conversation skills while simultaneously managing a vast portfolio spanning athletics, agriculture, business, medical research, and more. They had the digital fluency and fundraising fundamentals. What they needed was intensive, on-demand practice navigating complex donor conversations at the $50K+ level.
As Bryan explained:
“The learning curve for the DGOs is on the major gift side, exploring what questions to ask and what to listen for. That’s where Practivated can be really helpful.”
The Solution
MSU partnered with Practivated in November 2025, initially through Liz Ivkovich, Senior Director of Advancement for Cultural Arts, who had been a Practivated user and saw the platform’s potential for broader institutional impact. The onboarding strategy was designed to accelerate readiness through structured practice, coaching, and real-time feedback.
“It’s such a phenomenal tool, and it has helped me when I’ve used it to prepare for donor meetings. My hope is that by sharing it with others, including Bryan and the team he’s building, we can ultimately move to an institutional partnership where all fundraisers have access because it’s exactly the kind of thing my colleagues and I have been asking for.”
— Liz Ivkovich, Senior Director of Advancement, Michigan State University
MSU made a deliberate decision to invest early in skill development to ensure DGOs could contribute meaningfully to pipeline growth within their first year. Charlotte Fedders, Practivated’s Customer Success Lead, worked hand-in-hand with Bryan to design a phased onboarding strategy for the DGO team:
Phase 1: Platform Setup & Team Onboarding (Nov–Dec 2025)
Charlotte guided Bryan through creating the team structure in Practivated and setting up manager permissions so he could track his DGOs’ progress across 16 skill indicators. Within days of being hired, each DGO received access to the platform and began exploring the donor scenario library, a collection of 65+ practice scenarios covering cold calls, discovery meetings, asks, and more.
Charlotte personally led a 45-minute onboarding session with the first two DGOs, walking them through practice scenarios, coaching with Coach Tivy, and the self-serve onboarding program “Fundraising Foundations: First 30 Days.”
Phase 2: Skill Building & The 30-Day Challenge (Jan–Feb 2026)
As the DGOs began their donor outreach activities across MSU’s colleges, Charlotte introduced a custom 30-day challenge designed specifically for the MSU team. Each week included targeted assignments, practice scenarios, coaching sessions with Coach Tivy, and team reflections, that required just 30 minutes to 1 hour per week.
The DGOs began using Practivated to practice real-world donor conversations they were encountering in the field. Bryan shared that his team was using hypothetical scenarios based on actual donor meetings, for example, practicing conversations with veterinary medicine donors, and then debriefing with Coach Tivy to refine their approach.
Phase 3: Deepening Engagement & New Features (Feb–Apr 2026)
Charlotte introduced the MSU team to Coach Tivy Phone—a mobile feature allowing fundraisers to call Coach Tivy for real-time guidance from anywhere. This could be a particularly valuable tool across the division to development officers after their travel for immediate reflection on their performance through growth-minded feedback.”
Charlotte also enabled MSU to upload organizational documents, including its values, mission, and institutional priorities, so that Coach Tivy’s guidance would reflect Michigan State’s specific voice and standards. The team joined the Higher Education Fundraiser Cohort, participating in monthly calls alongside fundraisers from other universities, building a cross-institutional community.
The Results
Within five months, DGOs transitioned from training to actively leading discovery conversations and contributing to early-stage major gift pipeline development across multiple units. Early indicators showed increased confidence, stronger conversation structure, and improved strategic thinking in donor interactions.
KEY OUTCOMES
- First-of-its-kind DGO program nationally: Digital Gift Officers focused exclusively on major gifts ($50K+), supported by Practivated from day one
- Rapid onboarding of 3 new hires: DGOs transitioned from annual giving backgrounds to actively managing major gift discovery conversations across a variety of subjects and units
- Skill development across 16 fundraising competencies: Including qualification and discovery, relationship building, strategic thinking, and confidence—tracked in real time by management
- Expansion conversations underway: MSU is actively exploring extending Practivated beyond the new DGO program to all frontline fundraising
- National visibility: Bryan Hoch and the new DGO Program Coordinator, Elena Jones are speaking at the 2026 Fundraising Readiness Summit (5,000+ attendees) about MSU’s DGO program and how Practivated supported it
How MSU Uses Practivated
Practice Scenarios for Real Donor Conversations
DGOs use Practivated’s donor scenario library to rehearse the kinds of conversations they’re actually having in the field, from cold calls to discovery meetings to solicitations. Because their portfolio spans every college and unit at MSU, the ability to practice across a wide range of donor contexts is critical. It isn’t just the range of type of donor that Practivated offers but the depth of analysis of their skillset as fundraisers. This grows the DGO’s expertise in donor psychology.
Coach Tivy for On-Demand Guidance
The DGOs regularly consult Coach Tivy to debrief after donor meetings, synthesize notes, and develop strategic messaging for follow-up conversations. As Liz Ivkovich noted:
“I initially wasn’t using Tivy, and then I started asking for her advice and coaching with specific language based on the feedback I received during my practice scenarios. She is a game-changer!”
Coach Tivy Phone
Fundraisers on the road between meetings can call Coach Tivy directly from their phones to prep for an upcoming donor conversation, recap what just happened, or work through next steps. Sessions sync back to the platform, so notes are never lost.
Manager Insights Dashboard
Bryan uses the Practivated metrics dashboard to track his team’s development across 16 skill indicators grouped into four categories: Communication & Delivery, Structure & Flow, Fundraising Skills, and Strategic Thinking. He can see both team-wide trends and individual progress, helping him identify where to focus coaching conversations.
Custom Programs & Institutional Alignment
MSU uploaded organizational documents so Coach Tivy’s guidance reflects Michigan State’s specific values and institutional priorities. Charlotte worked with Bryan to build a custom program aligned with the DGOs’ unique digital engagement and donor conversation responsibilities.
Looking Ahead
MSU is now exploring how AI-enabled practice and coaching can scale across its advancement organization to support fundraising, alumni relations, and beyond. Bryan described the growing institutional interest:
“University Advancement at MSU is exploring ways to use AI and leverage the power of fundraising-specific tools. There is nothing on the market like Practivated and I am proud that we have been an early adopter.”
— Bryan Hoch, Regional Director of Development, Michigan State University
MSU’s story is a proof point for what’s possible when innovative leadership meets the right tools. MSU’s approach offers a scalable model for institutions seeking to accelerate fundraiser readiness while maintaining consistency and quality in donor engagement.
