Campaigns Endowment, Capital and Comprehensive

1. CampaignsEndowment, Capital and Comprehensive Kathleen Hanson Senior Consultant and Principal Leader – Schools Practice Group Editor, The NAIS Handbook on Marketing Independent Schools NESA Leadership Conference – October 2011

2. Our focus Types of campaigns Three Essential Components of any campaign: CASE CONSTITUENCY CATALYSTS

3. Campaign Planning begins with Defining Institutional Vision and Priorities • Clear articulation of who you are • Knowing where you are going • Articulating how you intend to get there • Illustrating the difference it will make

4. Benefits of a campaign • It provides a structure for the fund raising • It provides a “sense of urgency” • It provides opportunities for engagement to a group of valued volunteers • It positions the school soundly within its market • It provides endless opportunities to talk about the vision

5. Successful Campaigns • Begin with a strategic plan • From the plan, identify initiatives which require funding • Assess capacity • Identify Leadership • Staff appropriately • Engage, cultivate, and solicit

6. Campaign Success Factors • Successful annual funds • Strategic management of constituent groups • Ability to enlist volunteers • Accurate analysis and tracking of the pool of potential donors • Proven stewardship

7. More specifically: • Annual Fund Practice • Goal setting • Leadership giving goals • Segmentation of donors • High quality solicitation activity • Participation • Ability to administer gifts • Donor relations • Analysis & Tracking • Screening • Donor Research • Individualized donor strategies • Systematic and creative tracking of the relationship • Management of donor information

8. Case for Support • Compelling and authentic • Expresses a clarity of vision and direction • It identifies the “for what” and “why” of the campaign and this language must be communicated across all channels

9. Campaign Success • Capacity • How well do you know the philanthropic potential of your constituency? • Acquire key areas of knowledge • Manage information • Understand major donors

10. Campaign Success • Ownership of the Board of Trustees and Head of School • Campaign Leadership • Nucleus/Leadership Plan • Gift acceptance policies • Campaign Communications Plan • Donor Relations Plan

11. Testing the Philanthropic Environment • Feasibility Study • Type of study to consider • Goals of the study • What you learn from it • Who does what?

12. Testing the Environment • Data base screening • “old fashioned” screening sessions • Former donors • Vitally important

13. When are you ready? • Case for support is developed • All of the essential pieces are in place • The donor base is known and is engaged • You have clarity around a planning goal • There are a number of key staff and volunteers who are ready to do the work • Every campaign needs a champion

14. Role of Planned Gifts • Depends upon the maturity of your current program • Depends upon the campaign objectives and when the dollars are needed • Some schools have a planned giving total aside from the campaign total

15. Campaign Costs • Budgets run from 3% to 8% of campaign goal • Primary expenses include: • Feasibility Study • Campaign Counsel • Travel, Dinners, Events • Donor research • Print costs – public phase

16. Funding Options • Borrow from a quasi-endowment • Use unrestricted gifts • Allocate unrestricted bequests • Request gifts to underwrite costs • Increase operating budget • Increase endowment payout rate

17. How do you structure? • Often depends upon the school • Need some type of volunteer leadership committee • Make up? It needs gravitas.

18. The Role of the Leadership Committee • Lead - and make the first gifts • With staff, set the pace and calendar • With staff, cultivate, solicit and steward • With staff, develop strategies for each potential donor • With staff, thank donors

19. Insure education for the volunteer leaders • Develop campaign “talking points” from the Case for support and insure key leaders are comfortable with them. • From “calling for an appointment” to an actual solicitation, provide education to volunteer leaders • CRITICAL Component

20. Ensure the following • Volunteer leaders understand how to respond to various questions from a donor…….and, why donors say “no.” • Volunteer leaders understand when a proposal might be more effective

21. The Role of the Board of Trustees • A campaign is their first priority both individually and as a group • Make a financial commitment at one of the top rungs of their ladder of giving • Play a role: solicit, cultivate, engage, steward and provide the staffing and budget needed

22. The role of the development team • Orchestrate • Assist with solicitations • Manage constituent relationships • Insure gift intent is honored • Acknowledge • Engage in intentional stewardship

23. The role of the Head of School • Plan on 30% of the Head of School’s time dedicated to the campaign for the leadership phase • The Board of Trustees, faculty and staff need to understand this at the outset.

24. Leadership Change? • Schools are electing to have a leader or co-leaders for the nucleus or leadership phase, then change leaders for the public phase.

25. Developing a blueprint • Calendar format • Establish phases • Establish essential benchmarks • Set campaign steering committee meeting dates

26. Leadership Phase • Working the gift pyramid from the top down • Goal: to raise 75% of the campaign’s planning goal • Intense phase

27. Public Phase • Public announcement of a goal; gifts received towards that goal • An opportunity to involve all constituencies in the campaign • An opportunity to celebrate

28. Post - Campaign • Remember: Past donors are as important to a school as new donors • Keep the momentum going • Use the campaign to raise the bar on your fundraising program

29. Q & A