by Patricia Voigt
Senior Associate, Schultz & Williams, Inc.

Did you know that at least ten schools in the Philadelphia area have annual fund goals of over $1 million for 2004-05? And does it surprise you that those schools have dramatically increased their fundraising staff to achieve these goals? Even more dramatic are staff increases for a capital campaign where goals of $25 million are becoming more common. Some smaller K-8 independent schools in our area are setting campaign goals of $12-15 million, and achieving success. If your trustees are interested in similar results, you’ll need to assess what other schools are doing in comparison and make the case for hiring more staff or a campaign consultant.

To get started, you’ll first need to know where to look for this information. CASE and NAIS conferences provide a wealth of information and resources. Also, National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, the Boys’ School Coalition and The Association of Boarding Schools have been actively providing research, marketing advice and comparative studies to their school constituents.

But how do you use this information to your best advantage? What if your school has a small budget for professional development and cannot afford fees for these services? Here are a few tips:

• Begin by talking with schools in your demographic area. Your trustees will want to know your competition for admissions, and they’ll be particularly interested in how your fundraising efforts compare with similar schools.
• Benchmark your rates of alumnae/parent participation and giving levels, look at how your endowment statistics compare to others, and review your annual fund and campaign goals, to assess your success and to set goals for the future.
• Evaluate the cost-effectiveness of your development program, admissions statistics, faculty salaries, financial aid and other data to spur your board into action.

Back to Top

by Patricia Voigt
Senior Associate, Schultz & Williams, Inc.

Is your school preparing to implement a Capital Campaign soon? If so, boosting communication to your alumni and encouraging them to get involved in your fundraising efforts will help you build support. But before you take this step, you should first examine the effectiveness of your alumni programs and fundraising efforts. This will help you evaluate whether your increased communication to alumni will get you the response you’re seeking. Here are some questions to consider:

• How frequently does your school communicate with alumni, and what types of communication are most frequently used?
• How well informed are your alumni about the mission and goals of the school?
• How many alumni are on your Board? Does your board-meeting schedule permit out-of-town alumni to participate?
• Do you have an Alumni Council or Board in place? Does it include national alums or local alums only? Do you have an alumni career network program?
• How often are out-of-town alums visited? Do you have organized alumni groups in other cities?
• Do alums participate in special events, reunions etc.? Why or why not?
• When was the last time you conducted an alumni survey? Describe results.
• What percentage of alumni gives to the school, and how much do they give on an annual basis?
• How often are your alumni records updated? How many in your database?
• What have your alumni raised in previous capital campaign efforts?
• What is your budget for alumni programs?

Answers to these questions will help you determine the strengths and weaknesses of your alumni programs and evaluate the level of alumni participation in your school. They will also help you assess the potential for raising substantial funds to support your Capital Campaign and/or annual and planned giving programs.

Back to Top