Copyright Marts & Lundy

The Annual FundOur gateway to all giving and the

foundation of the fund raising program

Kathleen Hanson

Senior Consultant and PrincipalLeader – Schools Practice Group

Editor, The NAIS Handbook on Marketing Independent SchoolsNESA Leadership Conference – October 2011

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Our focus

The Annual Fund

Purpose and ValueStructure & Planning

Creativity in Approach

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Annual Fund’s Function

Provide operating incomeAcquire new donorsRe-acquire lapsed donorsUpgrade current donors Identify and involve future volunteers Identify and engage major donor prospectsProvide a training ground for “givers” and

“getters”

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Most Importantly

Provides the school with a venue for illustrating its worthiness on an annual basis.

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Today’s Annual Fund

Purist view: all dollars must go to

the operating budget

Reality view: today’s donor likes to see the impact of his or her gift-some

gifts are designated

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Benefits of the Annual Fund

Revenue is often significantOpportunity to educatePromotes the “case for support” and

the culture of philanthropyStrengthens relationshipsDonors often move from annual

support to capital support

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Data Needed for Planning

Three years of annual fund giving dataDonor acquisition; retention and attrition

Results of screeningDiscussions with Admission regarding new

families entering the schoolLeadership donor pipelineReunion class prospectsPledge fulfillment over past five years

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Material Needed

Volunteer role description Training materialsAnnual Fund FactsMatching Gift OpportunitiesPayment optionsFrequently Asked questionsSchool Statistics

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Structure

Depends upon your constituency…….

You can organize by gift levels: Leadership Gifts Non-Leadership Gifts Reunion Giving

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Structure

You can organize by constituency:

AlumniReunion Classes

Current Parents – by division or gradeParents of AlumniGrandparentsFriends

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Giving Levels

a) $1,000 and upa) Some schools have levels up to $25,000

b) Special levels for young alumnic) Special levels for continuous donors

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The volunteer leadership structure

The volunteer leadership of the annual fund is a vitally important component in achieving success. They need to be part of the planning They need to recruit other volunteers They need to assist with stewardship

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Leadership Gift Committee

For large institutions, consider a Leadership Gift Committee Composed of trustees, alumni, and

parent leaders to help identify, qualify, and solicit $1,000 prospects and above

Set a goal of soliciting as many leadership donors as possible face-to-face

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The Annual Fund Business Plan

Begins with the case for support

Moves to setting strategy

Becomes a blueprint with a timeline

Is evaluated after each annual fund cycle

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Gift Scale or not?

Some schools develop a scale of gifts to inform their planning

Other schools develop specific strategies for leadership donors to move them to the next levelLeadership giving, for the most part, will

drive the success of the annual fund

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Making the Case

oThe case for supporting the annual fund is vitally importantoOne page, if possibleoCarried in all materialsoUnderstood by the volunteersoAuthentic to the prospective donors

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Where should time and $$ go?

The plan for the annual fund will direct staff time and energy. There is good research which suggests there is no difference in outcome when an annual fund appeal is in a letter format or a four-color brochure.

A personal approach to leadership giving does suggest a more positive outcome

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Acknowledgement Gifts must be acknowledged immediately Set up a process for gift crediting and

acknowledgement When does the Head of School write a personal

note? Who signs which letters?

Donors need to feel as though their gift matters

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Tracking Progress

Track against prior year or prior two yearsTrack donors who typically give at a certain

time of yearTrack % of giving at each level Track average size of gift against prior yearTrack results from every approach

Don’t be afraid to “test” an approach

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Reporting Process

What will your reports of progress look like?

To whom do they go and how frequently?Manage expectations up front

What do you wish the report to accomplish?

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Creativity

Models for Faculty and Staff SolicitationsCan create real energy internally

Models for “get it done in 31” for parent participationFocused approach on parents in a single month,

with high visibility for the fundModels for Grandparent solicitations

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Creativity

Letters to donors on impact of their gift

Special letters to first-time donors

Special letters to donors who have made five years of consecutive gifts; 10 years

Video clips with students expressing thanks

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Creativity

Social Media

On Line Giving

Challenges

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Q & A