Case Studies
Advancement Partners has served over 200 schools and organizations across the nation and the continent, from Massachusetts to California, from Florida and Texas and into Canada, managing successful campaigns ranging from $800,000 to $20 million.
Case Study #1
Updated Facilities + Competitive Programs = A Bright Future
Client: Benet Academy, Lisle, IL
Needed: Planning and Capital Campaign Services
In 2000, Benet Academy faced several, pressing facility improvement projects that needed to be completed in order to add and enhance programs and stay competitive with what was happening at peer schools in the suburban Chicago area. After less than two years of planning and fundraising, Benet Academy upgraded technology, dedicated the beautiful new Chapel of Saint Therese, and built St. Daniel Hall, the new home of the school's performing arts programs. This campaign, which energized students, teachers, alumni and other supporters, led to the unprecedented improvement and growth of the theatre and music programs. At the start of the 2006-2007 academic year, Benet Academy was is in the midst of another campaign, which would fund eight new state-of-the-art science labs and classrooms, an enlarged…
Case Study #2
Vision + Plan + Execution = Success
Client: Hill-Murray School, Maplewood, MN
Needed: Planning and Capital Campaign Services
In 1995, the Hill-Murray School; a private, college preparatory Catholic school for grades 7-12; was at a crossroads and facing pretty significant challenges: an aging (and run down) facility, $1.8 million in debt, an endowment of only $200,000, and a student enrollment 300 short of capacity (700 students at a school designed for 1,000). But after 11 challenging years of planning, working, and sacrificing, the Hill Murray School moved from just surviving to thriving. At the start of the 2006-07 school year began, Hill-Murray's enrollment stood at 1,000 students, the $1.8 million in debt had been eliminated, the previously existing facilities had been updated, and new facilities had been added, with plans for more.
Joseph M. Peschges, President of Hill-Murray School, offers three simple reasons…
Case Study #3
Planning + Technology = Continued Progress
Client: Saint Ursula Academy, Toledo, OH
Needed: Strategic Plan, Advancement Audit, and Major Gift Initiative
At Saint Ursula Academy in 2005, major supporters were completing pledges to a capital campaign for a new wing. They were not ready for another campaign, but school leadership did not want to lose the momentum of their advancement efforts. Working with Advancement Partners, the school completed an update of its strategic plan, underwent an advancement audit, and prepared for a major gift initiative. Utilizing the resources of API, Saint Ursula Academy adopted technology that brought their prospect research to a new level and provided additional online tools to connect with alumnae. School leadership successfully prioritized their major gift program, enabling them to fund essential renovations and build their endowment and scholarship program.
"Advancement Partners tailored a program to meet our specific needs," states Jane…
Case Study #4
Building a Stronger Organization and Community
Client: Brevard County YMCA, Titusville, FL
Needed: Capital Campaign
Overview
In 1999, the Brevard County (Florida) YMCA stood at a crossroads. A small, independent branch with an aging facility, it was struggling to provide the programs and services to meet the needs of the families it served. The organization lacked the staffing, resources, and infrastructure to make the necessary facility and program improvements.
Today, the YMCA in Brevard County is thriving. In 2000, it launched a comprehensive planning process and capital campaign. The end result was an expanded facility and a merger with the Central Florida YMCA, a regional organization that is the fastest growing YMCA in the nation. The merger provided Brevard County with the infrastructure and the resources to provide more services to a much larger number of families.
The Brevard County…
Case Study #5
On The Road to Renewal
Client: Immaculate Heart High School, Oro Valley, AZ
Introduction
On the Thursday before Christmas, Karl Watson, a local businessman and the father of an alumna, presented Immaculate Heart High School with a check from him and his wife Kathy for one million dollars, the single largest donation in the school's history and the lead gift to its recently-launched capital campaign. This donation, a wonderful Christmas gift to say the least, has had both a significant financial and emotional impact on Immaculate Heart. A symbol of hope, it reflected "a tremendous faith in our faculty and students and in the future of our school and its mission," remarked Thomas P. Long, the President of Immaculate Heart High School.
This show of faith is a wonderful affirmation for a school that 18 months earlier had…
Case Study #6
Expanding the Club: $10 Million and Counting
Client: Lawrence Boys and Girls Club, Lawrence, MA
Needed: Capital Campaign
Attorney Michael W. Morris has worked with Advancement Partners as a Board member of two separate organizations, both based in his native Lawrence, Massachusetts. Lawrence, a struggling mill city, has served as a destination for generations of immigrants and experienced a number of daunting economic and social challenges. Currently, about 70% of its population are immigrants. Mike has dedicated a significant amount of his time and resources to moving the city and its children forward. For the past five years, he has counted Advancement Partners, Inc. (API) as a valued and trusted colleague in these efforts.
Mike first worked with Advancement Partners as Chair of the Development Committee at his alma mater, Central Catholic High School. With the help of Advancement Partners, Central Catholic exceeded…
Case Study #7
Client: Rosary High School, Aurora, IL
Rosary High School is a 470-student, Catholic college preparatory high school for young women sponsored by the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Illinois.
"At the end of our most recent capital campaign, we hired Bill Acton and Advancement Partners to manage an advancement "bridge initiative" to broaden our support base for our Annual Appeal Fund. With Bill's great expertise, we developed a Long Range Strategic Plan for Rosary. This three to five year plan encouraged us to choose three Strategic Objectives: 1) continue to advance the academics; 2) "brand" pro-active marketing plans; and 3) establish a funding plan to advance the mission.
"An important component was the Annual Appeal. We put into place goals and strategies that have enabled us to increase participation at all levels of giving, especially at…
Case Study #8
Building a Successful Alumnae Program
Client: Mount Mercy Academy, Buffalo, NY
Introduction
During her junior year, each student is presented with a School Ring. Its design, unchanged since 1919, stands out for its uniqueness and symbolism: a gold ring signifying endless unity and loyalty, marked by a blue band representing the protective mantle of Our Lady, and adorned with seven pearls that represent purity and seven specific virtues. The Ring Ceremony is a rite of passage shared by all graduates of Mount Mercy Academy, a Catholic secondary school for young women, sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, with a 102-year history full of tradition. The ring is at the forefront of this tradition. It is immediately recognizable and responsible for countless stories of far-removed Mount Mercy Alumnae identifying each other by virtue of this distinctive ring,…