Benchmarking for Success
Posted in Planning by Terry Fairholm on 03/04/2010
We specialize in institutional advancement for Catholic secondary schools and have been working in this important market segment for over twenty years. Over that period of time, we have gained invaluable experience and have compiled some statistics.
We also make certain to stay current with market data. In that regard, I highly recommend that you read and become familiar with the findings in Dollars and Sense – Catholic High Schools and their Finances
From Dollars and Sense
We know from our capital campaign work that in Catholic high schools, over 70% of the campaign financial goal will come from the top 10 to 15 commitments. Do you know who your top 15 major gift giving prospects are? Do you know what their financial potential is? Do you know what element of your school they are most interested in funding? Have you involved them in any way in your institution? When was the last time you spoke to them?
We know from our work with Catholic schools that an increased focus on development is critically required and that many schools are in the process of upgrading their overall institutional advancement efforts in terms of sophistication and strategy. Where does your school stand in this regard?
These are just a few important facts that you must be aware of if you are going to reach your school’s philanthropic potential. Good luck and keep asking!
The API Theme for 2010: “Responding to the Challenge”
Posted in Planning, Seminars and Workshops by Terry Fairholm on 02/11/2010
Last year’s theme, 'Philanthropy in Challenging Economic Times', was appropriate since we were witnessing the most severe recession in most of our lifetimes. Raising money for our schools was challenging, to say the least!
This year we have chosen the theme, 'Responding to the Challenge', because it is important that we react directly and assertively to the challenges we are encountering in our advancement efforts. There is a new reality settling in and we must, therefore, be aware of what will be required of us in order to secure the critically important philanthropic funding our schools need to fulfill their missions.
Understanding the new reality is the first step toward responding effectively. Your approach cannot simply be "business as usual"; doing the same things will yield disappointing and unacceptable results. The strategy that will work must include the following:
Committed leadership that "get it" and will work with you to get the desired results.
Realistic expectations (be sure to attend one of our regional workshops – we will be addressing this topic specifically in the “Reality Check” section).
A comprehensive, focused, detailed plan of action.
A case for support that is clear and compelling.
Increased focus on your top major gift prospects.
Disciplined attention to the fundamentals of the annual fund.
Relentless determination toward implementation of your plan.
You can get the results your school needs but it may require a change in mindset and approach. If you are pleased with your results, good, but don’t get complacent. Stay focused on implementation of your plan. It’s taking more time and more solicitations to achieve the results we achieved several years ago. There isn’t time to take a break; keep pushing hard and you’ll be successful. Good luck!
Calendar Year-End Benchmarks
Posted in Implementation, Planning by Terry Fairholm on 12/16/2009
We are nearing the end of the calendar year and by now you should be well on your way to achieving your advancement objectives for this school year. A few benchmarks for you to consider: By now -
You should have mailed two annual fund solicitation letters and should be receiving responses.
You should be finishing up your top annual fund prospect personal solicitation calls.
You should have conducted your first major special event of the school year.
You should be preparing for your third annual fund mailing.
You should have conducted at least eight major gift solicitation calls (in addition to the annual fund personal solicitation calls).
You should have had at least four major gift cultivation meetings.
You should have involved your Principal/President in key solicitation and cultivation meetings.
These are just some suggested guidelines for you to consider.
In the second half of the school year, it will be important for you to build on the momentum you created in the first half. Make sure you have your annual fund plan set and that you have your top major gift prospect list established. If you are doing another special event, be certain to involve volunteers so that you don’t get bogged down with it.
Most important, have your implementation plan clearly articulated so that when you return from the holidays, you can ‘hit the ground running’. Good luck!
The Advancement Year Has Begun – Have You?
Posted in Planning by Terry Fairholm on 09/15/2009
The advancement clock began ticking on July 1- is your plan complete? Do you know what your objectives are for this year? Is you first annual fund piece ready to go? Have you made your first major gift solicitation call? Have you made your first cultivation visit? If you answered ‘no’ to any of those questions, you’re behind schedule – and there are no timeouts! You can’t stop the clock in this game.
Step one is to get your plan together: annual fund, major gifts, special events, cultivation visits. The annual fund should have four personalized mailings – two in the fall, two in the spring; specific asks (“you did $100 last year, would you consider $150 this year?”); segmented (alumni are different than parents); and you must do personal solicitation of the top annual fund prospects ($500+).
Step two is to implement – get it done! The biggest implementation challenge you will face is staying focused on your objectives. You will be confronted every minute of every day with potential “time wasters” – incoming non development-related phone calls, non development-related visits from fellow staff members, non development-related requests for your time, non development-related meetings, etc., etc., etc. You get my message! Every minute you spend on non development-related items will put you one minute further behind schedule toward implementation of your primary/most important/what you are being paid to achieve/what your school needs the most from you objectives. This will be your daily battle and you must rise to the challenge!
Other administration members will wonder why you said no to their request, why you must be out of the office, why you need the President/Principal’s (depending upon your model) time, wonder what exactly you do in development, etc., etc. In the midst of all the craziness, you must stay focused and disciplined. Stay on target; continue to implement your success plan. Don’t let anyone distract you.
Regarding major gifts, remember, fewer than 5% of your constituents have major gift potential. Identify those top of the pyramid prospects and create a plan to cultivate/involve them and then, at the appropriate time, solicit them. Get it done! Good luck!
API Summer Seminar a Huge Success!
Posted in Seminars and Workshops by Terry Fairholm on 09/10/2009
The Advancement Partners annual summer seminar at the University of Notre Dame was a huge success! There were thirty-five participants, twenty-two schools and one religious order. The theme, ‘Philanthropy in Challenging Economic Times’, was most appropriate as the most critical advancement issues we are all facing at this unique point were covered.
Our seminars are smaller and more personalized so that the participants receive individual and focused attention. Accordingly, during the three-day summit, we spent individual time with participants discussing their unique challenges. Also, during the opening session, each participant conveyed a personal account of how the economy has affected their fundraising efforts during the past year. Since all participants had completed a pre-seminar survey, the presenters were able to customize their specific topics so that each key issue that was submitted was addressed.
The ‘hottest’ topics were: how to grow the annual fund, how to secure major gifts in this environment, and how to create an effective development plan. We also touched on solicitation by using a live action case study from one of the participants.
At the end of the seminar, after two days of presentations, discussions, dinner talks and late evening debates (in the hotel bar!), we summed up the conclusions of the summit:
Do not stop! Keep going. Do not use the economy as an excuse to stop, slow down, or postpone!
Implementation, not ideas, is the key to success.
Be disciplined and pay attention to fundamentals in your approach.
The external message during these economic times is different from the internal message.
Stay focused!
Have your best year yet!
Don’t Waste the Summer Away!!
Posted in Planning by Terry Fairholm on 06/24/2009
Now that the school year has ended and the hot days of summer have arrived, don’t make the mistake of taking a two-month summer vacation! I strongly recommend that you take time off this summer to relax, be with your family and friends and to ‘sharpen the saw’. However, regarding your position in development, the summer is the most important planning time you have – don’t waste it!
This is the time to be creating your plan for the annual fund: what will be sent, when it will be sent, establish the budget for printing the annual fund brochure, get the brochure written and the first mailing organized, etc., etc. Create your major gift plan for the year – identify the prospects you will cultivate and those you will solicit; remind the President/Principal that you will need one to two days per month from him or her for major gift solicitation; begin to organize your events for the year (should have only two major events – one in the fall, one in the spring); pick the most important item that you didn’t get done last year and start to work on it this summer; create your strategy for planned giving program.
Perhaps you will attend a professional development seminar – hopefully ours, Philanthropy in Challenging Economic Times, at the University of Notre Dame from August 5-7. This is the perfect opportunity to network with other professionals with the same challenges you have. Much can be learned at this type of gathering. It can also be the ‘trigger’ event for you to create your development plan for the year.
There is so much to be done in development and so little time. Planning must be done PRIOR to execution of the plan (not while you are executing!) if you want to be successful. An effective, efficient development operation is more important now than ever before. Philanthropic support for your school is needed now more than ever. Use the summer to prepare for the battle! Competition is fierce; you must be focused, prepared and organized. Use the summer to get into ‘game shape’ so that you are motivated and ready to go come fall.
Why 'Vision, Action, Results'?
Posted in Implementation by Terry Fairholm on 05/18/2009
One definition of success is achieving a pre-established objective. In that case, before you can be successful, you must know what you want. In the business of advancement, that means having a clear vision. It is critically important to have a clear vision because without it, you cannot have a case for support. Without a case for support, you cannot conduct effective solicitations at any level - annual fund, major gifts or planned gifts. Unless you can execute effective asks, you won’t raise any money. So, clarity of vision establishes the objective; it defines the ‘what’ in the equation. Clear, specific strategic objectives enable you to move to the next step – action.
Action is the tactical element; it is focusing on the proper tasks and behaviors required to achieve the desired outcome – the vision. Action means a well thought out plan with specific steps, responsibilities and timelines.
We’ve all heard the phrase, “life rewards action” and I’m sure we would all agree with that. Once the objective has been determined, the appropriate action must be taken in order to achieve the desired results.
Results are what the business of advancement is all about. It is mandatory that we, as advancement professionals, be dedicated to producing results for our institutions. Achieving the annual fund goal, having a successful capital campaign, increasing the auction – whatever the advancement line item, it is our job to achieve results. It is impossible to achieve results without a clear vision and the proper action steps.
We wanted to simplify the entire advancement process, to break it down into just a few words that would connect with our prospective clients and their contemplated projects. That’s why we created the ‘vision, action, results’ tag line. It’s what you see first when you read our marketing materials and visit our website and it is the concept that we have built our very successful advancement process around. Try it; I know it will work for you as well.
Advancement Partners 2009 Summer Seminar
Posted in Seminars and Workshops by Terry Fairholm on 04/14/2009
Because of the unique economic conditions we are facing, the theme of this year’s Advancement Partners summer seminar is ‘Philanthropy in Challenging Economic Times’. It will be held at the University of Notre Dame from August 5-7, 2009. If you have not received our formal invitation to attend by April 20th, please contact me and I’ll make sure you get one. In the meantime, for more information, visit our seminar minisite.
Yes, the unique economic circumstances are having an impact on our advancement efforts, however, the need for philanthropic support has never been greater! More families are facing job losses and are having difficulties making tuition payments. That increases the demand for financial aid and means our annual funds must be meeting this challenge of raising the money required to provide additional financial assistance. Our capital needs have not disappeared either! We still need the new gym, increased endowment, renovated or additional classrooms, the new science lab. None of these needs will go away. So, our annual summer seminar will address key issues such as:
- Maximizing your advancement results in challenging economic times
- Increasing funding for operating needs (tuition assistance, annual fund, etc.)
- Getting it all done with fewer human resources
- Shifting gears from a “capital campaign” mindset to a “major gift initiative” mindset
- Using planned giving as a key element of your school’s financial future
- Re-engineering the Board for greater advancement impact
- Creating a financial plan for needed school projects outside of standard operations
- Executing effective major gift solicitation
- Mapping your development plan
If you are planning to attend an advancement seminar this summer, this would be an excellent choice. It will be the most intensive seminar we have done and will help you deal with the challenges we are all facing. I look forward to seeing you at Notre Dame!
Implementation – the key to success
Posted in Implementation by Terry Fairholm on 03/27/2009
We’ve all heard the now famous Nike expression ‘just do it’. Now that you have created your advancement plan and organized yourself and your operation, it’s time to ‘just do it’. Implementation is the key to success. At some point, we have to stop talking and start doing. That time is now!
Get the annual fund letters out on time! Set the date for that special event and put the plan into motion! And then, get yourself focused on the most important element of your plan, the component of your plan that will produce the highest results for you – major gifts.
Remember that I suggested you get your support person focused on securing personal appointments with the top major gift prospects? Now is the time to kick that into gear. You won’t be successful with major gifts unless you can get in front of your prospects personally. That’s step one – get the appointment. That step reminds me of an important lesson a former colleague of mine taught me. It’s the recipe for rabbit stew – first, catch a rabbit!
I like to get prospects into the school so I start by inviting them to come to school to meet with me. Of course, if they can’t come to school, go to them. I usually avoid lunches and dinners because you can’t control the environment. If the prospect is at the top of the pyramid, the visit should include the President (or Principal, depending on your operating model). You and the President/Principal are the school’s #1 solicitation team.
Prior to the solicitation call, make sure that you and the President have established an objective for the call and planned who will say what, when. Be certain to have your case statement with you, be fully knowledgeable of the prospect’s giving history and relationship with the school and pay special attention to the talk/listen ratio. You should talk 20% of the time, the prospect 80% of the time. When it comes time to ask, make sure that you ask for a specific project and a specific number. Once the ask is out, STOP! Do not talk! Let the prospect respond and go from there. Be a good listener!
Important Announcement: API Email List
Posted in Site News by Terry Fairholm on 03/16/2009
This year we want to communicate more directly with our colleagues in the business of advancement for private education. We are planning a series of educational and informative emails but are committed to proper email etiquette and protocol. Therefore, if you are interested in receiving this type of communication, please go to our email list page and sign up. We will not sell, give, loan or do anything else with your information and you will always have the option to ‘opt out’.
We are planning to cover all the advancement-relevant topics such as annual fund, major gifts, planned giving, special events, human and financial resources, budgeting, giving in difficult economic times, stewardship, development office management and operation, the President/Principal operating model, Board development, and many, many more. You will have the opportunity to ask questions and we will respond. We will let you know when we will be doing workshops and seminars in your region of the country – there is usually no charge to attend and we guarantee you will leave armed with more and better tools to get your job done.
We have also initiated the Advancement Partners Resource Center that you can access via our website. The purpose of the Resource Center is to provide secondary school development professionals with important institutional advancement-related facts, information, and best practices and procedures on all the topics that I mentioned above. You can simply logon to the Resource Center via our website and download Power Point presentations and other documents that will help you maximize your school’s philanthropic potential. There is no cost for either of these new initiatives so take full advantage of this great opportunity!
If you would like to receive periodic Institutional advancement information from us, please take a minute to go to our website and sign up. While you’re there, check out the Resource Center for any information you feel may be helpful. Best of luck with your efforts!
Need More Non-Tuition Revenue?
Posted in Planning by Jeff Strine on 03/09/2009
Sales is the Key!
In this current economic environment, all schools are feeling mounting pressure to “do more in development”. Is it realistic to believe that your school might actually be able to grow the amount of philanthropic support it receives in unrestricted or temporarily restricted money to support the operating budget?
The key to the answer is “sales process”. Although the concept of selling still meets with some degree of resistance in some schools, it is clear to most people that the development office is the sales engine that drives money into private schools--plain and simple. Without a fine-tuned and well-oiled engine the institution just won’t thrive financially…especially in a recessionary economy.
We find that schools that do well and achieve the highest levels of development revenue, have implemented and nurture a defined sales process. They have sales oriented people, who are managed around a set of targeted sales activities towards the achievement of defined sales goals. And absolutely, these sales people spend the majority of their time out of the office meeting face to face with those who can have the greatest financial impact on the school.
Successful sales people are positive and likeable and have determination, drive and ambition. They are motivated to achieve goals and don’t like to fail. They are results-focused and they desire to be more out of the office than in. They value relationships and approach prospects from a problem solving perspective, offering solutions to donor problems. Does your development operation have these kinds of people?
Sales activities that should be watched over are relatively few and simple, like: number of calls with real prospects; the number of people in the pipeline who have been solicited and are considering a decision; the dollar amount of those solicited which will hopefully close; and the next steps with each. These activities should be overseen by the “sales manager” (director of development) on a weekly basis. Does your development operation have these kinds of reporting processes in place?
We know at a conceptual level that the product being sold is the mission of the school and the impact we have on our students. However, in order to make dramatic shifts that will move the money thermometer significantly, the product has to be more practically defined, and it must be easy to understand. For instance, we often experience the greatest lift in annual, unrestricted giving, by simply selling membership into the Presidents Club (or whatever name your school calls the highest giving clubs in the annual fund). The best approach to restricted annual giving is a well defined student sponsorship program. There are others.
Now is the time to take a look under the hood and see how the sales engine is running. It may be time for a tune-up.
By Jeff Strine, Senior Vice President and Partner
Get Organized
Posted in Planning by Terry Fairholm on 03/02/2009
If you’ve created your advancement plan for the balance of the school year, now is the time to figure out how to make it all happen. The first move is to determine how you will allocate your limited resources. Based on your top strategic priorities, you must allocate your resources accordingly. If you’re a one person shop, it’ll be fairly simple – you have to do it all! If you’re a one person shop with administrative support, you’ll need to determine what tasks will be assigned to your teammate. Getting organized is a key step toward being successful.
If you are the development professional and you have an administrative support person, I recommend that you focus on the strategic and your support person focus on the operational. In other words, you create the strategy for the major gift element of your plan and your support person puts it into live action. So, you have created a list of your top major gift prospects but in order to secure a commitment, you’ll need a personal appointment. Ask your support person to get those appointments for you. Identify what days and times you can do the solicitation calls and have him/her get on the phone to set up the appointments.
If you are responsible for the annual fund, be certain that your plan is prepared in the summer months prior to the annual fund season (begins in the fall). Once the strategy has been set, hand over the responsibility to your support person (or annual fund director). Make sure they clearly understand each important element of the annual fund and your plan. Provide whatever coaching and educating is required then let them do their thing.
If you have special events during the school year, get them planned and organized early (again, the summer). What role will volunteers play? Select a lead volunteer and then give them the responsibility to get the job done. Stay involved, of course, but let your teammates get the job done.
Creating your own priorities, like major gift solicitation, then organizing and utilizing your resources will lead to a more successful advancement outcome for you and your institution.
Planning is Positive
Posted in Planning by Terry Fairholm on 02/11/2009
To say that these are unusual times would be an understatement. The struggling economy is affecting every element of our society. For those of us in the business of philanthropy, it has been anything but “business as usual.” Project timing has been affected, endowments reduced and financial support more difficult to secure. Our minds have also been victims of this circumstance and that is what I want to address here.
In times such as these, people’s attitudes can become negative and to me, that is the most challenging element of our situation. We start thinking negative and too far ahead – Is my job secure? What will happen if (fill in the blank) happens? I’ll never achieve my departmental objectives! How do we get this building paid for? How do we make up for what we’ve lost in our endowment?
I believe that the best approach is to remain positive and disciplined, taking one day at a time. I am not suggesting you be unrealistic and Pollyannaish or rigid and uncompromising, but optimistic, determined and focused. The way to do that is to create a sensible plan to accomplish your professional objectives. You need a specific month to month plan of what you will do to achieve the outcomes you require. Use an excel spreadsheet. It should fit on no more than two pages. Start with your three or four (only!) major strategic objectives then map out a simple monthly plan for each – what gets done by whom and when. Review daily. Adjust as needed.
We’re in February so there are only four more full months remaining in the school fiscal year. It can be done but there is no magic. You can accomplish your goals and achieve your objectives but it will require optimism, discipline and action.
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