MHE 626 – Introduction to Institutional Advancement

MHE 626 – Introduction to Institutional Advancement

Dayna L. Boyles-CarpenterBay Path College – NMP 650

E-Portfolio Assignment #1 – Week 211-07-2013

Definition of Institutional Advancement

• Institutional advancement represents an organized group of people and/or initiatives that promote forward progress of an organization. 

• Members of institutional advancement act as both internal and external connectors for a college or university.

Institutional Advancement Often Includes:•Communications & Marketing•Alumni Relations•Fundraising & Development•Government & Community Relations•Advancement Services•Capital Campaigns

Organization (Small Operation)

Vic

e P

resi

den

t fo

r D

eve

lop

men

t Director of Advancement Services

Director of Annual Giving

Director of Alumni Relations & Special

Events

(Buchanan, 2000, p. 348)

Organization (Medium-Sized Operation)

Vic

e P

resi

den

t fo

r D

eve

lop

men

t

Director of Advancement

Services

Director of Annual Giving

Director of Major Giving

Director of Planned Giving

Director of Donor Relations & Special

Events

Director of Alumni Relations(Buchanan, 2000, p.349)

Organization (Large Operation)Institutional

Advancement Vice

President

Associate Vice

President for Public Affairs

Publications

Public Information

Media Relations

Associate Vice

President for Advancement

Services

Receiving

Recording

Prospect Management

Database Management

Special Events

Donor Relations

Associate Vice

President for Annual Fund

Alumni Fund

Parents Fund

Community Campaign

Phonathons

Associate Vice

President for Major Giving

Corporate Giving

Foundation Grants

Planned Giving

Director of Development

College of Business

Director of Development

College of Arts &

Sciences

Director of Development

College of Medicine

Director of Development for Athletics

Associate Vice

President for Alumni Affairs

Regional Clubs

Database Management

Reunions and Homecoming

Parent Relations

Board Relations

(Buchanan, 2000, p. 350)

Centralization vs. DecentralizationShould the development operation at a university be organized centrally?

1. Centralized2. Decentralized3. Coordinated decentralized

(Buchanan, 2000, p. 349-350)

1. Centralized Operations•Central office staff conduct annual campaigns

on behalf of departments, programs, and schools

•Chief advancement officer retains control and responsibility for fundraising

•Disadvantage: development officers may not fully identify with assigned unit and may not have an understanding of unit’s core activities

(Buchanan, 2000, p. 349)

2. Decentralized Operations

•Each major unit employs its own development officers

•Encourages independence, motivation, and responsibility

•Disadvantages: Heightened level of competition between units or departments and lack of understanding the university’s goals and mission

(Buchanan, 2000, p. 349-350)

3. Coordinated Decentralized Operations•Annual fund raising is conducted through

a centralized office, while major gift officers work with individual units or departments

•Advantages: Identification within the unit and heightened understanding of university and unit

•Disadvantages: Major gift officer is serving two masters and competition between units for same university prospects

(Buchanan, 2000, p. 350)

Weerts’ Engagement Model of Institutional Advancement at Public Colleges and Universities

• Engagement enhances teaching and learning

• Engagement enhances research and scholarship

• Porous structures supporting engagement allow institutions to more effectively serve the public good

• Engagement supports the emerging interdisciplinary culture unfolding on campuses across the country

• There is evidence that engagement strengthens public financial support for colleges and universities

• Engagement has the capacity to leverage major private gifts for higher education

Communications & Marketing• There is no “one size fits all” answer for most institutions,

although broad patterns can indicate if an appropriate structure is in place:

▫ A growing stature for the communications function

▫ The increasing use of a strategic approach to communications

▫ The presence and potential of new technology

▫ The relatively new and not fully defined role of marketing

(Buchanan, 2000, p. 123-124)

Communications & Marketing

Typically all college and university communications offices have three common functions:•Media relations•Publications•Internal communications

(Buchanan, 2000, p. 124)

Communications & Marketing• We can think of audiences as:

▫ Internal and External▫ Primary and Secondary

• Audiences can include a variety of constituents. ▫ Alumni, prospective and current students, parents of

both current and past students, friends of the university, community members, faculty and staff, donors, board members, business partners/leaders, new media, and the general public are all potential constituencies.

• Different audiences will serve as primary and secondary audiences for different pieces of Institutional Advancement.

Communications & Marketing

Steps to Benchmarking•Planning•Identifying target organizations•Data collection•Analysis•Implementation

(Buchanan, 2000, p. 138)

Alumni Relations

•Carter & Moscow on Donor and Constituent Trust▫Don't talk about quick-fixes; have long term

solutions.

▫Focus on the solutions as well as the problems.

▫Continue to promote the mission of the organization.

▫Articulate realistic goals.(Carter and Moscow, 2012)

Alumni Relations, continued• Margaret Sughrue Carlson’s tactics for success:

▫ be courageous in facing tough criticism from within and outside the university community;

▫ seize one or two major initiatives and hang on to them until the activity is successful – perseverance cannot be underestimated;

▫ focus on those things that the association has a direct interest in and can hand an impact on;

▫ take a behind-the-scenes approach to most of your activities, but, when appropriate, use the press and community influence;

▫ understand that resources may need to be matched with your commitment;

▫ protect staff members against fears that their jobs will be on the line if they are affiliated with public policy stances that university or community leaders disagree with.

(Buchanan, 2000, p. 219)

Fundraising & Development• Heintzelman, Major Gifts: Up Close and Personal, had a list of

guidelines for staff development that could be applicable to development on a broader sense.  He recommends: ▫ Hire good people.  “[W]e have always asked our major and planned gift

colleagues to choose new hires since they understand the job and have an incentive to choose effective team members.  Don’t feel that you need to “purchase” someone’s expertise – all we do technically is learnable.”

▫ Keep the job “pure.”  “Keep the job pure so that none of the officers has anything to divert him or her from the personal contact with prospects and donors.”

▫ Build a team.  “[M]ajor and planned gifts occur best where the officers are all part of a greater organism.”

▫ Support your people.  “Once you hire the right people, you need to focus on giving them all of the support that they need to succeed”.

(Buchanan, p. 319)

Fundraising & Development

Stages of Giving•Minimal Response• Involvement & Interest•As Much as Possible•Maximum Allowable•Beyond the Max•Percentage of Wealth•Capping Wealth•Reducing the Cap•Bequests

Fundraising & Development•Grenzebach’s Prerequisites of Success

▫ A positive image with the institution’s constituency and the community;

▫ A clearly perceived need, well defined in the minds of those who know the institution best;

▫ The presence of available funds in the institution’s constituency to meet the institution’s goal;

▫ Capable leadership, holding the respect of the community and willing to devote time and talent to the institution;

▫ A favorable economic climate and the absence of competing campaigns or enterprises.

(Buchanan, 2000, p. 300)

Government & Community Relations

•“all politics is local” •Local issues and concerns drive both

elective and legislative politics in all policy domains, including higher education.

•Smaller institutions usually rely on membership associations to alert them to policy developments and to help organization and execute their advocacy activities.

Government & Community RelationsWilliam McMillen spoke about the impact that a university can have on decisions that pertain to higher education in government - "At the state level, a university -- even a private university -- can have great influence.  From funding to enacting laws, higher education affects the lives of just about everyone, from the governor to agency heads to first-term legislators.  But at the federal level, a university has little influence” (McMillen, p. 70).

On whether a university should have a presence in Washington D.C. (through Higher Education Associations or lobbyists), he said that depended on the following things:

• The ambition level of your institution's president and provost - "If your president and/or provost are interested in eventually moving from your university to another, larger or more prestigious university, then Washington networking and connections can be essential.“

• The role of your congressperson - "If your university is in the district of a congressperson who is a party leader, or if she sits on an education/research committee, is a Cardinal, or otherwise serves on Appropriations, you . . . owe it to the associations and all of higher education to be active in Washington.“

• A crucial back-home issue:  "An association may be able to provide insight and valuable contacts in making that change happen.“

• Your university's reputation -- "If your university has no presence in Washington, and only a limited government relations budget, membership in an association may be the cheapest way to get your university's name out there (McMillen, p. 103-104)."

Advancement Services

Donor Relations Responsibilities Include:•Acknowledgements•Stewardship •Coordination of events•Coordination of publications•Participation in marketing and

communications strategies

(Buchanan, 2000, p. 453)

Capital CampaignsKent Dove’s 10 steps to a successful capital campaign:1. Commitments of time and support from all key participants — the governing board, the

chief executive officer, prospective major donors, key volunteer leaders, the professional fundraising staff and the institutional family.

2. A clear organizational self-image and a strategic plan for organizational growth and improvement.

3. Fundraising objectives based on important and legitimate institutional plans, goals, budgets and needs.

4. A written document that makes a compelling case for supporting the campaign (and the larger and more complex the campaign the more support materials will be needed).

5. An assessment of the institutional development program and a market survey addressing internal and external preparedness.

6. Enlistment and education of volunteer leaders.7. Ability and readiness of major donors to give substantial lead gifts before any public

announcement of the campaign.8. Competent staff and, perhaps, external professional counsel.9. Adequate, even liberal, funds for expenses.10. Consideration of other factors, such as the age of the organization, the caliber, size and

distribution of the constituency, the range of the institution’s giving program, previous fundraising success and the quality of the program and the impact of its services.

(Dove, 2012).

The Future of Advancement

•Rising Importance of Stewardship•Fund-raising Participation Rates

Unchanged•Decline in Voluntarism Levels Off•More Campaigns, Better Targeted•Fund-Raising Focus Shifts

(Buchanan, 2000, p. 372)

Conclusion• At the heart of institutional advancement are relationships.

Relationships with our donors, prospects, alumni, students, faculty and staff, community members, corporate partners, etc. are at the core of everything we do.

• Institutional advancement is a sophisticated and intricate operation.

• The field is changing quickly. Advancement professionals need to constantly evolve and be ready to embrace new technology and communication methods.

ReferencesBuchanan, Peter McE. (2000) Handbook of Institutional Advancement, 3rd Edition. Council for Advancement and

Support of Education. Washington, DC.

Carter, L. & Moscow, L. (2012, March 18). Nonprofits must tell donors about solutions if they expect to win the public's trust.  Retrieved from:  http://philanthropy.com/article/Nonprofits-Must-Tell-Donors/131184

Dove, Kent. (2012). 10 steps to a successful capital campaign. The Non Profit Times. Retrieved from:www.thenonprofittimes.com/managment-tips/10-steps-to-a-successful-capital-campaign/

McMillen, William. (2010). From Campus to Capitol – The Role of Government Relations in Higher Education. The

Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore, MD.