With shrinking budget appropriations, challenging student demographics, and rising expenses, today’s public higher education institutions are looking to their foundations for more resources. As institutionally-related foundations seek to provide these resources, foundation board members should make certain that they are addressing 3 important questions: Separate. Is our foundation-institution relationship appropriately separate? Secondary. Does our board…
Category: Financial Aid
Why “Boy Toys” Are Good
We know that the acronym BOY (“Because of you”), is a compelling phrase in solicitations because it helps connect the prospective donor directly to the impact of the mission. “Because of you, we were able to graduate more students like Lauren. . .” “Because of you, we were able to help over 1,000 patients receive…
“I don’t know.”
I enjoy watching Denzel Washington act. His character range is staggering and I can’t recall a character he’s played that I found unbelievable. Recently I watched, “The Equalizer 3,” where he stars as Robert McCall, a retired special operations officer turned vigilante righting wrongs against evil across the globe on behalf of the innocent and…
The Question of Fear
Fear in the workplace is a corrosive, anti-productive emotion. It prompts us to assume bad motivations in others without evidence. It prompts us to tell others about our value/experience instead of listening for ways we can learn from them. It prompts us to remove ourselves when we should lean in and be heard. It prompts…
On Being a Fanatic
The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team played yesterday in the “Elite Eight” of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament – otherwise known as “March Madness.” This means that out of 351 Division 1 men’s basketball programs, there are only eight teams left playing basketball. And one will become the national champion. In the…
5 Advancement Beliefs In Need of Improvement
Belief #1: “It’s all about relationships.” Improvement: “It’s all about purposeful relationships.” Belief #2: “You should listen far more than you speak.” Improvement: “You should ask far more questions than you make statements.” Belief #3: “Our donors have giving fatigue.” Improvement: “Our donors are tired of giving for visionless purposes.” Belief #4: “Our Board should…
Potential vs. Willingness
In advancement, we focus a great deal of energy and time on the financial potential of donors. Their capacity to give. We spend valuable resources on electronic wealth screens. We organize donor lists based on wealth screening scores. We plan meetings around strategies based on the financial capacity of donors and prospects. We rarely spend…
Generosity Lag
For many folks in North America, we are now entering the coldest days and weeks of the year. Yet, we know that the shortest day of the year – the day with the least amount of sunlight hitting North America – was December 21, the Winter Solstice, just over a month ago. Why, then, when…
Spreading Ideas
The essence of fundraising (i.e., development) is often analogized with “asking for the gift,” or “engaging the giver,” or “cultivating the prospect,” or even “stewarding the donor.” But almost never is fundraising viewed as “spreading ideas.” Spreading ideas, though, is exactly what the best development and advancement leaders and teams do exceptionally well. They effectively…
A Higher Education ‘Feel Good’ Story With a Moral
Recently, I read a news story about a woman who posted on social media about potentially missing out on a substantial scholarship offer from Maryville College in Tennessee. If you have yet to read the story, the basics are that student was going to need significant financial assistance to go the traditional 4-year college route. …