Ordinary Tasks for an Extraordinary Time
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Change the World by Finishing the Year Strong
As a Development President, you are committed to betterment on a personal, institutional and societal level. You are the steward of a mission. When properly fulfilled and fully advanced, this mission helps students grow into leaders who will work toward eliminating injustice, eradicating systemic racism, devising public health strategies and inventing medical therapies that reach the most devastated portions of the planet.
So even as you are called upon and intrinsically moved to speak out and take action as the moral leader you are, don’t forget that every day you are involved in a righteous cause that, at its best, is an engine of progress, inclusion, equity and prosperity for all. Seeking support for your institution should always be about asking others to help you rebuild society for good.
With that in mind, allow me to bring your attention to the fiscal year calendar. It’s June! You owe it to your students and to the world they will serve to finish strong and to plan prudently for one of the most unpredictable fiscal years in recent memory.
June 30th is looming as the end of the giving year for most colleges and universities. Whether you are way ahead of goal or struggling to get there, here is a quick system scan you can do now that will allow you to maximize your giving for this year and optimize your planning for next.
Look Inside
Review giving by trustees. Do you have 100% participation? How do giving totals on a personal level compare with last year? Personally solicit any trustee that has not yet given and restate your general goal (expectation, requirement) that all trustees give.
Look Up
Ask your advancement office to pull giving histories of your top 5% of donors using 3-5 years of data. Compare the personal giving totals over time. Solicit personally any who have not given or have given significantly less than in years past. Thank each of these top 5% donors yourself. If you are not tracking toward goal consider asking each member of this group for a second mile gift.
Look Forward
As you continue to update your budget throughout the summer, resist the temptation to offload revenue shortfalls from other areas onto advancement without a realistic plan to achieve a higher than normal gift revenue goal. Use an average of and an extrapolation from five-years of giving totals, including this year, to inform your giving forecast. Create a campaign-like gift table for the new year giving goal to prove that you have the donor capacity to achieve or exceed whatever number you end up budgeting.
George Floyd was murdered. A pandemic is raging. If you and your institution are doing what you know in your heart you should be doing then one of the best ways to spend your time and to use your office right now is to seek financial support for the development of wise, caring, moral leaders prepared to change the world for the better.
Let’s talk Fundraising. Join presidents and trustees from around the country Next Tuesday June 9th for a FREE AGB Zoom Call. Register NOW.
In the meantime, please share this post with current and aspiring Development Presidents in your network, encouraging them to Download: 3 Things Every College President Should Know About Fundraising.
With over 25 years of senior-level education leadership experience, including as president and vice president for advancement, David Rowe is a senior consultant with AGB: Association of Governing Boards, executive coaching and mentoring practice lead for Registry Advisory Services and the CEO of The Development President.