Category: Blog

Why You Need to Approach Donors with a Blended Ask

January 2015. More development offices that are shifting to a blended ask model, integrating planned giving into major giving. Alumni with a philanthropic mindset and a propensity to give are concerned about their legacy, and studies show that they are increasingly concerned at a younger age — in their thirties and forties. And making a blended ask helps invite donors immediately into a long-term relationship with the institution, not just a one-time gift. Planned giving has traditionally been an afterthought, but the weather is shifting; our recent survey of 335 chief advancement officers revealed that planned giving is the effort that most advancement vice presidents in higher education expect to yield the most significant long-term impact for their institution, and many are reallocating budgetary resources toward planned giving efforts. This makes understanding a blended ask model especially timely. Meghan Saenz, our assistant conference director who has been looking into this, reached out recently to Marianne Blackwell, executive director of the Office of Estate and Gift Planning at the University of the Pacific, and Richard C. Peck, director of individual giving and gift planning at the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Geisel School of Medicine, to learn how they have been […]

Bridging the Gap Between Advancement and Academic Research: The 3 “C” Strategy

by Ed Mason (opens in new tab)

A SERIES ON INNOVATIONS IN FUNDING ACADEMIC RESEARCH We hope you will join us for this innovative series: The “3C” Strategy for More Effective Fundraising Advancement and research offices can optimize their strategies to compete successfully for external funds by utilizing the “3C” approach. The “3C” approach is: Strategies for Enhanced Communication Over several decades, advancement and research offices have developed distinctly different approaches for fundraising. Advancement’s role is to procure gifts from donors who have very specific interests in funding priorities. Research works with faculty to compete for grants for specific scientific, outreach and training programs. Also, there are distinct “global” perspectives on each office role in working with their constituencies. Planning, facilitation and open discussions are vital to creating enhanced communication between the two offices. This is a new endeavor for many institutions, so take the time — whether it is 3 months or 1 year — to develop good rapport between your offices. To bridge this gap: Effective Collaboration Strategies Improved communication between advancement and research offices creates opportunities to pursue new funding sources. An effective collaborative model is composed of: Coordination Strategies for Advancement and Research The goal of successfully coordinating grants and gifts is to […]

Keys to Redesigning Gateway Courses: Faculty Buy-in, Pitfalls to Avoid, and Critical Steps that Deserve More Attention

Gateway courses essential to student degree paths continue to be a barrier for institutional, faculty, and student goals. However, the large number of students enrolled in these courses often leads to lower student completion rates and the decision to redesign the course. While many institutions choose to redesign each course section independently, the most successful redesign teams improve student learning and lower costs by implementing a coordinated and scalable approach. To learn more, we interviewed several key experts in this area: Here are some key strategies they shared with us… What is the most successful strategy you have implemented to gain faculty buy-in for a full course redesign? Danae Hudson: I think it is important to clearly define the challenges you are facing in your course and propose a well thought-out plan on how to address those challenges. Different faculty members have different strengths and finding a way they can meaningfully contribute to the team helps everyone to feel that their role is valued. Prior to undertaking our course redesign, I spoke with all of the faculty members who taught Introductory Psychology and asked them to be part of the team. I told them we would not proceed with the redesign […]

The Most Creative and Productive Ways to Engage Volunteers

by Jim M. Langley (opens in new tab)

Volunteers, we know, give ten times more than other philanthropic contributors. Yet, not all volunteer work automatically triggers greater giving. With one hour of volunteer time valued at an estimated $22.55, it is crucial your organization creates compelling volunteer opportunities that engage your constituents and inspire giving. The keys are to find work that: Creative ways of engaging the busiest of constituents include providing ways for them to: Share their voice:  Presidents or deans, for instance, learn a great deal and make top executives feel like valued insiders by asking for twenty minutes on the phone to talk through a pending difficult decision. Share their skills: A medical center president, for instance, could provide invaluable insight on cost control and resource reallocation to a board, president, or VP of operations in a one-hour presentation. Share their passions:  Very often those who are most generous to their alma mater are also deeply committed to their communities, churches or social causes. Asking them to speak to their particular passion at a nonprofit fair on campus or to lead a public service project to engage alumni in their community makes them feel far more valued for who they are than for what they […]

5 Questions to Help Restore a Strained Town/Gown Relationship

by Neil Calfee (opens in new tab)

PART OF A SERIES ON RFPs, CAPITAL PLANNING, AND PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS This is the first in a series of articles by Neil Calfee. Currently the principal of NPC Group, specializing in the creation and negotiation of public/private Partnerships, Neil Calfee previously served as Arizona State University’s director of real estate development. He has over 15 years of experience in development and management of complex development projects involving partnerships between government entities and the private sector. This article offers Calfee’s advice for strengthening often-strained town/gown relationships, and is written from his unique perspective in working for both Arizona State University and the City of Tempe. We also recommend his previous articles with AI: You may also be interested in his recorded webcast, “Creating Financial Expectations in the Housing RFP Process.” by Neil Calfee (NPC Group) “Love/hate” may be a little strong in describing many town and gown relationships, but “strained” may not be too far off the mark. The town/gown relationship can be full of drama, jealousy, passive-aggressiveness, and it can take “staying together for the kids” to a whole new level. But the town/gown can also be quite rewarding and mutually beneficial, and given that breaking up is nearly impossible, it’s best […]

How One Institution Revamped International Student Arrival and Orientation

by Lisa LaPoint (opens in new tab), Daniel Fusch (opens in new tab)

San Jose State University (SJSU) has experienced a spike in international enrollment in the past couple of years—”instead of building slowly, a tsunami wave of hundreds of additional students each semester,” as Karen O’Neill, San Jose State’s recent director of international programs and services, remarks. How the university has responded to this wave has made them a model for other institutions. We reached out to Karen O’Neill to discuss their success and critical tactics other institutions may want to try. Learning from SJSU’s Success O’Neill remembers that SJSU faced two significant challenges when international enrollment climbed rapidly: lack of coordination across departments and lack of a process for managing international student arrival and orientation. To address the issue, SJSU called together a task force and sent them to AI’s conference on international orientation in 2013. Some task force members hadn’t met prior to attending. The task force included key professionals from international programs and services, international recruitment, academic advising, and marketing and communications. At every break and during every evening during the AI event, the team convened to review and plan. Using what they learned at the conference upon returning to campus, the task force moved quickly to set a […]

Tips for Innovating Responsibly in Enrollment Management

September 2014 A GUEST ARTICLE FROM J. JOSEPH HOEY & ALICE PARENTI J. Joseph Hoey, Ed.D, is the vice president of accreditation relations and policy with Bridgepoint Education; his portfolio of work includes regional and specialized accreditation and policy related to accreditation. He is co-author with Jill Ferguson and David Chase of Assessment at Creative Institutions: Quantifying and Qualifying the Aesthetic (Common Ground: 2014). Alice Parenti is Bridgepoint Education’s associate vice president of operations compliance and previously served as vice president of admissions for Ashford University. Her portfolio of work in this area includes leading geographically diverse enrollment teams and associated services through several key management positions. In this article, Hoey and Parenti review the changing landscape of enrollment management in higher ed and offer practical advice for how enrollment managers can adapt. We also recommend J. Joseph Hoey’s previous article with AI, “6 Reasons Faculty and Departments Need to Be Deeply Involved in Student Learning Assessment,” and his free webcast, “Ideas from the For-Profit Sector on Making Your Program More Competitive.” by Alice Parenti and J. Joseph Hoey (Bridgepoint Education) In our progressively more turbulent higher education environment, what innovations can responsible, ethical enrollment management officers bring forward to help navigate […]

Taking Virtual Academic Advising from OK to Great

by Daniel Fusch, interviewing Cory Phare (Academic Impressions) September 2014. With the “high-touch, high-tech” mindset and 24-hour service expectations of today’s students, many advising programs are exploring how to offer quality advising to distance learners. Advising departments are also continually asked to do more with less, and to make processes more efficient while still providing superior student service. Are you currently using technology in the best way possible to address these challenges? DEFINING OUR TERMS “Technology as it relates to advising is a bit of a weaselly term. Are we only talking about working with online populations? Or are we looking at different tools to improve reach and process? Or is it just synonymous with social media? Defining what tech does, can, and should mean for a department is a key part of a comprehensive strategy.” – Cory Phare, Academic Impressions Cory Phare, a conference director at Academic Impressions, has conducted extensive research into current practices and trends in academic advising, including: A recent survey of over one hundred advising directors Frequent conversations with advising experts such as Laura Pasquini, Karen Thurmond, Sue Ohrablo, and Benjamin M. Forche, among others I spoke with Cory this week to learn more about […]

4 Ways to Rethink Donor Relations

by Meghan Saenz (opens in new tab)

As donors are increasingly cautious of how their resources are allocated, properly informing, communicating, and stewarding donors is essential to ensure continuous giving. However, few institutions are strategic in identifying which donors need attention, and when and how that attention should be paid. Moving to a strategic donor relations model allows you to improve the effectiveness of your institution’s stewardship efforts. We reached out to the faculty for Revitalizing Your Donor Relations Program, four nationally-known donor relations experts and asked each of them the question, “What is one way that we need to rethink donor relations this year?” Here are their answers. Debbie Meyers, University of Maryland What is one way we can rethink donor relations? Put on your donor glasses! This will sound funny, considering we’re talking about the field of donor relations. But sometimes we get caught up in the mechanics and the bling of all the things we do, and we forget to see things from our donors’ perspective. For instance, rather than sounding genuine and sincere, our acknowledgment letters – which are produced in massive quantities – begin to sound like the result of fundraising mad libs: “your generous support propels us into frontiers of excellence.” Blah, blah, […]

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