News

Why Honor Rolls of Donors are a Waste of Time

by Lynne Wester

In her new book The 4 Pillars of Donor Relations, Lynne Wester of Donor Relations Guru® helps you rethink donor relations practices and offers specific tips for more powerful acknowledgements, stewardship and impact reporting, recognition, and donor engagement. Get this comprehensive guide to donor relations for your shop today, and transform the way you steward, recognize, and engage your donors. The article that follows is an excerpt from Lynne’s book. In all my time in donor relations, I have never heard of a donor who gave an organization a million dollar gift because their name was in a textual list of donors. Yet I must get asked at least once a week what I think of honor rolls and their place in donor recognition and stewardship. I think they have no useful purpose, they provide opportunities to make costly mistakes, they are a huge waste of human resources, time, money, and they are otherwise foolish. Why Honor Rolls Don’t Provide Any Benefit Time and time again, we have asked donors what they want and how they want to be recognized, and the three things that appear most often in their answers are: Donors want handwritten notes from students. They want to meet those that […]

How One Institution Ensured its Crisis Management Plan Didn’t Just Sit on the Shelf

by Daniel Fusch

The University of Wyoming’s emergency preparedness plan has become a template for plans at other Wyoming institutions and state agencies—including Casper College, which used emergency protocols based on the University of Wyoming’s in responding to a tragic crossbow shooting incident on campus in December 2012. In a recent conversation with Academic Impressions, Mark Collins, the University of Wyoming’s associate vice president for administrative operations, shared with us some of the story behind how he and his colleagues developed the institution’s emergency management protocols—and why their plan didn’t just sit on the shelf. He also offered some practical takeaways for other institutions—see below. The Challenge: From Draft to Effective Protocols “In 2010, we had put together a draft of an emergency response plan for the university,” Collins recalls, “and it had already gone through a number of iterations. But it never felt done, it never felt like something we had full confidence in implementing.” For the University of Wyoming, a 2010 Academic Impressions conference on emergency management held in Chicago, IL, proved the catalyst for moving from draft to actual protocols that would be implemented, communicated, and drilled. Collins attended the event with three colleagues, from university communications, student affairs, and […]

The 5 Forms of Support Your Adjunct Faculty Need

by Private: Caleb Tegtmeier

According to the Pullias Center for Higher Education, roughly half of higher education faculty are part-time employees. Increased reliance on contingent faculty has led many institutions to internally audit the level of support and the faculty development opportunities they offer to adjuncts. In a recent online training from Academic Impressions — “Supporting and Developing Adjunct Faculty” — Jennifer Strickland of Mesa Community College elaborated on the importance of effectively supporting this growing population of instructors. During the training, Strickland also shared a list of the highest priority faculty development needs for adjunct faculty, those areas where intentional support can make a difference in engaging, developing, and retaining your adjunct faculty. Strickland recommends: How does your institution match up in each of these 5 areas? 1. A Thorough and Engaging Orientation This is the first point of contact with your adjunct faculty, and it is important to make it count.  While finding ways to engage your audience is critical, it is imperative to also cover policy essentials. Aspects such as ADA policies, course syllabus requirements, and grading procedures must be included in this type of environment. 2. Needs-Based Training However, just offering an annual orientation by itself will not be enough to […]

Innovative Practices in Higher-Ed Leadership Development

The external search is engrained in the culture of higher education, but this is already beginning to change as an aging workforce forces institutional leaders to address issues of succession planning and leadership development. Across the country institutions are starting or increasing their investments in in-house leadership development programs. This paper reviews 3 innovative practices that institutions can learn from to make their programs more effective in cultivating high-potential leaders: In this paper, you can review a national snapshot of investments in leadership development programming, and hear from select institutions that have launched effective in-house leadership development programs. Read the paper

The Best Questions Gift Officers Can Ask to Move Prospects Toward Solicitation

by Jim M. Langley

Knowing how to turn a discussion with a prospect toward a specific gift commitment requires intuition and skill. It is a matter of timing that requires us to know where each prospect is in the philanthropic decision-making cycle. This we know: From the time we begin the philanthropic dialogue with a prospect until she or he makes a significant commitment takes, on average, 21 months and involves nine interactions. The following advice, therefore, assumes that the prospects you’ve selected have given previously to your institution for years or have given elsewhere for an extended period of time.  It further assumes that you have had at least three or four earlier interactions in which you have determined that your prospect: Engaging the Prospect Early If all of the above are true, you can begin to turn the dialogue toward investment by saying that you would like your prospect to become more deeply engaged in the direction-setting of the institution or in the realization of important goals. Then, ask any of the following: These questions are designed to prompt early-stage engagement and to give the prospect a voice in the development of the project, which demonstrates that you value their time and […]

Presidents’ Advice for Campus Leaders in a Crisis

by Cindy Lawson

While writing a chapter for Managing the Unthinkable: Crisis Preparation and Response for Campus Leaders (ACE, 2014), I had the opportunity to interview two retired presidents/chancellors with whom I had worked – former University of North Carolina Wilmington Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo and former Texas A&M President Ray Bowen.  DePaolo faced two different student incidents in which a student was stalked and then murdered, after which the perpetrator committed suicide. Both incidents occurred within a two-month period early in her tenure at UNCW.  Bowen was president during the Texas A&M bonfire collapse that killed 12 students and injured another 27. I asked them, “Given what you have learned from successfully managing a number of significant campus crises, what’s the most important advice you would give to other presidents, chancellors and campus leaders in times of crisis?” Advice from Rosemary DePaolo DePaolo shared the following: Campus safety is paramount, and that includes having the best possible crisis response protocols in place.  Consider asking an outside expert to evaluate your crisis response plan. Too often university leaders either deny that anything could happen at their institutions, or they become defensive, rebutting individuals who question existing practices. Don’t let a crisis divert your attention […]

Crowdfunding: Stats and Critical Advice

by Daniel Fusch (Academic Impressions) Crowdfunding can increase alumni engagement and participation while serving as a cost-effective tool for acquiring updated alumni contact information, re-engaging donors, and serving faculty and students in their philanthropic efforts. Recently, we have released a series of resources for higher-ed professionals interested in exploring crowdfunding initiatives: Higher-Ed Crowdfunding: What Is It and Why Does It Matter? – This September 2013 article on how crowdfunding fits into the larger context of new donor acquisition strategies. Is Crowdfunding Right for You? – This January 2014 paper on the pros and cons of crowdfunding, for which we interviewed a variety of advancement and alumni relations professionals in higher education and providers of crowdfunding tools. Crowdfunding in Advancement – This new online training by Shad Hanselman (Arizona State University) giving an in-depth primer on launching a crowdfunding initiative. LEARN FROM GEOFF HALLETT Join us for this prerecorded webcast if your shop is interested in developing your own crowdfunding initiative but is unsure how it will complement your advancement strategy. You will learn how to bring crowdfunding from inception to launch, while ensuring that this latest fundraising innovation helps boost your overall program. During the first release of our online training, with […]

6 Questions Deans Need to Ask when Calling on Prospects

by Jim M. Langley

The following article is based on “The Appointment with a Prospect or Donor: DOs and DON’Ts,” the second chapter in Jim Langley’s book Fundraising for Deans. A dean’s role in fundraising is to cultivate the relationships that are critical to sustained fundraising success. That kind of relationship begins when two parties make a “connection” based on a shared purpose or shared values. In making their first calls on prospects, deans will not make the best possible connection if they see the call merely as an opportunity to tout their school or college.  Such an approach presumes that prospects are not aware of their institution’s strengths, and signals that they are there to ask for more without having expressed appreciation for what has already been done. Deans will create a far more positive impression if they begin by conveying their interest, appreciation and respect for prospects. That can be achieved by asking the right questions. A STATISTIC TO KEEP IN MIND: According to a national survey of higher education alumni conducted by the Collaborative Innovation Network for Engagement and Giving and presented to the Annual Giving Directors Consortium (April 2010), only 52 percent of alumni at those institutions with the highest […]

Getting Performance Appraisals Right in College Admissions

by W. Kent Barnds

In an era in which half the post-secondary institutions in the U.S. are facing enrollment declines, performance assessment and continuous improvement in admissions has never been more critical. Even those institutions with strong enrollments, experienced staff, and strong market position need to take the performance assessment process seriously. Why You Need to Do it Right Many of those who have worked with me over the course of the past 20 years will tell you I take performance assessment seriously. I believe one of the most important roles of a leader is to honestly, constructively and actively assesses performance of those who form the team. However, like most leaders, I had to learn how to assess performance, think carefully and adapt. Everyone has a different approach to performance assessment, and some will reject the notion that such assessments even have value. Those who cannot find value in this process,—or choose a superficial method like simply judging by the numbers, or having an annual conversation to ask “how’s it going”—are missing out on what can be a rewarding and integral part of effective talent development. It’s a leader’s job to mentor and develop talent. My master’s thesis focused on the performance assessment […]

5 Mistakes to Avoid when Seeking Vendor Partners for Online Programs

by Deb Gearhart

EVALUATING AN EXTERNAL PARTNER External partners can provide boosts in quality, capacity and enrollment numbers for universities’ online programs. However, decision makers must be diligent in choosing who to partner with and examining which services are most efficiently outsourced.  A lack of comprehensive preparation can lead to wasted resources, unnecessary costs and stagnant enrollments. In this article, Deb Gearhart, vice provost for e-learning and strategic partnerships at Ohio University, offers: Podcast: Rethinking Vendor Partnerships Checklist: 5 Mistakes to Avoid When developing a vendor partnership to help deliver your online program, these items are too commonly overlooked: MISTAKE #1. NOT BRINGING THE RIGHT PLAYERS TO THE PROCESS. Identify the key stakeholders early on. Ensure that all areas of the University that will touch your online program and its students are represented in both the planning and the evaluation of the partner vendor. This would include: Always work through your procurement office. MISTAKE #2. NOT CONSIDERING YOUR BUDGET. What are the costs to provide the services within your institution, compared to the expenses of bringing in a vendor partner? Online education is an upfront investment with costs recouped from enrollment. When reviewing vendors, be sure to gain a clear understanding of what […]