The University of the Virgin Islands (an HBCU with campuses on St. Thomas and St. Croix US Virgin Islands) saw their alumni giving rate increase from 13% to 42% in the past year during the institution’s “50 for 50 Campaign” celebrating UVI’s 50th anniversary. What is especially noteworthy about this jump in giving rate is how UVI did it: rather than relying heavily on reunion, other on-campus events, or even alumni events in other locations to boost giving rate, UVI reached out to alumni at 30 local community events and festivals throughout the year. Rather than just bring alumni back to UVI, their annual giving and alumni affairs staff and volunteers went out into the community to find their alumni — where their alumni were already gathering. Intrigued by UVI’s ambitious (and effective) alumni outreach, we interviewed Linda Smith, UVI’s director of annual giving and alumni affairs, and Nanyamka Farrelly, UVI’s public relations officer, to learn more about UVI’s approach in the past year. Here is what they shared with us. Academic Impressions (AI): Linda, Nanyamka, thank you for joining me for this conversation. I am fascinated by your approach. What did your participation at these community events look like? […]
“Let us never underestimate the power of a well-written letter.”– Jane Austen, Persuasion A decade ago, when I was getting started in the legal department at Missouri State University, one of our campuses became embroiled in a turf dispute with another educational institution. Stakeholders from both institutions met to explore collaborative options. The stakeholder meeting was wholly unsuccessful. In a last attempt to avoid an inevitable clash, our general counsel asked me to draft a message from our president to the other institution’s president (along with staff at the state department of higher education) advising them to stand down. Before drafting the letter, I met with the president and the other stakeholders who had attended the meeting. From their perspective, the offers made at the meeting were comically unreasonable. We felt disrespected and grossly undervalued. Based on those conversations, I decided the letter should be professional, but aggressive and decisive. I also decided the letter should be short and concise to convey our strength and confidence. I drafted a scathing letter, designed to evoke a negative reaction. The letter: No apologies. No sugarcoating. No counteroffer. No offers to meet again. I nervously delivered the letter to my president. He read […]
Learn a process for developing creative and customized stewardship plans for your highest-level donors. How can you learn unique information about your donors and use it to form stewardship plans that create meaningful moments and encourage subsequent gifts? Join us online to get a collection of creative ideas for your top donor stewardship plans – ranging from campus visits to speaking opportunities to meetings with gift beneficiaries. Since not every idea is appropriate for every donor, we’ll help you map the ideas to important donor preferences so that your plans have maximum impact.
The main element missing from most peer leader programs is training rooted in outcomes-based learning strategies. Without this, your peer leaders may clearly understand what’s expected of them, but be ill equipped to meet those expectations. Join us online to learn how you can reconfigure your peer leader training by utilizing outcome-based, active learning strategies that model how peer leaders can develop productive relationships with their mentees. Our expert instructor will share ideas for applying this approach to peer leader trainings before and during the term.
In 12 years, the number of food pantries on college campuses has grown from 1 to 700. However, due to the cultural stigma of facing hunger, the existence of a food pantry, by itself, does not solve the issue of student food insecurity. In early 2019, the Hope Center reported that up to 45% of today’s higher education students face food insecurity. Many colleges and universities are responding to this alarming number by creating on campus food pantries to meet students’ dietary needs. In 2007, the College and University Food Bank Alliance knew of only one food pantry operating on a college campus. As of October 2019, the Government Accountability Office estimated that this number had grown to more than 700! While this growth is remarkable, the existence of a food pantry does not guarantee that food-insecure students are receiving the assistance that they need. The cultural stigma associated with facing hunger in the United States, of being seen by their peers receiving free food, can discourage students from utilizing on-campus pantries. The fear of stigma leaves administrators tasked with pantry operation with some difficult logistical choices: While conducting research into the many challenges of addressing food insecurity in higher […]
Use Our Learning Plans to Combat Burnout and Gain New Skills Become a member to gain access to all learning plan resources. Start our member favorite learning paths for a deeper dive into current challenges around workplace culture and communication. Become a member to get full access to these plans. We will also work to match you with the resources that align with your development goals and create custom learning plans for you and your team. Workplace Culture and Morale Approx. 8.5 hours Learn how to maintain a positive workplace culture and morale within your team by building resilience, integrating inclusivity, engaging in empathy, reducing bullying, understanding microaggressions, and more. Download the Learning Plan Effective Communication Approx. 6.5 hours Learn how to manage conflict, confront toxicity, and cultivate an engaging persona on your video calls. Download the Learning Plan Professional Communication Approx. 8.5 hours Learn the most crucial communication skills you need as a leader navigating through remote work and high-anxiety times. Download the Learning Plan Our current members are using custom learning plans to: Create a development plan to achieve a particular strategic goal Help team members stay engaged and motivated over the summer Provide a focused plan to […]
Whether you’re a new research development professional (RDP) or an RDP new to your institution, you need to orient to your institution’s structure and research landscape. Where can you gather tools and intel that will further your institution’s research mission, and how can you share them widely? Join us online to learn the fundamentals of communicating across institutional silos to connect the people and resources needed for high-quality research – especially interdisciplinary research. You will leave with concrete tips on how to gather and share useful information, including: Publications you should read Meetings you should attend Key people you should connect with
by Lisa Cook, Academic Impressions Why We’re Taking a Close Look at FAU Florida Atlantic University has piloted several innovative strategies for providing students more timely advising and support. In fall 2014, FAU’s University Advising Services office started a resident hall outreach but struggled to come up with a plan to reach out to commuter students, who frequently attend part-time and only in the evening due to work and family commitments. Historically, all university offices closed at 5, which posed an additional challenge to reaching out to students with full-time jobs. The reality is that commuter students, who are often part-time, take longer to graduate, making outreach to that population especially critical. We talked with Joe Murray, director of University Advising Services, to learn more about the initiative. Taking Advising to the Parking Garage The idea to reach out to commuter students was the brainchild of Florida Atlantic University academic coach and advisor Jennifer Coisson, who herself had once been a commuter student and knew that commuter students often miss out on campus support services. Yet outreach to these students is difficult because FAU doesn’t have commuter lounges or any one spot on campus where commuter students congregate. Except the […]
As the Technical Project Coordinator, Enya is focused on supporting the development team to keep projects moving efficiently and ensuring technical solutions are delivered on time. She works closely with our cross-departmental product team to organize project development, manage timelines, problem-solve, and handle task management to meet both internal and external objectives. With a diverse background in real estate, marketing, and a BA in Business Administration from Creighton University, Enya is learning Agile Methodology frameworks to optimize project flow and support the team’s success. When she’s not at work, Enya is helping launch her family’s hydroponic container farm in Nebraska, playing tennis, and values spending quality time with friends and family.
YOUR ANNUAL FUND THIS YEARFollow Jim Langley’s advice on what makes for the best and worst annual fund strategies to ensure this is a successful year for your annual giving operation. The 2 Worst Annual Fund Strategies Using the annual fund to balance the annual operating budget.Donors give much, much more in the name of philanthropy than they do for charitable purposes. Charity calls people to meet an urgent need; philanthropy is a means by which people can create a better society. If you cast your annual fund as a way of meeting urgent need, you raise unsettling questions in the minds of philanthropic investors: Failing to adjust your annual fund solicitations to loyal donors’ giving patterns.The vast majority of regular annual donors make their contributions in December. Yet, every year, they are subjected to repeated requests to give starting at the beginning of the year. This drumbeat of requests raises questions in the minds of many loyal donors about how much money is being spent to raise money. It also makes them feel that the school’s fundraising has become impersonal and machine-like. Loyalty should be prized and reinforced with personalized communications. If donors have given two years or more on essentially […]
