I hope you all had a nice holiday; I know I did. Happy New Year.
In my last gripping installment of, “Fundraising for International Schools”, I said I would share my thoughts on where to find a start-up Director of Advancement. My hope here is to specifically help international schools who are considering launching a fundraising program and who are biting their nails at the potential cost.
Let me start by reminding us of why I would argue that finding a start-up Advancement Director for an international school is an infinitely more difficult proposition than finding an Advancement Director for an established program at, say, a domestic school in the US.
Fundraising doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it is the desired end result if everything else that is incidental to an Advancement program is done well. Today, advancement professionals in international schools are the people who are expected to be responsible for most (if not all) of the following:
brand and reputation management;
visual identity;
public relations;
marketing;
internal & external communications;
crisis communications;
website development;
publications;
data privacy;
admission and enrollment management;
alumni relations (website, magazines, reunions, volunteer management);
volunteer recruitment and management;
events (because we still hold events for our major donors);
competitive analysis, etc.
And of course, if all goes well…
Fundraising (Annual Fund, Major Gifts, Capital Campaigns, Planned Giving).
In addition to the list above, these people are meant to operate effectively in a multi-cultural environment with a high turnover of leadership and governance, resulting in the need to constantly educate new (and very often, sceptical) people about the why’s and how’s of fundraising.
This is obviously a much different proposition from inheriting an established program where philanthropy is a given and best practices are followed. It’s the difference between launching a start-up and taking over a publicly traded company. The skill sets are not the same.
As I was writing this, I got a little carried away and began wondering how on earth any international school ever manages to start a successful fundraising program; where do they find these extraordinary people? But then I remembered that my school has a successful (and growing!) fundraising program, and I am far from extraordinary. The answer, of course, is that the success of the program very much depends on the Head and the Board, regardless of who is hired.
So while we will get to some thoughts on how to find an Advancement Director, the Head and the Board first have to make sure that they are ready: just because they have agreed that the school should start, “a fundraising program” does not mean that they’ve agreed on the expectations for the program or the qualifications of the Advancement Director. If those expectations are wildly divergent and not reconciled, failure is inevitable. Some Board members may believe that we shouldn’t bother with the arduous task of creating a culture of philanthropy where everyone gives to the best of their ability… we should just get the big bucks from the wealthy people. Perhaps some people think that anyone can do this job, while others think that the school’s circumstances are so unique that it’s impossible to find anyone who can do it.
The seeds of success of the program, then, are planted before the first interview is held or the job description written. It starts with a clear alignment by the Head and the Board of the why’s and how’s of fundraising at the school: what is the Case for Support that makes them all passionate, and what tactics will they use to raise the money? If the Head and Board can answer these questions for themselves, it will make the process of finding the right person to lead the program much easier, and the chances of launching a successful program much greater.
I want to give you an example of a very important difference of opinion that is indicative of why the Head and the Board need to be on the same page going into this venture. In speaking with various schools, I often encounter (as I mentioned above) the Trustee who thinks that creating a culture of philanthropy is a waste of time. They want big money, and they want it now. Go big, or go home. This perhaps comes from their experience attending black-tie events for charitable organizations looking to find a cure for childhood cancer or restoring hearing in deaf children. Just hold one of these events and people will throw money at us. Anyone can do it. No need for Trustees to give or get involved themselves. This totally ignores the fact that raising money for an affluent school to make (on the surface of things) privileged children more privileged is a more nuanced proposition than curing childhood cancer. But given that, “anyone can do it,” and the confidence and enthusiasm of the Trustee, the school hires an enthusiastic, presentable, and inexpensive person who may actually know more about fundraising than the vocal Trustee, but not enough to override any difference of opinion. So, the school dutifully expends great effort of volunteers and employees to hold a fundraising event… at which people (not understanding the purpose of this fundraiser anyway) check their phones to see the value of the item on which they’re bidding because they want to get a deal. Disappointed and exasperated, the Trustee finally marches up unannounced to wealthy community members and asks if they would donate money to build a new pool, to which they say, “No.” And why would they? They pay a lot of money for tuition. They’re not even aware that this is a non-profit school: there is no culture of philanthropy. The trustee then announces that fundraising isn’t possible at this school, fades from the scene, leaving the would-be Advancement Director with a sceptical Head and Board whose priority when it comes to fundraising is to demand reports that show whether it’s worth it.
If you can’t tell by now, I am an advocate of building a culture of philanthropy, and not a fan of transactional fundraising at international schools. But, to each his own; if the wealthy people in the community are ready to part with large sums of money, and the goal isn’t to create a reliable annual source of revenue, then an Advancement Director isn’t needed (let alone an Advancement Program): just have the enthusiastic Trustee go ask for it, because their chances of success are probably better than demanding that a new Advancement Director do it.
But let’s say that the Head and Board have arrived at the very important agreement that they’re in this for the long haul: they want to create a Fundraising School. They understand (in broad terms) their role, the role of the Advancement Director, and the expectations they should have. Where can they find someone with the professional experience, cultural sensitivity, and gravitas to lead this program?
To begin with the bleeding obvious, if you can find an available international school Advancement Director with demonstrable start-up success, that would be your best bet. However, international schools that are considering launching a fundraising program are understandably more sensitive to costs than those who have at least experienced some level of “return on investment.” This leads them to want to avoid an expat package, which by and large rules out anyone with demonstrable success in launching fundraising programs at international schools. Is it possible to find a local hire with the requisite skills? And I’m talking here about finding the person not just by luck, but by design. I’m going to theorize that the answer is always yes (regardless of the culture of philanthropy in the host country), but in the short to mid term, the school is going to incur some consulting costs (don’t worry, I’m not about to sell you something… I’m just suggesting an answer to an FAQ that I sometimes get).
Don’t forget that in order for this to work, the Head and Board need to be totally aligned in their realistic expectations for the program and its roll out; there cannot be one or two Trustees pushing the Advancement Director to execute their untested theories while others sit back, hands off, and watch the show. Assuming this as a basis, you’re now looking for a local hire with leadership experience (or potential), cultural sensitivity, financial acumen, presentability/gravitas, who might hopefully have experience in some sort of fundraising and higher level contacts. And of course a desire to learn about best practices in private school fundraising. At the same time, the school engages a consultancy in order to provide ongoing training for not only this new Advancement Director, but also the Head and the Board, to help them to develop a business plan, and to provide regular opportunities to assess the effectiveness of the program as it develops. Again, in case anyone was thinking of asking me, no, I don’t have the time to provide the kind of in-depth consulting it would require (I’m an Advancement Director!); however, I’m sure there are others out there who do (and I’ll let you know if I hear of any good ones!).
Please keep in mind that regardless of the compensation package, the position of Advancement Director is always a leadership position, reporting directly to the Head. The Advancement Director’s direct access to, and excellent rapport with, the Head, Board Chair, and Advancement Committee Chair are imperative for the positive perception and eventual success of the program. For other imperatives (such as minimum staffing of a start-up Advancement Office), please see this post.
Thank you, Clive for describing, so succinctly, the best practises for launching an Advancement program in an international school. Your examples of where to watch for pitfalls are particularly helpful and on the mark. I look forward to reading your next blog.