Leading Schools' Development - reflections following a recent meeting

Cairney Partner, Colin McCallum was pleased to attend the recent Scottish Regional Meeting of IDPE, held in the beautiful campus of Dollar Academy, located below the Ochil Hills. The meeting was held on a typically sunny and warm Scottish spring day. A positive and lively discussion lay ahead.

Here, Colin reflects on the day:

I was pleased to make a return visit to speak at an IDPE event and to meet friends and colleagues, old and new. The main topic of my presentation was ‘Impact’, but the whole day in fact reflected on various issues which impact on… impact!

The Importance of Investing in Fundraising

The energetic Rector of Dollar Academy, Ian Munro, opened the meeting by noting just how important fundraising is to schools like his – not only as a result of external and political factors, but very much including these. It was interesting to note, therefore, that almost all of those attending had been in their current posts and institutions for two years or less. This led to a discussion about the continuing need to really embed development within institutions, to address the stop-start approach which can still hinder growth and sustainability. A number of fundraisers in the room are operating in teams of one and expectations are high for them to make a quick and dramatic impact on the school’s finances. It was clear that there remains a need to educate some institutional leaders about the need for sustained investment and activity, consistency and the engagement of more than the small central development teams.

Cairney & Company works with a number of independent schools across the UK and we know – as the most recent IDPE survey also suggested – that fundraising works in all kinds of schools. However it is working particularly well in institutional leaders are actively involved (74% of heads in the schools that raise the most) and that the majority of philanthropic support (66%) is secured from major gifts. This trend is increasing and the pace of impact of the biggest gifts is speeding up. So, schools that want to grow their programmes, must focus even more on six and seven figure gift potential, and the planning and infrastructure that is required to succeed.

Demonstrating Impact

Internal awareness of the broad sweep of benefits that come from investment in alumni engagement and fundraising can be limited beyond the financial number and perhaps the ROI. Often when considering the ROI of alumni engagement and fundraising this is only viewed through a short term lense and does not take into account  both financial and non-financial, short and long-term impact. There is an internal communications challenge facing a number of development professionals in schools when it comes to demonstrating this.

Helping our donors to understand what the impact of their giving has been and to give them a voice within the school remains a challenge for many. This can be harder if there are significant gaps between development staff leaving and being replaced or during transitions of leadership. As we know, this is a long-term activity, it is not a panacea, nor is it something which can be turned on and off like a light switch. However, we need to help executives and boards to understand that the decisions they make now about investment in development, or the gaps that can occur too often, have long-term impacts on an area that those same executives and boards tell us is essential and becoming even more important. Surely, if fundraising matters so much, and this need is set to grow, then it must play a greater part in business sustainability modelling and planning.

Access, Opportunity and Community Engagement

It is interesting that everyone in the room spoke about their school’s absolute commitment to access, opportunity and community engagement for all. Indeed, Dollar Academy’s current fundraising campaign is all about this. It would seem that none see a future of continuous increases in fees to cover all costs and a resulting reduction in the spectrum of future students, as even a consideration. So, the thought must arise, ‘How are we going to fund a future that relies more and more on non-fee income?’ For most, fundraising does not currently have a seat at the executive table, some fundraisers have limited direct access to the board or sometimes even the head of the school.

So, we must reflect on the way that some schools are currently building fundraising realistically into their long-term strategies and focussing time, energy and people on the area which most say is now crucial to a vibrant future – or even any future. Some speak of raising more philanthropic support as being an absolutely urgent need. For many more action is needed now, and the increased activity needs to be sustained into the future.

In teams with only one-three staff in a development office, it can be hard to cover all that is required and so prioritisation is needed. alongside a bit of upward management, building the case for investment and a reality check. If philanthropy has an increasing role to play in independent schools, for some there may need to be a heightened awareness of what this means and requires – across the school, as well as what resources are needed to support a growing enterprise. Alongside this, a commitment at board level to maintain the investment and build for the long term – no matter who leads the development office, or the school.

Cairney & Company is delighted to have become a Corporate Partner of IDPE and to be taking a stand at the IDPE National Conference in Nottingham (13-14 May). Anyone attending the conference should visit the stand and talk to Annarosa Muscatelli, Senior Consultant with Cairney & Company.