Jan Stump, Director of Development and Public Relations, ACSI
This is the time of year when my doorbell rings, signaling the fall brigade of students who are selling various products to fund their school programs. Perhaps as you read this, your school’s annual project fund-raising schedule flashes before your eyes. Just the thought exhausts you as you consider the effort that goes into such projects. There is a better way.
An integrated fund development program is the key to building a sustainable support base for the mission of a school. Such a program requires inviting individuals to support the school and asking them to invest in the mission of the school. These relationships take time to identify and build. However, there are no shortcuts to building a sustainable funding base for a school’s mission. Schools need to commit to the important task of school development, and this commitment demands a careful and courageous analysis of the factors that sabotage such an effort.
Certainly, an overdependence on product sales and fund-raising events impedes the creation of a healthy development program. And when contemplating the rationale for using fund-raising projects in their program, schools should think in terms of both quality and quantity.
When contemplating the rationale for using fund-raising projects in their program, schools should think in terms of both quality and quantity.
Some fund-raising events have quality because they are developmentally sound. They encourage volunteerism, foster relationships, and trumpet a school’s mission to the community. If carefully and thoughtfully orchestrated, a benefit auction or an annual golf tournament, for example, can accomplish these objectives. It is also wise for schools to cultivate a growing base of individual and corporate donors over time, thank them sincerely, and embrace them within the school community. However, donors who sponsor “thons,” such as walk-a-thons, are typically supporting the student, not the school. When the student leaves, the donor often leaves.
It is important to analyze and then choose the most fruitful events, determining their ability to foster mission-driven relationships. Even with quality events in place, schools should limit the quantity of fund-raising activities. In a typical K–12 program, the potential deluge of events such as bake sales, car washes, and calendar sales can overwhelm the school family, especially in the cases of Christian schools that depend on project support to balance their budgets. These schools often launch monthly product sales that run concurrently among various groups in the schools. To combat this possible deluge, schools can take an audit of all the product sales, events, and development activities that take place in a year. They also can establish a system for approving and scheduling fund-raising projects. Each request should be reviewed for appropriateness and then thoughtfully placed on a master schedule. The target market for these projects is often the school family or extended family, and a continual barrage of fund-raisers along with the annual fund drive and monthly tuition can also send the wrong message.
The competing funding voices can subliminally devalue a school’s academic program. The competition and the noisy confusion surrounding fund-raisers detract from the true message of development—“Our Christ-centered educational mission is worth the investment of your prayers, your gifts, and your time.” Once schools gather the courage to control the projects and events that clutter their calendar, they have more time to invest in activities that build the relationships needed for effective fund development. They can even build projects that support their fine arts or athletic programs on mission-related rationale and sustainable relationships. It takes courage to wean budgets from dependence on projects, yet schools and their volunteers can use the time gained to focus on realizing their vision for excellence.
Approaching Fund Development with Courage 7.2