Benchmarking for Best Practice in School Fundraising

Transcription

1 Benchmarking for Best Practice in School Fundraising Introduction The Association of Development and Alumni Professional in Education (ADAPE) members may find this Benchmarking Checklist useful for the purpose of continuous improvement in the philanthropic fundraising sector of our profession. It is designed to be a tool to assist with planning, evaluation and strategic development of School Fundraising (Foundation, Development or Advancement) Offices. Some Fundraising Offices have been successfully raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for decades; others are small offices, which might also be responsible for marketing, enrolments, publications et cetera. Most of us are some where in between. What is common is that we all aspire to do better. The questions posed in this self assessment are generally structured towards a Fundraising Office raising in excess of $300,000 pa from donations; if you do not fit this category but would like to try to get there this tool should still be useful. Don t be alarmed at what needs to be done. Successful Fundraising Offices take in excess of 10 years to build systems, reputations, style and most importantly relationships. And it can only be done one step at a time. This checklist is designed to help. If you are struggling with any of this, here are four suggestions: Contact ADAPE and ask about our mentoring program Purchase an excellent book on this subject written by Michael Thornton called School Fundraising. o His contact details are or mhthornton@gmail.com Attend the many and varied seminars or conferences run by ADAPE, the Fundraising Institute of Australia (FIA) or specialists consultants. Contact CASE Asia Pacific(Council for Advancement and Support of Education - the US equivalent of ADAPE). Contact is Krista Slade: asiapacific@case.org It should also be noted that a commitment to ethical philanthropic fundraising is core to the professionalism and best practice standards for those engaged in fundraising. Whilst this document does not cover ethical principles in detail, it is understood that all professionals in this industry will implement self regulation of ethical practice or affiliate with a professional association whose members, both individuals and organisations, are bound by a code of conduct. NSW ADAPE Committee February

2 Why benchmark? To optimize donations to the School s fundraising program To implement a continuous improvement program with a view to achieving best practice To demonstrate professionalism to donors, governing bodies and peers To improve engagement with constituencies, friendship building and donor stewardship Why a checklist? It is practical and easy to use It measures what you do as opposed to stating what you should be doing It gives direction as to what you could do better It focuses on business excellence issues relevant to any organization or business unit How to use it? The checklist should be reviewed at least once annually, preferably before developing annual plans/budgets The checklists are designed as a simple self audit Ideally each question should be addressed by a small team of people who clearly understand the business Each question is designed so that only one box can be ticked. Where there is a gray area, it suggested that a lower grade be allocated. To be Class A in each section, you should be Class A on at least 80% of the questions. To be a Class A Foundation Office, you should achieve Class A on each of the 4 sections ADAPE believes that each organisation should be able to operate with autonomy based on its philanthropic mission, however, a clear policy statement with a series of enforceable codes relating to ethical practice, should be publicly available. For the purpose of good governance and legal accountability, the statement should address principles such as honesty, respect, integrity, transparency, advocacy, privacy and professional conduct

3 Planning Issue Class A Class B Class C Strategic intent. Is the fundraising office a core component of the school s strategic plan? Partially Focus. Is the fundraising office focused on its core business that is fundraising, with distractions Partially removed? Leadership. Are the governing body and school leadership committed to philanthropy that is Partially Unsure recruiting, nurturing and having increasing numbers of generous and satisfied donors? Annual Plans. Is there a strategic or annual plan (including income targets and budgets) which is approved prior to the beginning of each financial year? specific income targets, but there is an expenditure budget specific allocation of income or expenditure Term Plans. Are plans documented, reviewed and communicated each term Annual only There is no review of plans Promotional and Communication Plans. Are promotional/ communication plans in place, Partially costed and reviewed on completion? Objectives. Are there measurable objectives for the fundraising office? SMART* objectives There are objectives, but n-specific objectives SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) Is an annual SWOT of the fundraising office undertaken? A SWOT is completed annually and communicated they are not measured A SWOT is completed annually but not communicated SWOT is undertaken Market segmentation. Are donors/potential donors broken down into segments with plans and Informal only targets for each major segment? Budget. Are there any unreasonable limitations on expenditure impacting on achieving the agreed income targets? The budget is tight The budget is unreasonably tight Income Targets. Are annual targets SMART? More or less Return on Investment. Is annual income (excludes projected as opposed to actual bequest income) vs all direct costs measured? (Direct costs include wages/salaries, all promotional and operating costs but not office space or other School overheads). te: - cost structures in each school will vary. Result is better than 3:1 Result is better than 2:1 Result is not measured but probably < 1:1 Role. Is the Foundation Office s role stated, understood and underpins the school s vision? Partially Risk Management. Are reviews of risk management undertaken at least annually for the Informally fundraising office and include contingency plans? Continuous improvement. Is there benchmarking of performance against similar schools? Is this a formal process is in Only informal review information reviewed and appropriate improvements implemented? place benchmarking Managing change. Is there a general willingness within the school leadership to encourage and Sometimes

4 adopt change where appropriate? * SMART = Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely - 4 -

5 People Issue Class A Class B Class C Reporting. Does the Director of the fundraising office report directly to the Head? Meetings. Is there a regular fortnightly meeting between the Head and the Director of the Monthly fundraising office? Board. Does the Director of the fundraising office brief the governing body?, a minimum of 3 Once a year times pa Management. Is the Director of the fundraising office a member of the school's leadership team?, but briefs the Team at least each term Internal communications. Does the Head acknowledge the work of the fundraising function at Occasionally staff briefings and is the Director of the fundraising office able to address staff meetings on its activities as required? Position Descriptions. Do all fundraising staff have PD s?, and the PD s have, but no review in the been reviewed in the past 2 years. past 2 years. Performance Reviews. Are there performance reviews in place? Annual + quarterly Annual only informal discussions In-service. Are staff encouraged to continually improve their skills with appropriate budget A plan for each person is Informal plan only plan allocations? in place and budgeted Succession planning. Where practical, is a succession plan is in place? or not practical Volunteers. Are there clear policies in place regarding volunteers? Do volunteers sign off on Informal guidelines only guidelines as to their roles and responsibilities, such as recommended in the FIA Guidelines? OH & S. Do all staff and volunteers understand their OH&S responsibilities? Informally only Vague understanding only - 5 -

6 Processes Issue Class A Class B Class C Statistical ratios. Are conversion ratios kept/reported on to measure the success of the A few Fundraising Office s activities. Such as: The number of potential donors being cultivated at any one time for a major gift. o Conversion ratio of these donors into gifts at the amounts estimated. % of previous donors to the Annual Appeal with a repeat donation % of the School population making a donation in excess of $100, $1,000, $10,000 % of donors/parents who have pledged a regular gift % of parents attending a Head briefing who have donated in excess of $500. Audits. Is an audit of results against plan published and distributed at the end of each year? Internal reporting only reporting Surveys. Are donors/potential donors surveyed (quantitative and/or qualitative) for Informal surveys only surveys opinions/feedback at least once every 2 years? Are the results of surveys published? Is there a critical review undertaken of the results with a view to implementing useful suggestions? Record keeping. Is there a formal accounting process of all receipts and expenditures? Is this reconciled monthly with the accounts office? Reporting but no reconciliation All done by accounts section Stewardship. Is there a formal stewardship program in place? Informal procedures in place thanks/recognition only Data base. Is a formal data base procedure in place and regularly updated? Informal only Risk management of events. Is there a risk management policy for all major events including Informal only planning for contingencies, insurance and downside as per the FIA Standard? Communication. Is there a regular and effective communication program supporting the fundraising office s activities especially for major projects? Reasonable Occasionally - 6 -

7 Fundraising Operations Issue Class A Class B Class C Fundraising Policy Is there a clear understanding throughout the school community of who can fundraise and for what purposes? The fundraising office has a direct involvement in all aspects of fundraising at the School. Annual Appeal. Is an annual appeal in place which encourages the whole school community to donate? Does the Appeal plan include: The mail out is segmented There is a stewardship and acknowledgement program in place A bequest option is included A prospect identification process is in place Capital Appeal (where applicable). Is there a strategic plan which details how the income targets will be achieved? Is it reviewed regularly? (There are many potential secondary questions which should be addressed under this section. If you have not undertaken a major capital appeal before ADAPE advises that you seek external advice such as from the ADAPE Mentor Program.) Head Briefing Program Does a briefing program continue throughout the year briefing parents on the school s strategic direction, including its development plans? Major Gifts Does a user friendly data base exist of major donors and potential major donors with plans of how to build relationships and service this market segment? Bequests Is a plan in place of how to identify, build relationships and service this market segment? Core components include: Focused staffing in place Strong alumni database in place Bequest Society established Stewardship and acknowledgement program is in place Prospect Identification & recruitment strategies are in place Communication strategies are in place incorporating Bequest publication Special Events Is there a policy document in place covering major fundraising events? Such a document should address: who is responsible/involved; internal and external communications; income targets; OH&S; volunteer management and funds management. (The FIA has useful guidelines on this issue.) General understanding Unclear Targets parents only Partially Only for large gifts Partially Informal plan with infrequent reviews ne t at all t at all plan, regular meetings throughout each term Irregular meetings Work in progress Limited Policy document is in place and observed Work in progress Part time Work in progress Informal group in place Work in progress Work in progress General guidelines only Limited no Limited guidelines - 7 -

8 Alumni Is there a person responsible for supporting the alumni? Is there is a philanthropy plan for alumni which is reviewed regularly? Corporate sponsorship Is corporate sponsorship sought to underwrite major events/projects? If so is there a policy document in place covering this issue? Alumni contribute > 25% to annual income targets Alumni contribute between 5% and 25% to annual income targets < 5% support from the alumni Proactive plans are in place Reactive responses only sponsorship is sought - 8 -