The Annual Fund
Our gateway to all giving and the
foundation of the fund raising program
Kathleen Hanson
Senior Consultant and Principal
Leader – Schools Practice Group
Editor, The NAIS Handbook on Marketing Independent Schools
NESA Leadership Conference – October 2011
Copyright Marts & Lundy
Our focus
The Annual Fund
Purpose and Value
Structure & Planning
Creativity in Approach
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Annual Fund’s Function
 Provide operating income
 Acquire new donors
 Re-acquire lapsed donors
 Upgrade current donors
 Identify and involve future volunteers
 Identify and engage major donor
prospects
 Provide a training ground for “givers” and
“getters”
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Most Importantly
Provides the school with a venue
for illustrating its worthiness on an
annual basis.
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Today’s Annual Fund
Purist view: all dollars must go to
the operating budget
Reality view: today’s donor likes to
see the impact of his or her gift-some
gifts are designated
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Benefits of the Annual Fund
Revenue is often significant
Opportunity to educate
Promotes the “case for support” and
the culture of philanthropy
Strengthens relationships
Donors often move from annual
support to capital support
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Data Needed for Planning
 Three years of annual fund giving data
 Donor acquisition; retention and attrition
 Results of screening
 Discussions with Admission regarding new
families entering the school
 Leadership donor pipeline
 Reunion class prospects
 Pledge fulfillment over past five years
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Material Needed
Volunteer role description
Training materials
Annual Fund Facts
Matching Gift Opportunities
Payment options
Frequently Asked questions
School Statistics
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Structure
Depends upon your constituency…….
You can organize by gift levels:

Leadership Gifts

Non-Leadership Gifts

Reunion Giving
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Structure
You can organize by constituency:
Alumni
Reunion Classes
Current Parents – by division or grade
Parents of Alumni
Grandparents
Friends
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Giving Levels
a) $1,000 and up
a) Some schools have levels up to
$25,000
b) Special levels for young alumni
c) Special levels for continuous donors
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The volunteer leadership structure
The volunteer leadership of the annual
fund is a vitally important component in
achieving success.
 They need to be part of the planning
 They need to recruit other volunteers
 They need to assist with stewardship
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Leadership Gift Committee
 For large institutions, consider a
Leadership Gift Committee
 Composed of trustees, alumni, and
parent leaders to help identify, qualify,
and solicit $1,000 prospects and above
 Set a goal of soliciting as many
leadership donors as possible face-toface
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The Annual Fund Business Plan
Begins with the case for support
Moves to setting strategy
Becomes a blueprint with a timeline
Is evaluated after each annual fund
cycle
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Gift Scale or not?
Some schools develop a scale of gifts to
inform their planning
Other schools develop specific strategies
for leadership donors to move them to the
next level
Leadership giving, for the most part, will
drive the success of the annual fund
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Making the Case
oThe case for supporting the annual
fund is vitally important
oOne page, if possible
oCarried in all materials
oUnderstood by the volunteers
oAuthentic to the prospective donors
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Where should time and $$ go?
The plan for the annual fund will direct
staff time and energy.
There is good research which suggests there
is no difference in outcome when an annual
fund appeal is in a letter format or a fourcolor brochure.
A personal approach to leadership giving
does suggest a more positive outcome
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Acknowledgement
Gifts must be acknowledged immediately

Set up a process for gift crediting and
acknowledgement

When does the Head of School write a personal
note?

Who signs which letters?
Donors need to feel as though their gift
matters
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Tracking Progress
 Track against prior year or prior two years
 Track donors who typically give at a
certain time of year
 Track % of giving at each level
 Track average size of gift against prior
year
 Track results from every approach
Don’t be afraid to “test” an approach
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Reporting Process
What will your reports of progress look
like?
To whom do they go and how frequently?
Manage expectations up front
What do you wish the report to
accomplish?
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Creativity
 Models for Faculty and Staff Solicitations
 Can create real energy internally
 Models for “get it done in 31” for parent
participation
 Focused approach on parents in a single
month, with high visibility for the fund
 Models for Grandparent solicitations
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Creativity
 Letters to donors on impact of their gift
 Special letters to first-time donors
 Special letters to donors who have made
five years of consecutive gifts; 10 years
 Video clips with students expressing
thanks
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Creativity
 Social Media
 On Line Giving
 Challenges
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