What is the value of reviewing all aspects of your organization's fundraising and development operations? A comprehensive development assessment can help your organization identify strengths & areas for improvement. Learn how to execute a real, meaningful plan of action vs. a large strategy document that gathers dust. Assessments can have excellent value if used properly and embraced by the volunteer and staff leadership of the organization. Through an objective eye, examining fundraising strategies, materials and implementation, as well as donor stewardship and prospect management, can be very healthy for an organization that realizes it is not reaching its full potential. LEARNING OBJECTIVES/TAKEAWAYS: By the end of this session participants will learn: How to create an assessment that defines strategic fundraising goals, articulates best practices for staff and leadership, and recognizes areas of improvement; How to incorporate findings and results from the assessment approach into your long-term organizational strategies; How to enhance the capacity of your fundraising office to optimize and strengthen the base of financial support for your organization.

1. LOOKING IN THE MIRROR:
THE POWER OF A STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT
ASSESSMENT
Jose Barquin, Corporate Vice President
© 2013 CCS
Fundraising  Development Services  Strategic Consulting
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2. Learning Objectives
1. Understand purpose, value, and context of a Strategic Development Assessment
2. Learn about components of an Assessment Report
3. Identify the steps in conducting a Strategic Assessment
4. Share best practices
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3. About CCS
● CCS is a comprehensive fundraising
consulting and management firm
founded in 1947.
● Headquartered in New York with offices
in Chicago, Washington, Boston, San
Francisco, Toronto, London and Dublin
● Provides campaign design and
management, development services and
strategic planning and consulting
● In 2011, assisted 200+ clients with goals over $3 Billion
● Diverse client roster:
- Hospitals and medical centers
- Colleges and universities
- Religious institutions
Fundraising  Development Services  Strategic Consulting
- Civic and cultural organizations
- Environmental organizations
- Human services agencies
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4. Recently Completed Development Assessments
● Africare
● Manhattan Childrens Center
● City College
● UF College of Pharmacy
● Easter Seals NY
● UF Shands
● Hawken School
● UNCG
● Hillel International
● University of Florida Gator Boosters
● The Jewish Daily Forward
Fundraising  Development Services  Strategic Consulting
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5. Current Philanthropic Landscape
● Study reflects nationwide decline in
charitable giving caused in part by factors
that include:
– Political and economic uncertainty
– Financial insecurity resulting from the
recession
● Findings indicate that charitable contributions to the top 400 charities are
projected to decrease by 1% from $81.7 billion this year.
● The report represents implications for long-term sustainability of fundraising
practices across the country.
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6. Current Philanthropic Landscape (continued)
$3.16B in 2012 giving represents 3.5% increase from 2011
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7. Purposes
● A Strategic Development Assessment is a comprehensive study that will help an
organization ensure that they have the proper resources available to run a
successful fundraising program.
● Analyze recent fundraising performance, systems, and/or staffing to:
 Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for growth
 Evaluates the competition the organization faces to generate financial
support
 Develop strategic steps and tools to solicit financial support in a cost
effective manner
 Assist in creating a comprehensive development plan
 Optimize and strengthen your development operation
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8. Value
● Provides objective review of development
performance, structures, practices and
achievements
● Creates a road map to building fundraising
capacity
● Determines where to focus resources in the
short-term to ensure success in existing
programs
● Develops long-term department objectives
● Demonstrates commitment to continuous
improvement
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9. Additional Value
● Highlights best practices
● Compares benchmarking data
● Presents organizational and staffing changes for effective results
● Maximizes potential of campaign
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10. When should you conduct a development assessment?
● Change in department or organization’s leadership
● In connection to a campaign (can be completed prior, during, or at the
conclusion)
● Desire to improve overall fundraising performance
● Commitment to benchmarking and creating best practices
● Reassessment of program after loss of a major funding source
● Increase in need for services
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11. Assessment Methodology
DATA
COLLECTION
•
Collection of organization’s fundraising operational data
INTERVIEWS
•
A series of discussions with key stakeholders
board members
staff
major donors
other
STATISTICAL
REVIEW AND
ANALYSIS
•
Gathering institution’s data and analyzing it
Assembling similar information from a wide range of like
institutions for comparative analysis
Research and provide other philanthropy data on sector
topic
•
•
FINAL REPORT
•
Providing a comprehensive document including statistical
analysis, benchmarking and comparison and
recommendations
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12. Step 1: Data Collection
•
Gather fundraising data for the last five years


By method (personal solicitation, direct mail, online, special
events, planned gifts, etc.)

•
By constituency (individuals, corporations, foundations, government)
By gift level (necessary to develop gift tables)
Other key statistical information


Top donors (individual, corporate and foundation)

Past campaign information

Overall and development budgets

Special event results (gross and net revenue)

•
Board giving
Direct mail results (renewal rates, cost , frequency, etc.)
Accurate data is key!
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13. Step 1: Data Collection
•
Opportunity to collect additional supporting documents:

Organizational chart

Job descriptions

Annual reports

Collateral materials (brochures,
proposals, etc.)

Board listing

Strategic plan

Fundraising plan
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14. Step 2: Interviews
•
Private conversations with:


Board members (President, development committee members, etc.)

•
Staff (executive leadership, development, marketing and
communications, etc.)
Major donors
Interview discussions include:

Position and responsibilities

Strengths and weaknesses of the development program
Fundraising  Development Services  Strategic Consulting
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15. Step 3: Statistical Review and Analysis
STATISTICAL REVIEW
•
•
Reports includes statistical review, analysis and comparison data
The Statistical Review

Sets the stage for analysis

Presents a basic overview of most recent FY

Should always include the data source
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16. Step 3: Statistical Review and Analysis
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
•
•
The statistical analysis makes observations and conclusions by looking at the
organization’s fundraising performance in a variety of ways
For example:

Program growth and consistency

Program balance (by constituency and method)

Board giving

Gift levels

Private support as % of operational expenditures

Other areas for analysis?
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17. Step 3: Statistical Review and Analysis
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: BENCHMARKING
•
How do we choose organizations to benchmark our client against?


Aspirational

Highly successful in one area of practice

•
•
•
Peers
Our selections AND the clients opinion
How do we get a hold of these organizations?
Who do we contact peer organizations?
What do we offer in return for benchmarking?
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18. Step 3: Statistical Review and Analysis
Example:
$6,000,000.00
$4,931,044
$5,000,000.00
$4,635,761
$4,585,673
$4,173,441
$4,000,000.00
$3,122,946
$3,067,261
$3,000,000.00
$1,555,794
$2,000,000.00
$1,000,000.00
$819,642
$1,439,652
$1,012,378
$1,033,893
$894,327
$480,122
$0.00
Brooklyn Saint
Friends
Ann's
School School
The
Lycee Calhoun Packer Poly Prep Collegiate Spence
Berkeley Francais School Collegiate Country School School
Carroll de New
Institute
Day
School
York
School
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Dalton
School
Trinity
School
Horace
The
Mann Brearley
School School
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19. Step 3: Statistical Review and Analysis
•
When gathering and analyzing comparative data for an assessment report, we
review philanthropy sites that produce surveys, and other data

Giving USA

The Conference Board

The Foundation Center

VSE (Voluntary Support of Education)

The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University

Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy

National Association of Independent Schools
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20. Step 4: Plan of Action
● Use the information gathered during the course of the development assessment
to create a comprehensive plan of action:

Short-term goals

Long-term organizational strategies

Optimize and strengthen base of financial support

Reorganize department structure to optimize success without breaking the
bank
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21. Step 4: Plan of Action
Example Plan of Action:
Proceed into
external study
Complete new
staff hiring and
integration
Conduct
comprehensive
wealth
screening
Fundraising  Development Services  Strategic Consulting
Assign
portfolios to
front line
fundraisers
Re-calibrate
staffing
functions
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22. Step 4: Plan of Action
Director of
Advancement
Example: Suggested staffing structure
Executive
Administrative
Assistant
Director of
Development
Director of Annual
Fund & Parent
Relations
Director of Alumni
Relations & Events
Records, Research &
Stewardship
Coordinator
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Database Manager
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23. Study Example: University of Florida
CCS has worked with the
City College of New York on a
Development
Assessment, which included:

Individual meetings with
key stakeholders – Board
members, donors, others

Review and assessment of
advancement methods/data

Landscape analysis –
benchmarking with peer
institutions
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24. Typical Recommendations within an Assessment
Based on interviews, the statistical review, benchmarking against other like
institutions, develop a plan for how your institution can become even better.
These recommendations can be cultural, structural/organizational and
operational in nature.

CULTURAL: Recommendations for creating/enhancing a “culture of
philanthropy” at the institution (e.g. among the organization’s
board, development department, employees, volunteers)

STRUCTURAL/ORGANIZATIONAL: Recommendations for reshaping the
Development/Advancement effort. These could address the
Development/Advancement Office’s org chart (structural/organizational
perspective) as well as staffing (from a “people” perspective; is the
department staffed sufficiently, are the right people in the right chairs, etc.)

OPERATIONAL: Recommendations for strengthening the
Development/Advancement Office’s various activities (e.g. major gift
effort, annual giving, employee campaign, etc.)
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25. Questions and Discussion
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26. Thank You!
Connect with Us
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● Link Us In: http://linkd.in/hZhTWq
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