Terry Fairholm's NCEA 2014 presentation - Mission-Driven Advancement.

1. MISSION-DRIVEN
ADVANCEMENT
TERRY FAIRHOLM
APRIL 23, 2014
Creating the Future of
Catholic Education

2. Today’s Presentation
 Introduction
 Trends in Catholic school advancement
 API Giving Model
 Maximizing Philanthropic Potential
 Mission Statements
 The 4 Sources of Revenue
 The Mission-Driven Approach to Advancement
 In Closing

3. Advancement Partners
 Univ. of Notre Dame
 Experience
 Catholic
 Specialize

4. Trends in Advancement
 Scope, sophistication and expectation of
development has increased dramatically; no margin
for error.
 More complex questions from prospects.
 It’s taking longer to reach major gift financial goals.
 More solicitation calls are required; a deeper pyramid.
 Prospects are pledging more conservatively.

5. Trends in Advancement
 Challenging to sustain annual fund let alone increase.
 Alumni giving percentage decreasing nationally.
 Demand by constituency to terminate “nickel &
diming”.
 Transition from ‘periodic capital campaign’ to
‘Maximizing philanthropic potential on a yearly basis’.
 Increased importance of ‘comprehensive ask’.

6. Annual Fund
Auction
Events
API Philanthropic Giving Model
Annual Giving
This School Year
Major G ift Program
Short-Term Future
3-5 yrs.
Planned G iving
Long-Term Future
Current
O perating
Budget
Major Gifts
for Capital
Projects
Estate G ifts,
Insurance,
Trusts, etc.
EndowmentFacilities
Endowment "O ther"
Current
Special
Projects
Technology

7. Our Approach: Step by Step
A successful advancement initiative is the result of a
series of steps taken one at a time,
In the proper sequence, according to a plan and timeline.
Leaders should be concerned with only one step.
If that step is not executed properly, the next will be
more difficult.
 If that step is executed properly, the next will be easier
and more effective.

8. Leadership
Mission
Plan
Personnel
Budget
D isciplined
Implementation
Maximizing Philanthropic Potential

9. Purpose, primary
objective
Mission and Vision
Mission Vision
Why do we
exist?
Where you want
to be
If we achieved all
our strat. goals?
Refers to the
Future
The 'What' and
'How'
Refers to the
Present
Inspirational

10. Mission Statements
Catholic High School Mission Statements:
“Bishop Watterson High School: Restore all things in Christ by
educating in the Catholic tradition through prayer, service and study.”
“Catholic Central High School recognizes parents to be the primary
educators of their children and collaborates with them in helping their
children to learn and grow in the Catholic faith. We provide a safe and
challenging environment where mutual respect and high expectations
are maintained through the active engagement of students in the
learning process. The young men of Catholic Central learn holistically
the ideals of the Basilian Fathers - goodness, discipline, and knowledge -
so that they may become productive members of the Church and
society.”

11. Mission Statements
 “San Joaquin Memorial is a Catholic, college preparatory high school
dedicated to developing future citizens and leaders in Christ’s mission. We
maintain a safe, nurturing environment that honors the dignity and fosters
the potential of students from diverse backgrounds. In collaboration with
parents, we promote a standard of excellence through academic and faith
based programs designed to meet the needs of all students and provide
extra-curricular opportunities that enrich the learning experience. Our
mission calls us to inspire each student to be conscientious and
compassionate leaders. We seek to graduate accomplished young men and
women dedicated and equipped to serve humanity through a variety of
professions.”
 “In the spirit of Catherine Spalding and the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth,
Presentation Academy strives to create a diverse community that promotes
academic excellence and challenges young women to develop their greatest
potential as leaders in a global society.”

12. Vision
Catholic High School will be the school of choice for 450 students in greater County
who are compelled by our demonstrated culture of excellence in academics,
athletics, fine arts, and community service; and who wish to share in the richness of
our Catholic mission and CHS traditions.
With a renovated state-of-the-art campus situated in Pleasantville, CHS will
continue to expand its programming partnerships with Pleasantville’s colleges and
universities. CHS will create and implement a high level, honors academic program
centering on the Catholic teaching of the dignity of the human person. This
program will study this teaching from all subject areas and will include a
community service component. This program will integrate critical thinking skills
with the Catholic mission of the school.
CHS will excel in delivering academic, spiritual, social, moral, and physical
development, by delivering programmatic excellence at all levels. Our students will
know their Catholic faith and choose to live the Gospel, collaborating with those
they serve in responding to the broader needs of the community. As creative,
critical thinkers, CHS graduates will be prepared to meet the demands of a
changing world as mature, self-confident men and women of faith and values.

13. Inherent in the Mission
 That any student, regardless of race, color,
religious belief, socioeconomic background/
financial circumstance, can attend.
 Tuition is less than the actual cost of educating
a student (in most Catholic high schools, not
all).
 Philanthropy, therefore, is a critical element of
the success of Catholic education.

14. The Four Sources of Revenue
1. Tuition
2. Philanthropy
3. Earned Income
4. Debt

15. Mission-Driven Advancement
 Fundamentally grounded in the mission of the
school.
 All solicitations, regardless of their purpose,
are presented in the context of fulfilling the
school’s mission.
 Strategic rather than tactical.
 Proactive rather than reactive.
 Inclusive rather than exclusive.
Centralized in the advancement office.

16. Mission-Driven Advancement
 For the Annual Fund:
 Present the mission statement
 Case: Highlight the gap (or special project)
 Multiple mailings
 Specific asks
 Personalization
 Segmentation
 Personal solicitation at the top of the annual fund
pyramid

17. Mission-Driven Advancement
 For Major Gifts:
 Include the mission in the case statement
 Case: Emphasize the impact of the specific funding
component on the fulfillment of the school’s
mission
Engage major gift prospects via a comprehensive
major gift program
Involve top prospects in the “strategic thinking”
 Identify, Cultivate, Solicit
 Create metrics to evaluate

18. Mission-Driven Advancement
 For Planned Giving:
 Awareness, awareness, awareness!!
 Definition – what is planned giving and why is it
important to the school?
 How to make a planned gift?
 Mass communication leads to interested prospects.
 Educational events lead to individual appointments
with prospects.
 As with major gifts, lead with the school’s mission and
how planned gifts will allow us to continue to fulfill our
mission into the future.

19. Mission-Driven Advancement
 Pitfalls to Avoid:
 De-centralized fundraising
 Too many events
 “Nickel and Diming”
 Athletics, Clubs, Band, etc. raising funds independently
 Lack of an institutional strategic plan
 Lack of an advancement plan
 Lack of dedicated advancement staff
 Doing things right vs doing the right things
 Focus on activity rather than results
 Ignoring fundamentals

20. In Closing
 Your best giving prospects are your alumni
and parents – they have benefitted from your
mission and believe in it.
 Less than 5% of your entire constituency base
has major gift potential.
 Unless you are “firing on all cylinders” in
enrollment and philanthropy, it will be a
challenge to reach your institutional potential.