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 0423 397 670 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:
asia-pacific@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 2009
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,
Planning
Issue Class A Class B Class C
Strategic intent. Is the fundraising office a core component of the school’s strategic plan? Yes Partially No Focus. Is the fundraising office focused on its core business that is fundraising, with distractions
removed?
Yes Partially No
Leadership. Are the governing body and school leadership committed to philanthropy that is recruiting, nurturing and having increasing numbers of generous and satisfied donors?
Yes Partially Unsure
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?
Yes No specific income
targets, but there is an expenditure budget
No specific allocation of income or
expenditure
Term Plans. Are plans documented, reviewed and communicated each term Yes Annual only There is no review of
plans Promotional and Communication Plans. Are promotional/ communication plans in place,
costed and reviewed on completion?
Yes Partially No Objectives. Are there measurable objectives for the fundraising office? SMART* objectives There are objectives, but
they are not measured
Non-specific objectives SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) Is an annual SWOT of the fundraising
office undertaken?
A SWOT is completed annually and communicated
A SWOT is completed annually but not
communicated
No SWOT is undertaken Market segmentation. Are donors/potential donors broken down into segments with plans and
targets for each major segment?
Yes Informal only No
Budget. Are there any unreasonable limitations on expenditure impacting on achieving the agreed income targets?
No The budget is tight The budget is
unreasonably tight
Income Targets. Are annual targets SMART? Yes More or less No
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). Note: - 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? Yes Partially No
adopt change where appropriate?
People
Issue Class A Class B Class C
Reporting. DDooeesstthheeDDiirreeccttoorroofftthheeffuunnddrraaiissiinnggooffffiicceerreeppoorrttddiirreeccttllyyttootthheeHHeeaadd?? Yes No No Meetings. IIsstthheerreeaarreegguullaarrffoorrttnniigghhttllyymmeeeettiinnggbbeettwweeeenntthheeHHeeaaddaannddtthheeDDiirreeccttoorroofftthhee
f
fuunnddrraaiissiinnggooffffiiccee??
Yes Monthly No Board. DDooeesstthheeDDiirreeccttoorroofftthheeffuunnddrraaiissiinnggooffffiicceebbrriieefftthheeggoovveerrnniinnggbbooddyy? ? Yes, a minimum of 3
times pa
Once a year No
Management. IIsstthheeDDiirreeccttoorroofftthheeffuunnddrraaiissiinnggooffffiicceeaammeemmbbeerroofftthheesscchhooooll''sslleeaaddeerrsshhiipptteeaamm? ? Yes No, but briefs the Team at least each term
No Internal communications. DDooeesstthheeHHeeaaddaacckknnoowwlleeddggeetthheewwoorrkkoofftthheeffuunnddrraaiissiinnggffuunnccttiioonnaatt s sttaaffffbbrriieeffiinnggssaannddiisstthheeDDiirreeccttoorroofftthheeffuunnddrraaiissiinnggooffffiicceeaabblleettooaaddddrreessssssttaaffffmmeeeettiinnggssoonniittss a accttiivviittiieessaassrreeqquuiirreedd?? Yes Occasionally No
Position Descriptions. Do all fundraising staff have PD’s? Yes, and the PD’s have been reviewed in the past
2 years.
Yes, but no review in the past 2 years.
No
Performance Reviews. Are there performance reviews in place? Annual + quarterly informal discussions
Annual only No
In-service. Are staff encouraged to continually improve their skills with appropriate budget allocations?
A plan for each person is in place and budgeted
Informal plan only No plan
Succession planning. Where practical, is a succession plan is in place? Yes or not practical No No
Volunteers. Are there clear policies in place regarding volunteers? Do volunteers sign off on guidelines as to their roles and responsibilities, such as recommended in the FIA Guidelines?
Yes Informal guidelines only No
OH & S. Do all staff and volunteers understand their OH&S responsibilities? Yes Informally only Vague understanding
Processes
Issue Class A Class B Class C
Statistical ratios. Are conversion ratios kept/reported on to measure the success of the 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.
Yes A few No
Audits. Is an audit of results against plan published and distributed at the end of each year? Yes Internal reporting only No reporting Surveys. Are donors/potential donors surveyed (quantitative and/or qualitative) for
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?
Yes Informal surveys only No surveys
Record keeping. Is there a formal accounting process of all receipts and expenditures? Is this reconciled monthly with the accounts office?
Yes Reporting but no
reconciliation
All done by accounts section
Stewardship. Is there a formal stewardship program in place? Yes Informal
thanks/recognition only
No procedures in place
Data base. Is a formal data base procedure in place and regularly updated? Yes Informal only
Risk management of events. Is there a risk management policy for all major events including planning for contingencies, insurance and downside as per the FIA Standard?
Yes Informal only No
Communication. Is there a regular and effective communication program supporting the fundraising office’s activities especially for major projects?
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.
Yes General understanding Unclear
Annual Appeal. Is an annual appeal in place which encourages the whole school community to donate? Does the Appeal plan include:
¾ The mail out is segmented
¾ There is a stewardship and acknowledgement program in place ¾ A bequest option is included
¾ A prospect identification process is in place
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Targets parents only Partially Only for large gifts
Yes Partially None Not at all Not at all No No 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.)
Yes Informal plan with
infrequent reviews
No plan
Head Briefing Program Does a briefing program continue throughout the year briefing parents on the school’s strategic direction, including its development plans?
Yes, regular meetings throughout each term
Irregular meetings No
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?
Yes Work in progress Limited
Bequests Is a plan in place of how to identify, build relationships and service this market segment? Core components include:
¾ Focused staffing in place ¾ Strong alumni database in place ¾ Bequest Society established
¾ Stewardship and acknowledgement program is in place ¾ Prospect Identification & recruitment strategies are in place
¾ Communication strategies are in place incorporating Bequest publication
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Work in progress Part time Work in progress Informal group in place
Work in progress Work in progress Yes Limited no Limited No No No No
Alumni Is there a person responsible for supporting the alumni? Is there is a philanthropy plan for alumni which is reviewed regularly?
Alumni contribute > 25% to annual income targets
Alumni contribute between 5% and 25% to
annual income targets
< 5% support from the alumni
Corporate sponsorship Is corporate sponsorship sought to underwrite major events/projects? If so is there a policy document in place covering this issue?
Proactive plans are in place Reactive responses only No sponsorship is sought
