Fundraising for Programmatic Student Success Initiatives

Summary While development functions have long supported student success through fundraising for scholarship funds and emergency aid, contacts increasingly prioritize fundraising directly for the operational expenses of programs and staff that impact student success. Such efforts range from supplemental instruction to student engagement to specialized support for disadvantaged populations that persist and graduate at lower rates. This brief profiles the practices of six public institutions that frequently fundraise for student success programs. Key observations from our research: 1. Decentralized development officers raise funds for student success or support programs within their individual division or unit portfolio; development officers in student affairs and diversity affairs divisions are most likely to devote time to program fundraising. 2. Close collaboration between dedicated development staff members and program directors enables effective donor cultivation and gift solicitation. 3. Policies that improve efficiency prioritize courses with historically full enrollment and efficient distribution of credits for students. 4. Individual donors are the primary patrons of student success programmatic giving, though development officers occasionally solicit gifts from corporations and foundations. 5. Contacts recommend bundling a set of similarly-themed programs and causes into several larger giving opportunity categories. 6. Anecdotes of program beneficiaries and personal impact stories are especially resonant to donors of programmatic gifts. 7. Program directors must help steward programmatic gifts through thank you letters from program directors and program participants, newsletters describing the impact of gifts, and invitations to program events. DOWNLOAD THE REPORT