This toolkit will help you implement the practices outlined in the study, The Donor Investor Imperative, to connect prospective donors with the high-impact projects happening across campus, the community, and the globe.
To maintain fundraising momentum over time, advancement leaders need to work with academic partners to source big ideas for fundraising and present a compelling case for support. However, it is often challenging to implement sustainable processes and transparent metrics that strengthen relationships with faculty members, department chairs, and deans.
Use these tools to implement a process to source and select visionary ideas across campus, communicate the impact of big ideas to donor, and prepare academic partners to pitch their projects to donor audiences
This resource is part of the Achieve Scale, Sustainability, and Impact in Principal Gifts Roadmap. Access the Roadmap for stepwise guidance with additional tools and research.
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Source visionary ideas
Regardless of whether the big ideas process takes place before, during, or outside of a campaign, success relies on communicating with campus leadership, selecting criteria that define a big idea, and choosing the best ideas in a transparent way. Use the following tools to ensure that the process is straightforward for all campus partners involved.
Introductory material on the importance of big ideas and where campus leaders should engage in the process. Download the tool.
Before launching a big ideas process on campus, meet with the provost to explain why the process is important, how it relates to other fundraising initiatives (like ongoing or upcoming campaigns), and why their engagement is crucial for success. Add additional conversation points as needed. Download the tool.
Use the following tools to prepare and lead and kickoff session for the big ideas leadership committee. The session can also be led in partnership with the provost. Regardless of who leads the meeting itself, advancement leaders should work with the provost to ensure that the session meets academic and philanthropic goals. Download the tool.
After the kickoff session, consider the criteria for big ideas proposed by the members of the leadership team. Follow the steps on this plan to determine the criteria that all big ideas should meet, and set a scoring plan for team members to use when ranking proposals. Download the tool.
Use this template to create the RFP that will be distributed to big ideas process participants. Add or remove questions as necessary to ensure that faculty proposals provide all the required information to be scored based on your predetermined criteria for big ideas. Download the tool.
Communicate the impact of big ideas
Advancement staff members are often asked to bridge the gap between donors and the projects they support on campus, but it is challenging to find time to ask faculty the right questions and follow-up regularly to keep donors informed about progress. Use the following tools to translate jargon into donor-friendly terms and communicate impact over time regardless of whether you formally conducted a big ideas process.
Faculty members should complete a budget for their project before a faculty discovery visit takes place. This budget can also be used when faculty members approach advancement with an idea in need of funding. If they cannot complete a clear budget, the project is not sufficiently-developed for donors. Download the tool.
After conducting a faculty discovery visit, ensure that the details of the project meet the expectations of donor investors. Review the project based on the criteria below, and use the scripting below in follow-up with faculty to clarify any details that may be missing. Download the tool.
Send this worksheet to academic partners before key donor reporting milestones. Development staff should complete the background information and allow adequate time for the faculty member to complete the form and send it back, so that advancement staff can review it for excess jargon, spelling or grammatical errors, and incomplete sections. Download the tool.
Once a donor has been identified or a big idea is selected, work with academic partners to determine how impact can be reported, and when it should be communicated to donors. Ensure that the schedule includes milestones that will be most salient to donors, but will be manageable for academic partners. Download the tool.
Use this worksheet to ensure that impact is reported to donors at agreed-upon project milestones. Advancement staff should fill in milestones and dates as soon as a gift is made (or even beforehand) and send a copy of the reporting schedule to gift recipients. Download the tool.
Download and edit the Customizable Impact Report Template when creating impact reports for individual donors. Create one impact report for any given project, priority, or initiative. Then, customize the information to appeal to the specific donors who have supported that area. Download the tool.
Faculty members should complete a budget for their project before a faculty discovery visit takes place. This budget can also be used when faculty members approach advancement with an idea in need of funding. If they cannot complete a clear budget, the project is not sufficiently-developed for donors. Download the tool.
Use this template to show a donor how a larger gift could have substantially larger impact over time. To show as full a picture of impact as possible, include multiple measures of impact, and multiple potential gift sizes (starting with the gift they are expected to give, and rising from there). Download the tool.
Perfect the pitch
Advancement staff can communicate impact well, but nothing is more compelling than an academic leader describing their own work to prospects or donors. However, faculty members are often unwilling to meet with donors or misunderstand their roles in these interactions. Use the following tools to help academic partners succeed in donor-facing settings.
Complete this guide before donor visits in which academic partners will participate. Review the information inperson before the visit to answer clarifying questions and provide additional details. Download the tool.
Use this guide to share compare experiences and share feedback with academic partners after a donor visit. Before the discussion, review the guidelines for effective feedback together. Be sure to plan next steps before finishing the conversation so faculty members understand how their support helps move the prospect forward and contributes to overall strategy. Download the tool.
Create a cultivation (or stewardship) plan that integrates stakeholders across campus by listing each stakeholder who should be involved, then creating a comprehensive list of activities in which they will be involved. Download the tool.
Faculty leaders have the data, narratives, and expertise with which donors want to engage. However, academic partners are often uncomfortable engaging with donors, or do not know how to turn their expertise into a compelling narrative. Download the tool.
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