Maximize Your Annual Fund
Practical Tips to Increase Giving
By Peggy Haney, Director of Development
Annunciation Orthodox School
[email protected]
713.470.5650
Overview
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•
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The AOS Story
Tips for Growth
Discussion of Other Ideas
Questions
AOS Annual Fund Growth
Annunciation Orthodox School
Annual Fund History
800,000 700,000 600,000 500,000 400,000 300,000 200,000 100,000 0 95 ‐ 96
96 ‐ 97
97 ‐ 98
98 ‐ 99
99 ‐ 00
00 ‐ 01
01 ‐ 02
02 ‐ 03
03 ‐ 04
04 ‐ 05
05 ‐ 06
06 ‐ 07
07 ‐ 08
08 ‐ 09
09 ‐ 10
2009-2010 Annual
Fund
As of June 7, 2010
Source
Amount
Solicited
Gifts
Participation
Average
Board of Trustees
$87,698.85
23
23
100%
$3,812.99
Faculty/Staff*
$15,538.00
110
110
100%
$141.25
Current Families
$493,292.76
419
384
92%
$1,284.62
Grandparents**
$51,478.76
611
71
12%
$725.05
Former Parents
$17,575.00
566
61
11%
$288.11
$600.02
340
12
4%
$50.00
$23,200.00
0
21
n/a
$1,104.76
$689,383.39
2069
682
Alumni
Unsolicited/MG/Indiv.
TOTALS
$1,010.83
The AOS Story: A Brief History
What I did I find when I started at AOS…
• Annual Giving for Special Projects – Not Operating
• Board members: 100% but gifts too low; average about $500 but some as low as $25
• Donor Societies started at $1
• Parent participation was 83%; average gift $370
• Faculty – Staff at 100% participation • Soft‐sell, a few letters and follow up calls by a small group of volunteers
• Launching a capital campaign
Where did I start?
• Got through campaign and started working on annual giving
• Convinced Board to make it part of operating budget, unrestricted funds
• Started asking Trustees for leadership gifts…they should give more than I do!
• Showed Trustees and AF Volunteers NAIS and ISAS Statistics
• Told Board that AOS’ annual fund should be double what it was. Recruited Development Committee Chair who agreed with me.
Sample Statistics from NAIS
School
Total 1999-2000
Parent $
Annunciation Orthodox School
$
207,133.00
$ 124,239.00
Beth Yeshurun Day School
$
40,332.00
$ 32,183.00
Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart
$
279,491.00
Episcopal High School
$
Kinkaid School
Parent %
Trustees $
Trustee %
Faculty $
Faculty %
83% $ 21,150.00
100% $ 6,079.00
100%
$ 163,421.00
72% $ 21,415.00
100% $ 2,392.00
100%
1,679,003.00
$ 395,437.00
82% $ 66,610.00
100% $ 5,581.00
100%
$
1,576,153.00
$ 601,486.00
90% $ 70,550.00
84% $ 6,724.00
53%
River Oaks Baptist School
$
534,754.00
$ 353,649.00
94% $ 35,700.00
100% $ 1,319.00
100%
Saint Stephen's Episcopal School
$
681,255.00
$ 235,181.00
45% $ 54,140.00
100% $11,809.00
51%
St. Francis Episcopal Day School
$
342,442.00
$ 245,097.00
95% $ 30,550.00
94% $ 4,293.00
99%
St. John's School (Houston)
$
1,427,773.00
$ 669,653.00
85% $ 57,672.00
95% $ 8,788.00
84%
The John Cooper School
$
457,581.00
$ 249,133.00
49% $ 50,069.00
100% $ 8,756.00
52%
The Parish Day School
$
334,060.00
$ 253,042.00
46% $177,914.00
95% $21,346.00
90%
The Shlenker School
$
150,000.00
$ 21,161.00
16% $
36% $
460.00
53%
Mean Value
$
642,498.08
$ 278,640.17
69% $ 53,718.73
91% $ 7,049.73
80%
5,136.00
Sample Statistics from 2001‐2002: We Can Do Better!
$1,200.00
$300,000.00
$250,000.00
$200,000.00
$150,000.00
$100,000.00
$50,000.00
$-
$1,000.00
$800.00
$600.00
$400.00
$200.00
$AOS
Total Dollars Raised
$173,945.00
AOS Annual Giving
National Average for Elementary
Schools
Average gift per student
$276.00
National Average
$976.00
$295,253.00
Current Parent Average Gift
$408.00
$1,181.00
Next Steps • Began to Educate Parents
• Added “A Tradition of Charitable Giving” to May Packet
• Involvement = Investment
– Expanded Committee: Boy/Girl Reps per grade level
• Special letter to New Families
• Added annual giving to all back to school talks
Basic Information
• What is the AOS Fund?
– The AOS Fund is the School’s annual fundraising priority and provides a vital source of revenue for AOS…
• How much should I give?
– The size of your gift is a personal decision for your family. We encourage you to consider joining a leadership gift society…
• Why is it important to support the AOS Fund?
– The School needs the money to support its annual budget…
• Who benefits from the AOS Fund?
– The entire AOS family benefits; the students benefit the most.
Style of Solicitation
It’s a Wonderful School 1998 Annual Fund
•
“Happy children, knowledgeable and nurturing teachers, places to learn, places to play, modern equipment, a safe environment, small classes, unbeatable academic opportunities. What a wonderful school. The Annual Fund helps make our school more wonderful. In recent years, the Annual Fund has provided resources to build the playgound at the lower school… Basic operating expenses are fully covered by tuition at AOS. ”
Please Give
2009 Annual Giving
•
“We invite you to show your support of Annunciation Orthodox School by making a donation to the AOS Fund. Our message to friends and family of the School is simple and sincere. We believe in the School’s mission, we are inspired by the teachers, and we want to support the education of our students by giving generously to the AOS Fund. Please join us. Tuition does not cover the full cost to educate a student at AOS and we need your support.”
Next Steps – Changed Gift Societies
• Eliminated $1 gift society
• Rule of Thumb: 3 gifts in one category for 3 years, add a category
• In 2005, added a $10,000 category
• In 2008, added a $25,000 category
• In 2009, eliminated all Leadership Gift Societies under $1,000
Gift Societies Then and Now
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•
•
•
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1999‐2000 Annual Giving
Doric Society: $1 ‐ $499
Ionic Society: $500‐ $999
Corinthian Society: $1,000‐
$2,499
Katherine Veletsos Society: $2,500
Parthenon Society: $5,000 and above (no gifts at this level)
•
•
•
•
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2009‐2010 Annual Giving
Apollon Society: $25,000+
Delphi Society: $10,000‐
$24,999
Parthenon Society: $5,000‐
$9,999
Katherine Veletsos Society: $2,500‐$4,999
Corinthian Society: $1,000 ‐
$2,499
Number of Gifts in Top Leadership Levels
AOS Annual Giving 2003-2009
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
25,000+
10,000-24,999
2008
2009 Total
4
2
6
3
1
2
3
4
13
5,000-9,999
3
8
17
12
19
19
30
108
2,500-4,999
21
25
24
34
34
43
50
231
Total
24
33
44
47
55
65
84
More Next Steps
• Began asking for specific amounts
– “We hope you will consider a gift of $___ for the 2009‐2010 AOS Fund.” or “Please consider a gift at the Apollon Society Level”.
• Used National Statistics to help case
– “The average AOS Fund gift in 2008 was $922 per student while nationally, our competitor’s average is approximately $1,500 per student.”
• Rate every family in school
– Look at past giving
– Used wealth screening
– Self‐identify
• Added Donor Cultivation and Stewardship Events
Events
• Annual Giving Kick – Off Party ‐ September
– Committee
– Trustees
– Any donor of $1,000 or more to previous year’s fund
– Speakers
• Chair
• Head of School
• Faculty Rep
Events Continued
• Committee Thank You Luncheon ‐ May
– Donated by chairs first several years, now in my budget
• An Evening with Head of School – May/June
– Stewardship Event
– Top 50 Donor Families for the most recent school year
– Head of School Speaks
Events
In 2008, added Circle of Excellence Event Solicitation Event, $5,000 ‐ $25,000 requests
Annual Giving Chair Speaks
Major Donor Speaks
Every couple receives personalized solicitation packet as they leave
• Increased Leadership Giving
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•
•
•
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Upcoming for 2010 and Beyond
• Hosting an Evening with the Head of School tonight
• Eliminating $1,000 Kick‐Off Event
• Expanding Circle of Excellence to include more people at $5,000 solicitation level
• Chairs will host cocktail party kick‐off for committee and Trustees
• Turn attention to grandparents, alumni and alumni parents for future growth of fund
Summary
• Start with your Board of Trustees, increase their giving first
• Restructure Gift Societies
• Educate Parents
• Be Direct in Your Message
• Ask for Specific Gifts
• Add Cultivation Event
• Add Major Gift Event
• Look at under‐tapped resources
Closing Thoughts
– You may get complaints – I did!!!
• You are too smart a Development Director to be so stupid.
• You are trying to turn AOS into a country club school
• How could you hold a party and not invite everyone? That’s not the AOS way!
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Find advocates on the Board
Stick with your plan
Don’t try to do it all at once
Don’t be afraid to be bold
You are supporting the Mission of the School
• Other Ideas
• Questions
• Discussion