HE CuRREn T dISCOuRSE on community college leadership
makes much ado about the “new normal,” or the collective in-
fluence of the social, economic, and political conditions under which
we advance our organizations. To succeed in a changed environment,
community colleges—many confronted with drastic budget cuts—
must find ways to raise money independent of state and federal rev-
enue. What follows is not merely an admonition to presidents to get
on board with fundraising, but also a framework for thinking about
institutional advancement that cuts across the entire organization.
I call this approach Comprehensive Resource development.
Organizational development is guided by the mission, vision, and strategic goals of the college. The practice is commonly called Institutional Advance- ment, or IA. Effective strategic plans define where and how necessary funds will be acquired to transform a college’s goals into reality. This comprehensive approach helps define optimal fundrais- ing strategies based on a college’s needs and resources. Some activities might, for example, best be met through a college’s grant program; others might best be met through donor gifts. Often a comprehensive strategy calls for both. Fundraising activities—whether through grants and foundations or public relations and marketing—are best housed under the same administra- tive roof. Each fundraising arm must be positioned to talk to the other. All areas that contribute to fundraising—grants, the college foundation, public rela- tions and marketing, and government relations—must be involved in these conversations. When these segments fail to communicate, money often gets left on the table. A key benefit of comprehensive
development is the power to leverage
grants with gifts, and vice versa. Lever-
age creates synergy; the end result is
greater than what any grant or major
gift program could hope to achieve on
its own. A grant, for example, might
target curriculum development, while
equipment and laboratories might be
secured through an unrelated gift or
large donation. Gifts are often best
leveraged when a donor and a grant
project share a common interest.
AL
BY STEVEN BUDD
The Strategic Plan
Linking resource development to a college’s strategic plan is more than good
practice. Resource development planning
sustains and improves existing programs
and services while implementing new
ones. The functionality—and likelihood
of implementation—of the strategic plan
is enhanced when prospective funding
sources and strategies are tied to the
college’s strategic goals. The vetting of
projects through integrated planning
demonstrates institutional commitment
and ensures that staff work on projects
that conform to institutional priorities.
Effective grants and development officers know that institutional commitment
is best demonstrated by grounding the
project within the short- and long-term
priorities of the college.
An important step in preparing grants
and gift proposals is to demonstrate how
those priorities match donor interests. A
grant or gift will be much more competitive and attractive.
With organizational development as a
driver, the strategic plan clearly becomes
the rationale for the fundraising effort,
yet environmental and other external factors remain very much a part of the equation. Historically, federal, state, and local
priorities are reflected in the allocation
of funds to government grant-making
agencies and might influence a college’s
planning priorities. In essence, the availability of funds sometimes creates new
opportunities. College leaders understand
that contingencies arise daily and that
long-range plans must be flexible. Merging strategic plans with trends in funding
opportunities creates a win-win scenario
