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Feature: Budgeting for the Development Department ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How much should it cost your day school to raise funds?
According to Dennis Eisenberg, Executive Vice President of
Yeshiva of Flatbush, development offices
should consider three major factors when creating budgets.
One is the cost of personnel. Next is the cost to support
personnel, such as expenditures for office and technology
resources. And lastly, schools must figure in the cost of
marketing materials like brochures and solicitation letters.
One way to plan the budget for the development department is to think about return on investment (ROI). How much of an investment is required in order to achieve the desired fundraising goal? Clearly, say experts, budgets must be as cost-effective and efficient as possible, and there’s no one answer when it comes to the "right” formula for ROI. "You can give a percentage—ten cents on the dollar, twenty-five cents on the dollar—but such figures are really meaningless. It depends on the history. Is the day school starting from nothing or building on the millions they already have?” says Eisenberg.
Other factors to keep in mind in setting a budget, are the
history of
giving, the number of
major gifts, the affluence and philanthropic capacity of the
community, and the fact that various fundraising activities
yield different sorts of results. For example, major gifts
fundraising is remarkably cost-effective compared to special
events. "It’s important to remember how expensive it is to
extract net income from a particular activity,” says Herb
Tobin, PEJE Senior Consultant and Fundraising Expert.
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Q&A with Herb Tobin, PEJE Senior Consultant and Fundraising Expert ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Should you find "angel” donors to help underwrite the
costs of events or other activities?
There’s no one answer to this question, but there are important factors to weigh before asking for help. On the one hand, if you decide to ask a donor to pick up the cost of an event, you can make the case that 100 percent of the support will be of direct benefit to the school. On the other, you must consider the opportunity and hidden costs of the event, so the school should make sure the event itself is worthwhile. And finally, is the angel’s support being given in addition to or in lieu of their ongoing support? All in all, it’s important to weigh everything before asking an "angel” to help underwrite activities. Each issue will feature a specific question related to the topic. Submit a question for consideration in our November issue, which will be dedicated to Preparing for the Secular Year End. While not every question will appear in the Q&A, we'll do our best to address the topic somewhere in the issue. |
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Noteworthy Practices for the Development Director ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three years ago, Roni Raab, a Florida radio host, had a flash
of inspiration. If the Florida Marlins baseball team could host
African American Night and Spanish Heritage Night, why not
one for South Florida’s Jewish population? Moreover, what if
the profits for such an event went to support the area’s 25
Jewish day schools? That was the impetus for Jewish Heritage Day, first held in May
2004, which featured kosher food and Jewish music—along
with the Marlins vs. the New York Mets—and which netted
$7,000 for 11 participating schools. This year, the total raised
grew to $13,000 for 15 participating schools.
"Jewish Heritage Day has two goals: we want to raise money, but we also want to raise awareness of Jewish day schools among the general public,” Raab says. In order to participate, day schools agreed to publicize the event and sell as many of the 1,000 pre-bought seats as possible. According to Raab, this activity could be easily replicated in other areas, as long as organizers find a committed pool of volunteers, and allow themselves plenty of time to prepare— Jewish Heritage Day takes eight months to come together. For more information, visit 2005 Jewish Heritage Day. |
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In the News: Courting Corporate Support ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
South Area Solomon Schechter Day School in Stoughton, MA
gained national attention for the support they are receiving
from biotech giant Genzyme for an integrated math and
science program. According to an article in the August 26
Forward, "as Jewish day schools strive to attract a new
generation of computer-savvy students and their very
discriminating parents, private funding from secular sources
may be the key to the future." Read the whole article.
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Related Resources ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New Fundraising Section LaunchesPEJE is pleased to announce the recent launch of the Fundraising portion of our website, with a wealth of resources on the Annual Campaign. You'll find PEJE's Top 10 To Do's To Improve Annual Fundraising, as well as case studies and additional resources. Check back often as we launch additional features in the near future, and remember to visit other areas in the Knowledge section, including Admission, Assessment, and Leadership & Governance.
Mega Gifts: Who Gives Them, Who Gets Them
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Produced with the assistance of Paul Zakrzewski and designed by Dave Dudek. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:
info@peje.org
phone:
617-367-0001
web:
http://www.peje.org
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