Stephen Tall - 'Oxford Thinking': The Campaign for the University of Oxford

Stephen TallAssociate Director University of Oxford Development Office

Starting a Fundraising Campaign

• What is a Campaign• Why put yourself through it• Preparing a campaign: what do you need to

do before you start?• Launching a campaign: what should happen,

when, and who should lead it?• And finally … How do you know if it’s succeeded?

About me

– Involved in campaigns in 3 Oxford colleges, 1998-2007.

– Member of University of Oxford at public launch of £1.25 billion ‘Oxford Thinking’ Campaign, May 2008.

– Helping plan ‘recalibration’ of Campaign ready for 2012.

‘Is music the act of sounding mathematics?'

Annual meeting of the Vice-Chancellor’s Circle, May 2011

Duke Humfrey’s Night, Bodleian Library, Oxford, October 2011

Telephone Campaign for Oriel College, Oxford, April 2011

Professor Andrew Hamilton, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, talking to students calling alumni.

What is a Campaign

• Focuses on major priorities• Defined timeframe• Specific target (minimum)• Dependent on major gifts

Phasing the Campaign

PlanningYear 1

Year 2

Quiet PhaseYear 3

PublicYear 4 Year

5

CloseYear 6

Phasing the Campaign

• Quiet Phase– Solicitation of key prospects– 30% + secured– Board commitment– Refine case for support and communications plan

Phasing the Campaign

• Public Phase– Campaign Launch

• Events• PR• Announcements

– Broad based solicitation– Campaign “fatigue”

• New volunteers• Renewed focus• Success stories

Phasing the Campaign

• Closing the Campaign• Resolicit donors• Announce and celebrate• Thank

Why put yourself through it?

• Institutional aspirations and strategic need• Articulation of a Vision• Raises sights of internal (staff) and external

(alumni / donors) constituencies• Creates an enhanced infrastructure• Builds a sustainable and enhanced programme

for the future

Phasing the Campaign

PlanningYear 1

Year 2

Quiet PhaseYear 3

PublicYear 4 Year

5

CloseYear 6

Hardest question to answer:

WHY?Why do you need that specific amount of money?

What difference will it make?

How ready are you?

• Your academic vision• A Case for Support should:

o Unite your academic leadership;o Clarify your prioritieso Inform about your current situationo Set out why you need what you’re asking foro Inspire both internals and externals to get stuck in!o Be a living, breathing document.

The power of a vision

• Institutional vision is vital:• How will philanthropy make a difference?• Does your leadership believe in this vision?• Can you communicate it effectively to your

donors? Will they buy into it?• Does the vision clarify direction and

aims/objectives?• Is it exciting?

Financial case for support (March 2011). Sent to major donors and key prospects for their comment.

Financial case presented to various meetings of major donors and key prospects, March – June 2011.

The cost of maintaining Oxford’s excellence

Average annual cost to educate an Oxford undergraduate: approx. £16,000

Funds received for every student (student fees and public funding) £8,800

Earmarked for maintenance bursaries £700

• Shortfall per student per annum £7,900 • Equivalent to £82 million per annum (to c.£2.1bn in endowment)

The cost of maintaining Oxford’s excellence

Council decision on student funding announced on 15 March 2011

• Council approves a sliding scale of tuition charges, from £3,500 to £9,000 a year, depending on household income. Discounts applied through targeted waivers

• As at present, no UK student at Oxford would have to pay any tuition charges upfront. Loan repayments only begin after graduation and when earning over £21,000

• The total value of the package of waivers and bursaries is more than £12 million a year, nearly double what we spend at present.

• Proposed increase in outreach spend to approximately £3.4m a year, and up to £750,000 of extra investment in student services

How Oxford funds excellence

• Tight control of costs

• Generating new income

• The Role of Oxford University Press

• Investment income

The vital role of philanthropic income

Campaign total at 28 February 2011 was £x mUniversity £xCollege £x

Almost half the gifts (£247.3m)to the central University are funding current programmes

A further £143.5m designated in support of priority capital projects

Our ambitions for the future

• Students – Oxford must remain open to all based solely on academic merit

• Faculty and staff – Oxford must be able to recruit and retain the best researchers and teachers

• Infrastructure – Oxford must have world-class facilities

• Great financial freedom

• Increasing alumni participation in giving to 25%

Students

Posts

Buildings

Financial Case for Support accompanied by ‘vision document’ setting out what Oxford would achieve if the University had the money.

How ready are you?

• Your development office:• Ready with the right number of people with

the right experience in the right jobs?• Ready with an adequate budget? (Staffing,

communications, events, travel, stewardship, database, consultants, etc.)

• Ready to donate yourself?

Who will lead your campaign?

• Role of Development Office• Strategic planning to support VC/HoH• Written campaign plan, measurable objectives• Honest and organised reporting• Management of staff and process• Stewardship of donors• Initiative to spot new opportunities, exploit to the

full existing ones• Prospect ID and prospect management

Funding your Campaign

• How to fund it– Institutional investment– “Taxing” of gifts– Donor/benefactor contributes

• Don’t forget:– Systems– Research– Major Gifts– Travel– Events and Communications

How ready are you?

• Your leadership (VC, Head of House, senior academics)

• Ready to give their time?• Ready to commit their resources?• Ready to offer a compelling vision?• Ready to ask?

Who will lead your campaign?

• Role of Vice-Chancellor / Head of House• Clear vision?• Strategic planner?• Good and effective communicator?• Happy to collaborate with staff and volunteers?

UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

Vice ChancellorProfessor Andrew Hamilton

ChancellorLord Patten of Barnes

Pro-Vice-Chancellor(Development and External Relations)

Professor Nick Rawlins

DevelopmentDirector of Development, Liesl Elder

Public AffairsDirector of Public Affairs, Jeremy Harris

Alumni RelationsDirector of Alumni Relations, Christine Fairchild

84 full-time staff in UK, Hong

Kong / China and Japan offices

14 full-time staff in North

American office

What makes University of Oxford fundraising different?

44 colleges and halls, 80+ departments, Saïd Business

School, Ashmolean, Bodleian, collections, research

institutes, etc….

COLLEGE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE –

A “TYPICAL” TEAM STRUCTURE?

Director of Development(Fundraising strategy and Major Gifts)

Development Officer(Annual Fund)

Communications OfficerAlumni Officer(Events)

• Integrated Alumni Relations and Development programmes• Some have Campaign Officers, Deputy Directors etc • Support staff – various but more limited, if at all

Support Staff (incl. Development Assistant, Information or Database Offier)

PRINCIPLES OF INTERACTION

• Principles and Protocols of Fundraising in the Collegiate University

(And the Best Practice Guidelines – produced in November 2009)

• Clearance: the principles

• Clearance: the process

• UODO requesting clearance from Colleges – DARS

• Colleges to Colleges – direct contact.

• Colleges requesting clearance from UODO – “Reverse clearances”

CLEARANCE

Sample scenarios:

1. Humanities (UODO) wish to contact an Exeter alumnus

2. Exeter wish to contact a Balliol alumnus

3. Balliol wish to contact a non-alumnus

4. The Bodleian is fundraising for its music collection

• In each case, who are the critical partners/stakeholders to talk to?

How ready are you?

• Your donors and prospects• Already giving? • Ready to be asked?• Ready to volunteer?• Ready to ask/involve others?• Ready to back you up within your institution &

with other alumni?• Do you even know if they’re ready yet?

How ready are your donors?

• How many donors do you have? How committed are they?

• Do you have a ‘pipeline’ of donors?• Is there untapped potential?• Do they understand different types of giving?• Have you communicated with them?

27,000 gifts worth up to £25,000

=£20 million

1,000 gifts worth over £25,000

=£560 million

3% of major gifts

97% of Campaign total

http://www.blackbaud.com/company/resources/giftrange/giftcalc.aspx

NUMBER OF GIFTS REQUIRED    

Band To UniversityTo

Colleges£5m & over 25

45£1m to £4,999k 109£500k to £999k 98£250k to £499k 92 63£100k to £249k 213

2,292£25k to £99k 685

Projected numbers of new gifts needed to reach a £2.5bn total goal, were the same pattern of gifts to occur:

Generating major gifts – looking forward

Generating major gifts – prospects required

BandTo

UniversityTo

Colleges£5m & over 100

180£1m to £4,999k 436£500k to £999k 392£250k to £499k 368 252£100k to £249k 852

9168£25k to £99k 2740

Projected numbers of prospects Numbers required needed from June 2011 to realise the projected number of gifts Uses a standard assumption of 25% of qualified prospects going on to make a gift

More prospects required – what is the gap?

University only

BandCurrent

Prospects Gap£5m + 42  58£1m+ 84 352£500k+ 37  355£250k+ 50 318£100k+ 90  762£25k+ 184 2,556Total 487 4,401

Covers ‘qualified’ prospects Data on the numbers of additional College prospects is not yet available“Current” excludes existing donorsExperience says they should not all be excluded

Is it feasible?

• Role of feasibility study:• Assessment of your database• Measure how ready to give your donors are –

qualitative and quantitative• Wealth assessment (wealth-screening plus

focus groups / individual interviews)• Internal audit of staff and processes• What do you do with the answers?

University of Oxford feasibility study, October 2010 – June 2011:

1. Meetings between external consultants and senior University leadership to identify key aims of next Campaign phase (Oct – Nov);

2. Production of Case for Support, financial and vision documents (Dec – Mar);

3. Identification of list of top 100 donors and prospects to be personally interviewed (Jan – Feb);

4. Interviews conducted to ask about first Campaign phase and assess views of what needed to be done to extend Campaign to £2.5 billion total (April – June).

Completed ; 50

In process of ar-

rangement; 4

Declines; 10

Not managed to arrange; 5

Responses to Meeting Invitation

UK alumni; 25

UK non alumni;

8

US alumni; 8

US non alumni;

1

Rest of world

alumni; 3

Rest of world non alumni; 5Profile of Meeting Respondents

Given £1m+; 27Given up to £1m; 17

Non-donor (or very small donor); 6

Giving History of Interviewees

Volunteers

• Is the existing board the right one?• Campaign Board• Do they support campaign goals? • Can they open doors?• Are they motivated to raise money?• Will they donate to the Campaign?• Do you have the time/resources to

manage/support them?

Charter for members of the Bodleian Libraries Development Board

TERMS OF REFERENCE To lead the fundraising campaign for the Bodleian & University Libraries, an integral part of Oxford Thinking: The Campaign for the University of Oxford, by advising on prospective individual, trust and corporate donors who can help the Libraries achieve their initial campaign goal of £100 million. RoleA Board member’s role is an active one, not simply a name on paper. Board members are expected to: Provide individual and collective leadership for the philanthropic aims of the Bodleian & University Libraries.Review and advise on the viability in fundraising terms of the proposed academic priorities identified by the Bodleian & University Libraries and to provide comment on related development and marketing plans.Advise on the strategy of approach to particular prospects.Contribute financially to the Campaign for the benefit of the Bodleian & University Libraries with a gift or a series of gifts to the best of their personal capacity. ETC ETC

Charter for members of the Bodleian Libraries Development Board

The Oxford Thinking Campaign SummitDitchley Park3-5 June 2011

Donors/friends 23Hosts 2Senior Oxford leaders 9Other attendees/speakers 13Summit Facilitators 2Oxford Summit team 11

Participants

Programme

Friday 3 June: Oxford and the world

Oxford as a global university and its world impact Oxford's role in solving the world's problems

Evening programme Exhibition of Bodleian “treasures”Dinner Q&A – Vice-Chancellor

Programme

Saturday 4 June:

“Investing in Oxford”

How can philanthropy support and preserve Oxford's critical tutorial system? How do we further enhance and develop support for Oxford's colleges? How do we further enhance and develop support for academic departments and other university institutions? How can philanthropy further support students? How do we inspire and encourage alumni to engage and give? How do we inspire and encourage non-alumni to engage and give? How do we increase support from international donors & where should we focus?Presentation on Feasibility Study findings by Iain More Associates

Programme

Saturday 4 June:

“Next Steps”

How does Oxford achieve greater financial freedom? What should the priority topics be for the next phase of our philanthropic initiative? Review of the plans and principles we have discussedWhat are the practical next steps?

Evening programme:Schola CantorumDinner in the Grand HallRecital by Jennifer PikeCollege ports and stiltonFireworks!

Documentation and materials

Campaign Summit website

“Essential” documents

Wider background reading material

Biographies provided by participants

Programme and travel information

Information about Ditchley

Regular weekly update emails

Big themes

University and College collaboration

Undergraduate and Postgraduate

Teaching v research

Tutorial teaching – “the intimacy of learning”

British/European v global

Endowments and managing our money

Principles and Protocols

Case for Support

Stewardship – donors want to feel needed

Reaching conclusions

Endorsement for a next phase

Further refinements to Case for Support

Menu of priorities

Deeper engagement is essential

Improving communications

Multipliers – volunteers, matched funding

Creating a truly global campaign

Top Prospects

Scholarship and Bursaries

Driving Participation

Role of Development Office – best practise & support

Key successes

Making space to listen not broadcastTangible sense of goodwillBalancing internal and external attendanceEmergence of a body of potential new high-level volunteersGreater awareness of some of the complex issuesClose engagement between University leadership and donors/friendsHigh quality of presentation and materialsHighly bespoke programme information – more than 40 personal packsSummit website Great team effort on the day – especially UODO and PAD Events TeamClarity v flexibilitySummit Facilitator

Is your Communications strategy ready?

• Are you ready to be transparent?• Content is king• Focus on offering bespoke information in

different ways to segmented audiences• Integrate messages with Campaign priorities

and direct mail/telethons.• Make use of email / social media

University of Oxford ‘annual fund’ direct mail letter, September 2011

CAMPAIGN MATERIALS

1. Campaign Key Facts booklet (May 2008)

2. Campaign High-value donors materials

• Campaign brochure,

• Humanities,

• Medical Sciences,

• Graduate Funding,

• Bodleian Libraries,

• Maths, Physical & Life Sciences and

• Mathematical Institute

Bespoke proposal to major prospective donor for gift to endow Music Curator post at the Bodleian Library.

CAMPAIGN MATERIALS

1. Campaign Key Facts booklet (May 2008)

2. Campaign High-value donors materials

• Campaign brochure,

• Humanities,

• Medical Sciences,

• Graduate Funding,

• Bodleian Libraries,

• MPLS and

• Mathematical Institute

3. Annual Campaign Report

• Summers 2010, 2011

University of Oxford financial statement of accounts, 2009/10

Is your Alumni Relations / Events strategy ready?

• Do you offer events which people want to come back to?

• Are your events purely social, or do they integrate with academic vision?

• Are you making the most of events already happening?

• Have you planned events to reach out to those who don’t come back?

• Have you worked out your follow-up strategy?

Is your stewardship ready?

• How do you say thank you to your major donors?• Have you worked out how to thank people

appropriately? Have you budgeted for it?• Have you worked out how to thank everyone in an

affordable, sustainable way?• Have you worked out how to make it personal?• Have you worked out who will manage your

stewardship programme?

Saying Thank You to all donors (August 2011)

Donor Report on specific fundraising project

‘Is music the act of sounding mathematics?'

Annual meeting of the Vice-Chancellor’s Circle, May 2011

Saying ‘Thank You’ to our donors

Campaign to date: Headline FiguresFigures to end of July 2011

Campaign Total: £1,152,520,964 (92.2% of minimum target)

Jul-04 Jul-05 Jul-06 Jul-07 Jul-08 Jul-09 Jul-10 Jul-11 Jul-12 Jul-13

£ 0 M

£ 200 M

£ 400 M

£ 600 M

£ 800 M

£ 1,000 M

£ 1,200 M

£m

£233m

£342m

£469m

£660m

£776m

£1153m Campaign progress against target

YearAugust 1st 2004 to May 27th 2008; private phase

May 28th 2008 onwards; public phase

Launch Date May 28th 2008

Launch total £575m

Colleges

University

Outstand-ing Legacy Pledges

Trendline

Campaign to date: Headline FiguresUniversity/College income split

Figures incorporate University figures to end of July 2011 and latest available figures from Colleges to end of January 2011

University £ 670,879,879 (58.2%)Colleges £ 481,641,085 (41.8%)

UniversityColleges

Campaign to date: Headline FiguresSplit by key strategic themes – University only

Academic Posts10%

Academic Programmes

59%

Buildings20%

Student Support

4%

Other7%

Campaign Priorities

University* Colleges**

Buildings 20% 27%

Student Support 4% 11%

Academic Posts 10% 22%Academic Programmes 59% 6%

Other 7% 34%

* figures to end of July 2011** figures from 2009/2010 benchmarking figures

Campaign to date: Headline FiguresIncome by Campaign priority area – comparing University and Colleges

Has your campaign succeeded?• Amount of money raised against target• Time it took against expectations• Contribution to institution’s bottom line• Increased level of alumni participation• Increased level of legacy pledges• Increased awareness of institution’s needs and ambitions• Better alumni engagement (eg, student placements, event

attendance)• Improved communications with alumni• Lasting culture & infrastructure for future campaign successes

Any Questions?