Listening and acting on good advice – it can be rare!
More than two years ago, I conducted a series of sessions on school development at an international schools’ conference without realizing the particular impact that might have had. I recently met the senior executives of a school that attended that conference and they informed me that they had implemented almost every piece of advice I had given and invited me to come and visit. The result was amazing and impressive with an understanding of development and fundraising that I have rarely witnessed.
Over many years there has regularly been individuals within schools who think they have a ‘better understanding’ or the ‘corporate experience’ believing their approach is the right way but I am yet to see an outsider’s view be successfully sustained without following the core principles of school development and fundraising practices.
With schools of different shapes, sizes and development maturity, one model certainly does not fit all and we do need the enthusiasm and energy of volunteers, but unrealistic expectations can lead to the downfall of a programme that can then struggle to make up lost ground.
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