We Urgently Need a Few Million!
‘We urgently need a few million for our new development! Let’s start a development office, appoint a Development Director, just like xxx school, let them get on with it and that will solve the problem!’ Or will it?
In too many cases, in the relatively early days of the development profession in UK and Europe, this has been the scenario. The reluctance for volunteers to ask for money, unlike different cultures, makes it easy for boards to appoint a so called ‘fundraiser’ who is expected to raise substantial funds single-handedly, when what is required is much more.
Firstly, development must be fully integrated (it is not fundraising on its own) for it to be sustained and secondly, major gifts will often follow the lead, set by respected individuals in the school community. People give to people they respect and trust and this doesn’t come easily or quickly, however engaging those respected and influential figures in a voluntary capacity will inspire others.
This (my) model of school development management places greater emphasis on these key individuals providing a viable option for those schools that may not be in a position to finance an expensive development office, with no guarantee of success.
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