Fundraising, Development, and Capital Campaigns

Paul Gherman (Vanderbilt)
Sue Martin (Georgetown)

Presented at the 137th ARL Membership Meeting, Washington, DC, October 17-20, 2000

Discussion Summary

As a testament to the interest in the topic, over forty directors attended the discussion on fundraising and development. Many of those present indicated they are spending more and more time on this activity and were interested to learn from their colleagues what is working and what is not. The facilitators set the stage by reviewing the topics posed in the discussion document and the group subsequently exchanged ideas around a variety of topics:

Building the Donor Base

• Some institutions will let the library use department donor names that have not given to the department (after some period of time has passed). Those individuals may not be interested in their college or department for whatever reason, but would be willing to give to the library.

• The library development staff should sit with the department or university development offices to compare names to determine who can be used from various groups.

• Get seed money directed to the library.

• Those who give major gifts are likely to give more and should be cultivated.

• It is easier to spend time with one large donor than many small ones.

• A Dean's matching project with letters to recent graduates has had success (recent graduates are not likely to have built up large amount of personal assets, but would be willing to contribute to matching or challenge projects).

• Recent graduates can also be used to solicit parents or those who have not given anything to other departments.

• Library student assistants are a natural group for libraries to tap, especially those who are now in technology fields.

• Retired employees are also a source (one library reported that a retired employee provided an endowment for professional development).

Working with Development Offices

• Libraries should give a presentation to all development officers (they often do the leg work), especially if they get credit for assists. The library development staff should talk with the regional offices and other campus offices so they know about the library. Give a walking tour of the library to campus development officers so they have a much better sense of what the library is doing and can make matches with donor interests. Establish that the library is a neutral recipient for donors who are not interested in giving to a specific college.

The Role of Friends Groups and Advisory Boards

• An investment in friends groups may not yield significant gifts (the 95/5 phenomenon). On the other hand there may be a possibility of getting a small number of donors.

• There are different structures for friends groups. Some have no specific governance structure. Some groups do only programs.

• For some libraries the use of Advisory/Development Boards may be a better strategy. Individuals on the Board must make a contribution and then they are tasked to ask others. If there are both a Friends group and an Advisory Board, the President of the Friends can be an ex officio member of the Advisory Board.

The "Ask"

• One of the most difficult problems is getting the attention of the potential donor. Some like all the attention but never make themselves available to be asked for the gift. Recognize when that is happening and redirect energies to other, more productive prospects.

• Some donors who are happy may talk about their experience with their friends. The best ask is by another donor.

• When going to ask for a large gift, someone (either the director or the development officer) should have an agenda and all parties should know that the meeting is one that will include an ask.

• When asking for the gift, use language that says "would you consider a gift" or "should I send a proposal" and then be silent.

• When talking with a donor about an amount be ready to answer the question, "what would X amount do?"

• Also, be ready to answer the question: "is $1 million enough?" Say no and indicate what the money would be used towards.

Donor Recognition

• When thanking the donor, say that the money will be "put towards" a purpose. Often individuals will respond with a note back asking what it would take to finish the purpose.

• Never underestimate a personal visit to say thank you.

• Always treat the donor well and find ways to tell or show them that their money is being well spent.

• Some ideas for donor recognition include:

Screen savers
Undergraduate research center
Named café (revenue from the café goes back to library endowment)
Name a book
Memorialize
Gifts in kind

Miscellaneous Issues

• It is important to convey what the library's values are and how donors can contribute to those values.

• Keep a shopping basket of ideas ready in case a donor unexpectedly appears.

• State institutions who have previously not been engaged in fund raising have begun to do more and more of it and are finding it a challenge. They often do not have the special collections to which funds can be directed and are looking to new forms of electronic resources as sources for spending or endowments.

• Some institutions have been very successful working with athletics departments.

• If beginning a challenge program or an annual fund drive, set goals and review the process for how the annual fund money is spent.

• If the university is establishing endowed professorships, arrange that the library gets funding from that endowment to support the collections.

• Make it possible for small gifts to be made online.

• Meredith Butler is compiling and editing a book of case studies on fundraising and development to be published by ARL next year.

• Directors suggested that it might be helpful to have development officers visit with each other.

• In order to handle issues related to collections, the library should signal up front what can be done with collections and create a minimum level of donation.

At the end of the discussion, the directors indicated they would be interested in continuing to address this topic and some suggested a joint meeting of library directors and library development staff. ARL will explore that possibility.

Return to Table of Contents for 137th ARL Membership Meeting Proceedings