Who we are and what we like are increasingly known pieces of information. This data, collected in aggregate and individually, is used to target marketing efforts ranging from the coupons on the grocery receipt to the online ads people see to the promotional offers sent in the mail. Even when marketing is not personally targeted, general…

When Tim Clevenger became executive director of the University of Oregon Alumni Association in 2011, he was dismayed to learn that revenue, including paid memberships, was steadily declining. The association staff and board of directors considered multiple strategies to boost earnings, with stabilizing and growing dues revenue high on the list.…

Some institutions create a gift fee to pay for a campaign or to cover basic fundraising costs, and especially today, many are doing it in order to increase revenues in the wake of the recession's effect on endowments. In the best circumstances, gift fees are emblematic of a transparent, accountable development process, where donors understand that…

The Southington Board of Education in Connecticut has committed itself to asking school administrators to look for funding alternatives so the board does not have to continuously say no. The Southington School District serves 6,900 students with an operating budget of $79.5 million, but that amount simply does not fund all its needs. The district…

It is certainly no secret that people are living in a difficult economic climate. In these times of belt-tightening, both institutional and personal, budgets for arts education are being slashed and individual donations are plummeting. Music teachers in particular know well the impact of these developments on their programs, and they know that…

For the past couple of decades, customer relationship management has been quietly establishing itself as the way everybody does business. Migrating to the education community only in the past five years or so, it has acquired a more genteel transcription of its acronym: constituent relationship management. However one decodes the letters, CRM is…

Everyone in the business of raising funds for graduate and professional schools knows that the effort has certain challenges. Deborah McCreery, of Widener University School of Law, identifies two main hurdles to alumni fundraising at Widener Law: (1) student loan debt; and (2) a perception problem. At Widener Law and other professional and…

The Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) kicked off 2010 with its legislative campaign, "Our Race to the Top." This campaign resulted in the passage of a slate of progressive education reform bills. During the summer months, it ran the "Vote for Ed" campaign, which put the issue of Connecticut's struggling public…

Schools enjoying strong parental support have parental-involvement programs in place and actively seek to involve parents. Such schools usually have a staff member, frequently a parent, whose task is to establish, manage, and maintain successful engagements among individuals, groups of parents, and the school. Darien, Connecticut's innovative high…

Describes Independent German Language School of Connecticut including founding of school, curriculum, staffing, help from German Language School Conference, and fundraising. Concludes increasing enrollment indicates Saturday school movement is filling gap in teaching German in U.S. and is necessary to promote an alternative method to further…

Describes the effective use of a videotape to demonstrate needed funding for a children's library in the Blackstone Memorial Library (Branford, CT). Topics addressed include the production plan, planning documents, presentation treatment and storyboards, support narration, and production and editing activities. (eight references) (LRW)

This publication is part of a series of tools and resources on financing and sustaining youth programming. These tools and resources are intended to help policymakers, program developers, and community leaders develop innovative strategies for implementing, financing, and sustaining effective programs and policies. This strategy brief presents a…

Connecticut uses local education foundations to improve public education. These are not-for-profit organizations created and managed by local citizens, with the primary mission of improving public education at the local level. Connecticut foundations are as diverse as Connecticut communities. Most are totally volunteer managed. Currently,…