A Culture of Philanthropy

“Raising money” is one of our most important jobs as leaders in Catholic education, whether we’re talking "annual fund" drives, or "capital campaigns, which happen every five to ten years. But as the title of this article implies, focusing too narrowly on the “techniques” of fund-raising is a mistake; rather, we must build a culture of philanthropy in our schools that inspires folks to be generous. 

I have five thoughts on this:

FIRST, I believe building a culture of philanthropy must start with the school developing an optimistic and pro-active vision for itself. Every school ought to have at its ready an updated strategic plan for its future: a combination of soaring rhetoric about its mission and founding principles, combined with bold and thoughtful ideas for its future. (As an example, here's the plan we wrote for St. Michael,  "Vision 2025: the Path Forward") 

Why do I believe such a plan is important? Because too often, we DON’T think highly enough of ourselves; in fact, if we’re worried about enrollment or finances, our worries often translate unwittingly to language that projects weakness and pessimism about our future. Nothing undercuts our ability to inspire generosity more quickly than if we ourselves don’t project confidence and optimism in what we’re doing. 

In the years leading up to his death, self-made Nashville entrepreneur Jim Carell began to give away much of his fortune to charitable causes, many of them schools, including Pope John Paul II, where I was the principal. His reasons for being generous, he told me, was “I can’t take it with me, and this way, I  enjoy seeing how my money can help people.”  As you might imagine, there were many of us lined up at his door!  

Once, I had occasion to visit him just after he had been solicited by a struggling school in the area.  He told me, grumpily, that the same school had asked for a gift the previous year "to keep from closing"  they had told him.  He gave them what they asked for, but they were back again this year, making the same appeal, so he told them no.  "Here’s the thing," he said to me, "I don’t back losers. It’s just throwing my money away.” 

That statement “I don’t back losers,” may sound harsh, but it’s a window into how donors think about their charitable giving. If, through their giving, they are merely sustaining the “same ole, same ‘ole” in our schools for another 6-12 months, their enthusiasm for giving diminishes rapidly. Rather, they want to know their giving can act as a catalyst for new ideas and programs at the school, that their gifts have the potential to re-vitalize our schools! 

That’s why how we project  ourselves is so vital. But not just in our  language—in practical things, too, like our tuition pricing! Catholic schools often feature the lowest tuitions in town, but in a market economy that equates price with value, I’m afraid that positions us in people’s minds as the “K-Mart” of educational options. Would we feel better about our doctor who was about to operate on us if we learned his fees were half as much as the other doctors in our area? Better, then, to aim our tuition rates at the middle of the market,  then be generous with financial aid to help our more vulnerable families. 

  

A strategic plan, on the other hand, allows us to talk confidently about our next steps and even our “what ifs?” if we had the resources. In some cases, donors might be intrigued by a particular element of our plan they’d like to assist with directly, but even if not, they’ll be more confident in us, more assured that their donations will not be wasted. “Look at these amazing new things we could do with additional financial backing!” is much more compelling than “We need your gift so we can keep doing what we’ve always done!” 

A SECOND important idea in building a culture of philanthropy is to recognize a “culture” is not built on the basis of a moment in time or single event; rather, it’s the fostering of relationships over time. We’re never going to get a big gift by writing a letter, nor will we likely get one on the basis of a single meeting or request. How well do we foster friendships in our schools? How well do we include older people in the life of our school, be they grandparents, or parishioners, or simply other interested parties? 

I am a big believer in “Grandparents” day for every school, but I’d caution schools against doing any solicitations as part of that. Rather, use the day to meet grandparents, to welcome them, to invite them back to ballgames, to to be active in the life of their grandchildren vis-a-vis the activities in the school. Of course, we do get names and addresses of all those present, and yes, we solicit them as part of our annual fund (coupled with a “prom-picture” they took with their grandchild before leaving), but it feels more natural and less intrusive. 

Jim Carell ended up giving us an amazing gift at JPII, which allowed us to turf our stadium, build concessions, a pavilion and bathrooms, and create a lower soccer stadium, complete with lights. But that gift came after building a friendship with him over three years, and a series of smaller gifts that led up to the large one. And it was truly a “friendship.” He was a graduate of Notre Dame, as I was, and we bonded over that—even went to a football game together. I found him to be wise about people, and I realized I could use him as a confidential sounding board for issues I faced as headmaster, and he appreciated that. He told me about some of the mistakes he had made, both in business and with his family, and we laughed a lot together. In fact, I was very affected by his death. 

A THIRD important part of building a culture of philanthropy is to build a culture of gratitude! I honestly don’t think our donors can be told “thank you” too many times! At minimum, every single gift to a school should be acknowledged by a hand-written thank you from the advancement “office” (see below).  If a larger gift, a donor should receive a phone call or hand written letter from the principal, too. 

An Annual Report, which lists all the donors to the school in a given year, is a way to publicly thank them a second time, and to inspire others, perhaps, to be generous, too.  It depends on the school, but at JPII, we had a “donor’s dinner” at the end of the year for large donors, and the highlight of that evening was we’d ask a senior on the cusp of graduating--a recipient of financial aid made possible by donor giving--to talk about what four years at our school  meant to him or her, and to thank them for making that possible. It always had an impact! When we give out financial aid at St. Michael, my only requirement is that the student writes a letter of thanks to his or her (anonymous) donor; he gives that letter to me, and then I pass on to the donor. 

Twice in the last year, we received generous gifts from older parishioners, who had no direct connection to the school except for their support for Catholic education. In both cases, I called and thanked them, and asked if they had been out to our school (which is only 3 years old). They had not, so I invited each to come out separately and let me show them around. We spent an hour or so together; I honestly enjoyed my time with them. Without any solicitation from me—in both cases!— they later told me they had decided to include our school in their will.  

FOURTH,  I believe a critical part of building a culture of philanthropy is having an advancement “office,” even if the advancement “officer” is only part time. Principals can’t do this on their own! I’ve been a principal for 29 years, and the job has simply become more and more demanding. Between juggling teacher-staff issues, parental concerns, curricular issues, discipline, budgeting, finances and supervision, there’s simply no time to do advancement work, except in the most piecemeal kind of way. 

I am aware that some struggling elementary schools will say: “We cannot afford to hire an advancement officer!” I understand that sentiment, but ask simply: “Do you have a Physical Education teacher?” “Do you have a music teacher?” Teachers can take their kids outside to play ball games, or listen to music in class and do sing-a-longs, if necessary. In fact, our Catholic schools used to handle music and P.E. exactly this way! But without an advancement person, the absence of the very blood we need to keep our schools healthy—capital— makes it harder for us attract and sustain good teachers, to assist families with financial aid, or to provide the necessary instructional materials for our students. If a school cannot afford a full time person, I’d recommend someone for 20-25 hours a week, perhaps a mother of a child in our school, who has the right organizational and people skills to infuse our schools with a generous spirit. Often these kind of positions fit very well into a young family’s calendar, synchronizing the child’s schedule with a family’s work schedule. 

FIFTH, if a school ministers primarily to under-resourced families, they cannot do this on their own.  No matter how willing, donors cannot give what they do not have! It has to be a diocesan effort, and it can take many forms!  One idea, which I think has real promise and is already in place in some dioceses, is to create a “Catholic School Financial Aid Fund” at the diocesan level, invite families to give to it in their wills and through a once/year "Catholic School Sunday” appeal, then allow needy families in particular under-resourced schools (only those schools!) to apply for a tuition voucher to those schools via some sort of third party financial assessment. Once a school receives the voucher from the parent, it can ask for reimbursement from the Catholic School Fund. 

I believe the “voucher” route is better for dioceses than giving money directly to the “black hole” of the operational budget of a struggling school. First, it is more apparent to the recipient of the generosity that his or her child's ability to attend the school is a direct result of the generosity of the Church and its donors. Second, it insists that each school must balance its own budget, without constantly “going to the well” for additional subsidies, hopefully creating a pro-active, creative culture in those schools.  Third, by saying the vouchers can only be used at certain schools, it incentivizes attendance at these schools and makes sure the money is not going to schools which can sustain their own financial aid programs.  Fourth, it helps the diocese navigate potential difficult steps ahead: If a school cannot meet its budget consistently, even with these vouchers, then perhaps the Holy Spirit is saying something about the long term viability of that school. It assures the Church that their limited resources are not consistently feeding something that is broken.  

 May God bless our efforts!