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Capital Campaign Case Study | Webster University

Background

Webster University was founded in 1915 by the Sisters of Loretto as Loretto College, a Catholic women’s college, one of the first west of the Mississippi River. In 1962 it became Webster University and in 1967, grew into a secular coed institution with emphasis on providing a high quality, Liberal Arts education.

The tradition of recruiting students who want to apply their talents to serve others continues in the Catholic tradition inspired by the Sisters of Loretto. The Foundation of Webster University’s legacy is defined by innovation in higher education. When elite universities were restricting access to a college degree, Webster was increasing access by opening new campuses on military bases. When public universities were cutting arts degrees, Webster was busy creating one of the premier arts programs in the country. When hundreds of U.S. colleges were closing, Webster was expanding its global campuses to reach three continents.

Vision

Recognizing that for a university to survive, let alone thrive, it must create a “Regenerative Community” that not only contributes financially, but partners fully with Students, Alumni, Friends, Corporations, and Foundations, the vision was to develop internal capacity to build transformational relationships that would help the students and the university thrive in challenging times, continuing the legacy of educating students who “Make A World of Difference.”

Challenges

While Webster University has dedicated faculty who care deeply about mentoring student success, the steady decline in enrollment and growing criticism of higher education costs by students and family had resulted in a steady decline in both enrollment and revenue. In addition, educational benefits for Military personnel to attend college had significantly decreased over the past decade, causing the university to operate in the “Red” for the past five years.

A situation that would call for increased relationship building for philanthropic investment saw an Advancement Office that lacked campaign fundraising experience and institutional leadership that didn’t define a visionary platform to rally said relationships around.

The Plan

The Board of Governors of Webster University recruited a new President, Dr. Tim Keane, who worked with the campus to develop a Kairos Strategic Plan. Knowing that fundraising campaigns are truly tools to accomplish visionary plans, President Keane hired DickersonBakker to do a 360 Assessment of his relationship building operations in Advancement, while at the same time helping the campus to develop thematic pillars that articulate a new vision and direction for the university, without losing the core DNA that makes the culture and purpose exceptional. The thematic pillars of this new vision would evolve into campaign fundraising priorities that carry emphasis on everything Webster can become and what a Webster education can truly be.

The Campaign

DickersonBakker conducted on-site audits and analysis of the Advancement Office, along with facilitating campus visioning dialogues that developed two powerful reports. The first was an analysis of the gaps and opportunities in the Advancement operations and the second was the formation of institutional pillars that could be tested as campaign priorities in a Campaign Feasibility Study Prospectus Case for Support. This fiscal review and institutional strategies moved the financial operations of the institution from operating in the “Red” at a loss to a balanced positive budget of operating in the “Black” the last two fiscal years.

A thorough Campaign Feasibility Study was then conducted to test the Prospective Case for Support, identify potential volunteers, giving capacity, and passion for supporting the priorities through lead gifts. The study found that Webster University could conduct a campaign of $100 Million+ and that they should engage in launching the campaign as soon as possible.

Outcomes

Webster University is currently in the Nucleus Phase of a $100 Million comprehensive three-year campaign with DickersonBakker serving as Campaign Counsel.

The Webster Thrive campaign focuses on four priorities that when funded together can do one thing: make Webster’s next century as distinctive as its last.

1. Guarantee Student Thriving, 2. Transform Higher Ed, 3. Inspire Lifelong Learning, 4. Reinvent the Flagship Campus

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Pathways:

No doubt you’ve heard it said that successful major gift fund development is “all about relationships”. We couldn’t agree more. At the same time, however, it just isn’t that simple. Real success in major gift fundraising is about strategically managing relationships with high-value donors in order to maximize their understanding of, interest in, involvement with, and commitment to your organization and its underlying mission. Even the word “relationships” is ambiguous. Major donors don’t have “relationships” with organizations. They have relationships with people in the organization. Too many put too much emphasis on the relationship with the development officer and overlook the importance of others. Relationships between your organization and its major donors actually have multiple dimensions, each increasingly important as you advance to higher tiers of giving.

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Presentation:

The case statement, also known as the “case for support,” provides a glimpse into the heart of a non-profit organization and is a vital part of any major gift fundraising effort. With over twenty years experience working with major donors we know what they are looking for in an offer. We will work with you to craft a compelling and professional case for support and guide you through the development of additional collateral materials needed to effectively present your case. We will also spend time in the field with your team to help them hone their presentation skills and train them in the “Art of the Close”.

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People:

Of all the building blocks needed to create a major gift program, none is more important than the people you have in place on your major gift leadership team. Having the right people in the right roles is a critical part of the Keystone Solution™ and we will work with you to ensure that your staff and volunteers are well-trained and appropriately gifted for their roles. If necessary, we will work with you to recruit additional members to your major gift leadership team.

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Prospects:

Any good fisherman knows that you can’t catch a big fish if you’ve got your line in the wrong pond. The future success of any major gift fund-raising program is built upon the organization’s ability to attract new donors to support its mission. To ensure on-going growth, a wide base of dynamic support is necessary, which presumes that a significant number of new major donors must be acquired and subsequently nurtured and elevated to rising giving levels. Using both “high-tech” and “high-touch” approaches we will work with your organization to identify a pool of best major gift prospects for your major gift program and to segment them into prioritized lists. As part of our prospecting services, we are also able to provide Donor Research Services to help you realize the major gift potential in your donor database and circles of influence.

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Practices:

Successful major gift fundraising is both an art and a science. The art is in the relationships, but the science is in the systems. Someone once said, “Motivation is what gets you started; good habits are what keep you going.” Putting good major gift development policies and procedures in place and getting into the habit of living by them is a critical part of making a program sustainable. Dickerson, Bakker & Associates will work with your organization to implement best practices within your major gift development department to ensure that the improvements we put in place will continue not just beyond our term of service but can be consistently applied even if you have a turnover of staff.

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Brand:

An organization’s brand is perhaps its most important asset. Most people think of brand superficially—considering only those aspects encompassing the “look and feel” of an organization (e.g. name, logo, etc.). Those brand marks are just outward expressions of your brand, however. At a deeper level, BRAND represents a promise to your constituents of those quintessential qualities that define who you are, what you do, and what you stand for as an organization. Doubt about the integrity of an organization’s brand promise almost always has a detrimental effect on giving, regardless of the effectiveness or competency of the fund development staff. Establishing and adhering to a clear focused brand is foundational in your ability to communicate who you are, what you do, where you are going, and how you will get there.

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Culture:

CULTURE refers to the collective attitudes that characterize and impact the ways that an organization’s people will perceive one another and work together. A “development-friendly” culture provides a fertile soil for giving to flourish. Dickerson, Bakker & Associates has identified six ingredients that together comprise a vibrant, development-friendly culture, and—if consistently applied—will significantly improve your organization’s ability to consistently garner high-level investments from major donors.

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Quality:

While mainstream donors may be satisfied with a simple understanding of what an organization does, major donors are more interested in what an organization achieves, or—more specifically—will achieve with the money they invest. Major donors want to know how their investment is helping bring about positive change in the lives of people. Major donors increasingly condition giving upon delivery of impact metrics, often requesting information on outcomes even before investing. Organizations that are serious about achieving success in major gift development will therefore do best when they embrace a culture that supports and encourages outcomes thinking.

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