Give us a Call

(800) 382-0094

Serving
Christian & Private Schools Since 1985

When it comes to Christian and private schools, our team at DickersonBakker does more than just talk the talk. Our founder is a former high school coach and faculty member and has a doctorate in educational administration. Our President is an alumnus of Christian schools and cut his teeth in fundraising as a Christian school development director. Many of our team members have served on boards and committees at Christian schools where their own children have attended. In short, we don’t just know about the challenges and opportunities you face; we’ve lived them.

Christian schools are entering a new era.
"Is your school future-ready?"

Before the pandemic, enrollment in most Christian schools across the United States and Canada was largely flat, even slowly declining. But when COVID-19 forced public schools to close and classes to move online, the difficult realities of public education came home. Large class sizes, inadequate staffing, disorganized virtual education, curriculum limitations, and rapidly changing social and moral standards – it all caused parents to take a new look at Christian and private schools as a better option.

Christian schools are benefiting from this trend. But increasing demand and enrollment also bring challenges. In a recent survey conducted by DickersonBakker, hundreds of Christian school leaders reported that seven of the top ten challenges they encounter relate to financial sustainability and how to improve fundraising. In fact, Christian school leaders are almost unanimous in recognizing that raising more money is very important to ensuring the future of their school. For some, this involves launching a capital campaign to expand facilities. Others need to improve their annual fundraising so they can provide more tuition assistance and be able to make investments needed to ensure their programs are configured appropriately for 21st-century learning.

That’s where we come in. Whether you need help improving your annual fundraising or conducting a capital campaign, DickersonBakker stands ready to help. We have nearly 40 years of experience helping Christian schools grow their fundraising--which translates into expanded facilities, hiring excellent teachers, providing tuition assistance, and educating children with excellence. Why not put our team to work for you?

Considering a Capital Campaign?

For most Christian schools today, "building future financial sustainability” is a top priority. One of the best ways to do that is by developing the annual fund to raise money for your school’s general operations. Unfortunately, far too few Christian schools achieve real success growing annual giving in a sustainable way. All too often, they simply fall into a pattern of repeating the same activities year after year, with diminishing returns. Our team at DickersonBakker has developed two innovative ways to help you and your school succeed in your annual fundraising efforts. First, for Christian schools just starting out in fundraising, our Fund Development Kickstarter Solution is specially designed to help you start an effective annual Fund Development Program in just three simple steps. For Christian schools seeking to make improvements to an existing fundraising program, we offer a Fund Development Accelerator Program to help you grow your fundraising effectiveness and outcomes. Fundraising doesn’t have to be difficult. You don’t have to go it alone. Invite our team at DickersonBakker to come alongside your school to help you achieve your goals.

“I don’t think there was any hope we would have had the success we did in our capital campaign without the help we received from DickersonBakker. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that without them on board with our campaign, it wouldn’t have even been close to the success that it turned out to be. We wouldn’t hesitate to use DickersonBakker again, no question at all. We’ve got them on speed dial!”

-Dr. Nathan B. Kennedy
– Capital Campaign Chair, White Rock Christian Academy

Christian School Fundraising Solutions

For most Christian schools today, "building future financial sustainability” is a top priority. One of the best ways to do that is by developing the annual fund to raise money for your school’s general operations. Unfortunately, far too few Christian Schools achieve much in the way of real success growing annual giving in a sustainable way. All too often, they simply fall into a pattern of repeating the same activities year after year, with diminishing returns.

Our team at DickersonBakker has developed two innovative ways to help you and your school succeed in your annual fundraising efforts. First, for Christian schools just starting out in fundraising, our Fund Development Kickstarter Solution is specially designed to help you start an effective annual fund development program in just three simple steps.

For Christian schools seeking to make improvements to an existing fundraising program, we offer a Fund Development Accelerator program to help you grow your fundraising effectiveness and outcomes.

Fundraising doesn’t have to be difficult. You don’t have to go it alone. Invite our team at DickersonBakker to come alongside your school to help you achieve your goals.

What does forward look like for you?
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Fundraising Solutions

We can help you raise the resources you need to fuel your mission

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Executive Search

We help non-profits find and recruit talent for key fundraising and executive leadership roles

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Capital Campaigns

We have helped thousands of non-profits raise billions of dollars for their campaigns

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Grant Services

We have helped dozens of non-profits win millions in new grant funding

Testimonials
From our Clients
Christian & Private School
Experts
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Senior Development Consultant
Tom Wood, MBA, CFRE
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Founder
Clark Dickerson, EdD
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Senior VP Client Partnership
Jeff Crabtree

Meet The Team

Meet the experienced and talented folks that you will be working alongside.

A Few of the Christian Schools We've Served

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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