Report on Theme III, Issue No. 5: External Fundraising
What have we done in the past?
Responding to the gradual shift from a state-supported to
a state-assisted system of higher education, the California
State University Board of Trustees in 1991 charged each campus
with moving toward raising the equivalent of ten percent of
its general fund allotment. Since that time, the San Bernardino
campus, like its sister institutions, systematically has invested
in building its young university advancement division in order
to maximize opportunities for attracting external support.
Initially, the division included the departments of alumni
affairs, public affairs, development and intercollegiate athletics.
No professional staff positions dedicated full-time to fundraising
existed. Still, private contributions in 1990-91 totaled $2
million.
Challenged by the "Ten Percent" goal and recognizing
donor-naming opportunities for a number of campus facilities
under construction or planned within the next few years, the
university hired its first full-time fundraiser in 1992 and
launched in the following year an $8 million campaign, called
Partnership 2000. Partnership 2000 engaged alumni and community
leaders in raising an impressive $13.5 million in pledges
and gifts for the university's first development undertaking
of this magnitude. The campaign, which officially came to
a close in 1996, raised funds for several key campus priorities:
the first permanent structure for the university's Palm Desert
campus, further establishing the presence of a four-year university
for the citizens of the Coachella Valley, a growing region
with one of the lowest college-going rates in the state; an
endowment for computing equipment and program maintenance
for the newly constructed Jack Brown Hall, which now boasts
state-of-the-art laboratories for the university's business
and computer science programs; funds for special collections
acquisitions in the newly expanded Pfau Library; and enhancements
to the James and Arianthi Coussoulis Arena, allowing the university
to stage major special events and host CIF and NCAA sporting
events.
Gifts received in 1996-97 totaled $4.2 million. Professional
development staff now included full-time fundraisers for selected
programs-the Palm Desert campus, intercollegiate athletics,
and the college of business and public administration.
President Al Karnig's arrival in July of 1997 brought renewed
vigor to the university's fundraising and community outreach
efforts. Committed to increasing private contributions and
enhancing the institution's visibility and image in the community,
President Karnig, in his second year at the helm, invested
an unprecedented, additional $600,000 in the advancement budget.
A public affairs professional, three program-based development
officers, and a corporate and foundation relations professional
were hired. Additionally, a baseline budget was established
for marketing the institution.
For the first time, in fiscal year 1999-2000, CSUSB met the
Trustees' "Ten Percent" goal, raising $8.3 million
in private gifts. New initiatives, such as the university's
first campuswide scholarship campaign, which more than doubled
funds for merit- and need-based scholarship awards, and the
continuation of efforts to raise funds for the Palm Desert
campus and better address the Coachella Valley's burgeoning
educational needs, were the impetus for that success. Roughly
three-fourths of funds raised that year-$5.5 million-came
from contributions made to the Palm Desert campus. The emphasis
in the university's strategic plan on community partnerships
resulted in the formation of a Water Resources Institute,
which engaged key community leaders, legislators, water districts
and government agencies in establishing a policy research
enterprise and a much-needed archival repository for the region's
and state's water information sources.
In that same year, the campus identified in its budget another
$500,000 to be invested in advancement. These funds were used
to acquire and implement a new alumni/development database
system to enhance and support stepped-up friendraising and
fundraising efforts.
As CSUSB entered its 35th anniversary year, the university
celebrated the success of its first scholarship campaign,
which raised over $1.5 million to attract and retain top student
scholars and enhance the instructional experience. The university
also enjoyed a record increase in alumni membership as a result
of the addition of an assistant director of alumni marketing
and membership. Required by the CSU Trustees to increase membership
in its dues-paying alumni association, thereby increasing
the potential for alumni giving, CSUSB realized a 25% increase
in alumni membership in 2000-01. Gifts raised that year totaled
$4.5 million.
Where are we now?
In AY 2001-2002, the university established two new college-based
development officer positions, bringing the number of fundraisers
dedicated to colleges and special programs to nine. For the
first time since the university began hiring program-based
development officers, all nine fundraising positions were
filled at the end of that academic year and all had fundraising
plans and goals developed for their respective programs. Those
plans included continuing fundraising efforts, such as the
Palm Desert campaign for the second and third buildings, increasing
an operating endowment for the Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum,
and expanding support for the Water Resources Institute. They
also included initiating fundraising efforts for new programs
and partnerships, such as the Inland California Television
Network. With the assistance of lead gifts from the San Manuel
Band of Mission Indians and Verizon, ICTN, when established,
will provide western San Bernardino County with its own local
televised daily news program, along with informational, public
affairs, cultural and educational programming created specifically
for the area. The university also added a commitment to fund
scholarships for academically gifted high school students
from San Bernardino County. High school seniors who are ranked
in the top one percent of their class each will receive a
$20,000 four-year Presidential Scholars award upon enrolling
at CSUSB.
Private gifts recorded in 2001-02 dipped to $3.4 million,
with an additional $1.6 million from local government sources,
but the university enjoyed unprecedented support from special
federal appropriations. Congressional funds earmarked for
CSUSB amounted to $7.6 million, catapulting the university
to a 26th ranking nationally among universities receiving
special federal appropriations in 2001-02. (http://thewasc.csusb.edu/edueffrev/thm3/appendix/i5/FedIni00-04.pdf)
Funds were identified for the university's distance learning
initiatives, advanced technology transfer, the Water Resources
Institute, and telecommunications equipment for the Palm Desert
branch campus.
Membership in the alumni association increased another 23%,
from 2,118 to 2,604 members, and alumni giving among the university's
approximately 38,000 addressable former students increased
74 percent over the previous year.
Grant activity has grown at a continual accelerating pace
at CSUSB over the past 8 years. The growth reflects the concurrence
of a number of factors: Growth in numbers of faculty and students;
Recruitment and support of new faculty oriented to externally-funded
research and support programs; Encouragement of all faculty
and staff grant development by academic administrators-especially
the president, provost, and deans; Expanded support of faculty
development activities of the Research and Sponsored Programs
Office: Development and support of federal relations activities;
and, leadership and encouragement of collaborative grant partnership
with other organizations in the state and region. (http://thewasc.csusb.edu/edueffrev/thm3/appendix/i5/SponProgrs.pdf)
With two months remaining in the 2000-03 fundraising year,
the university had recorded nearly $7 in contributions. Of
that, $5.6 million was gifted by local government entities,
including a $3 million gift from the San Manuel Band of Mission
Indians to be used for student scholarships and internships,
the expansion of the Cross Cultural Center, and for enhanced
programming in that Center as well as the Women's Resource
and the Adult Re-entry Centers. For an overview of other gifts
given to the University, please review the University Advancement
Division Five Year Gift History, which provides data from
7/1/97 to 6/30/02. (http://thewasc.csusb.edu/edueffrev/thm3/appendix/i5/5yrrecon.pdf)
What remains to be done and how will we do it?
The university advancement division converted to its new
alumni/development database system at the start of fiscal
year 2002-03. Among the many features of the new database
is a prospect management and tracking subsystem, which already
is being used to identify, track and move prospects along
in the cultivation and solicitation process. This, coupled
with the creation of a prospect researcher position, will
assist all fundraising and friendraising staff in moving toward
a more coordinated and strategic approach in prospect identification
and cultivation, and it will result in an improved record
of prospect and donor activity than has existed in recent
years. This is especially critical given the tendency for
high turnover in the competitive development job market. Retaining
development professionals for at least a three-year period,
the minimum time needed to develop a relationship with donors
and prospects, will be an ongoing challenge for the division
and university. In the past five years the university has
seen as many as five individuals heading up the institution's
advancement effort. The president has identified among his
priorities for 2003-04 to fill this chief advancement officer
vacancy.
Because the majority of CSUSB's private gifts come from the
Palm Desert campaign and are designated to that campus and
its programs, the university will be more aggressive in expanding
its prospect and donor base to enhance programs for the main
campus. Increasing private support from new sources will take
on heightened importance as the campus enters into a new era
of state funding reductions. Identifying attractive and realistic
external funding opportunities and priorities will require
ongoing interaction between the advancement division and the
colleges and units engaged in fundraising activities.
Seeking planned gifts, which for CSUSB have been a relatively
untapped source of major gifts, will be an emphasis in the
coming years. The associate vice president for development,
who holds expertise in the planned giving field, will provide
support in this area, supplemented by a consultant, until
such time that the university establishes a position for this
specialized area of fundraising. A $20,000 grant from the
CSU Advancement Fund will seed the operating budget for this
program.
As resources become available, the university will continue
to build its advancement infrastructure, bringing staffing
in advancement services and alumni affairs to levels appropriate
for the size of the institution and the goals of the fundraising
effort
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