This document provides an overview of a fundraising campaign presented by Stephen Tall, an Associate Director at the University of Oxford Development Office. It discusses what a fundraising campaign entails, how to prepare and launch one, and factors to consider for success. The key aspects covered are defining campaign goals and timeframe, securing buy-in from leadership and top donors, developing a comprehensive case for support, and evaluating readiness in terms of staffing, prospects, and donor engagement. The document aims to guide universities and colleges on best practices for strategic campaign planning and implementation.

1. Stephen Tall
Associate Director
University of Oxford Development Office

2. Starting a Fundraising Campaign
• What is a Campaign
• Why put yourself through it
• Preparing a campaign: what do you need to
do before you start?
• Launching a campaign: what should happen,
when, and who should lead it?
• And finally … How do you know if it’s
succeeded?

3. About me
– Involved in campaigns in 3 Oxford colleges, 1998-
2007.
– Member of University of Oxford at public launch
of £1.25 billion ‘Oxford Thinking’ Campaign, May
2008.
– Helping plan ‘recalibration’ of Campaign ready for
2012.

4. ‘is music the act of sounding
mathematics?'
Annual meeting of the Vice-Chancellor’s Circle, May 2011

5. Duke Humfrey’s Night, Bodleian Library, Oxford, October 2011

6. Telephone Campaign for Oriel College, Oxford, April 2011

7. Professor Andrew
Hamilton, Vice-
Chancellor of the
University of Oxford,
talking to students
calling alumni.

8. What is a Campaign
• Focuses on major priorities
• Defined timeframe
• Specific target (minimum)
• Dependent on major gifts

9. Phasing the Campaign
Planning Quiet Phase Public Close
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6

10. Phasing the Campaign
• Quiet Phase
– Solicitation of key prospects
– 30% + secured
– Board commitment
– Refine case for support and communications plan

11. Phasing the Campaign
• Public Phase
– Campaign Launch
• Events
• PR
• Announcements
– Broad based solicitation
– Campaign “fatigue”
• New volunteers
• Renewed focus
• Success stories

12. Phasing the Campaign
• Closing the Campaign
• Resolicit donors
• Announce and celebrate
• Thank

13. Why put yourself through it?
• Institutional aspirations and strategic need
• Articulation of a Vision
• Raises sights of internal (staff) and external
(alumni / donors) constituencies
• Creates an enhanced infrastructure
• Builds a sustainable and enhanced
programme for the future

14. Phasing the Campaign
Planning Quiet Phase Public Close
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6

15. Hardest question to answer:
WHY?
Why do you need that
specific amount of money?
What difference will it make?

16. How ready are you?
• Your academic vision
• A Case for Support should:
o Unite your academic leadership;
o Clarify your priorities
o Inform about your current situation
o Set out why you need what you’re asking for
o Inspire both internals and externals to get stuck in!
o Be a living, breathing document.

17. The power of a vision
• Institutional vision is vital:
• How will philanthropy make a difference?
• Does your leadership believe in this vision?
• Can you communicate it effectively to your
donors? Will they buy into it?
• Does the vision clarify direction and
aims/objectives?
• Is it exciting?

18. Financial case for support (March 2011).
Sent to major donors and key prospects for their comment.

19. Financial case presented to various meetings of major donors and key prospects,
March – June 2011.

20. The cost of maintaining Oxford‟s excellence
Average annual cost to educate an Oxford undergraduate: approx.
£16,000
Funds received for every student (student fees and public funding) £8,800
Earmarked for maintenance bursaries £700
• Shortfall per student per annum £7,900
• Equivalent to £82 million per annum (to c.£2.1bn in endowment)

21. The cost of maintaining Oxford‟s excellence
Council decision on student funding announced on 15 March 2011
• Council approves a sliding scale of tuition charges, from £3,500 to £9,000 a
year, depending on household income. Discounts applied through targeted
waivers
• As at present, no UK student at Oxford would have to pay any tuition charges
upfront. Loan repayments only begin after graduation and when earning over
£21,000
• The total value of the package of waivers and bursaries is more than £12
million a year, nearly double what we spend at present.
• Proposed increase in outreach spend to approximately £3.4m a year, and up
to £750,000 of extra investment in student services

22. How Oxford funds excellence
• Tight control of costs
• Generating new income
• The Role of Oxford University Press
• Investment income

23. The vital role of philanthropic income
Campaign total at 28 February 2011 was £x m
University £x
College £x
Almost half the gifts (£247.3m)to the central University are funding current
programmes
A further £143.5m designated in support of priority capital projects

24. Our ambitions for the future
• Students – Oxford must remain open to all based solely on academic merit
• Faculty and staff – Oxford must be able to recruit and retain the best
researchers and teachers
• Infrastructure – Oxford must have world-class facilities
• Great financial freedom
• Increasing alumni participation in giving to 25%

25. Students
Posts
Buildings

26. Financial Case for
Support accompanied
by ‘vision document’
setting out what Oxford
would achieve if the
University had the
money.

27. How ready are you?
• Your development office:
• Ready with the right number of people with
the right experience in the right jobs?
• Ready with an adequate budget? (Staffing,
communications, events, travel, stewardship,
database, consultants, etc.)
• Ready to donate yourself?

28. Who will lead your campaign?
• Role of Development Office
• Strategic planning to support VC/HoH
• Written campaign plan, measurable objectives
• Honest and organised reporting
• Management of staff and process
• Stewardship of donors
• Initiative to spot new opportunities, exploit to the
full existing ones
• Prospect ID and prospect management

29. Funding your Campaign
• How to fund it
– Institutional investment
– “Taxing” of gifts
– Donor/benefactor contributes
• Don’t forget:
– Systems
– Research
– Major Gifts
– Travel
– Events and Communications

30. How ready are you?
• Your leadership (VC, Head of House, senior
academics)
• Ready to give their time?
• Ready to commit their resources?
• Ready to offer a compelling vision?
• Ready to ask?

31. Who will lead your campaign?
• Role of Vice-Chancellor / Head of House
• Clear vision?
• Strategic planner?
• Good and effective communicator?
• Happy to collaborate with staff and volunteers?

32. UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Chancellor
Lord Patten of Barnes
Vice Chancellor
Professor Andrew Hamilton
Pro-Vice-Chancellor
(Development and External Relations)
Professor Nick Rawlins
Development
Director of Development, Liesl Elder
Public Affairs
Director of Public Affairs, Jeremy Harris
Alumni Relations
Director of Alumni Relations, Christine Fairchild

35. What makes University of Oxford
fundraising different?
44 colleges and halls, 80+
departments, Saïd Business
School, Ashmolean, Bodleian,
collections, research
institutes, etc….

36. COLLEGE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE –
A “TYPICAL” TEAM STRUCTURE?
Director of Development
(Fundraising strategy and Major Gifts)
Development Officer Alumni Officer Communications Officer
(Annual Fund) (Events)
Support Staff
(incl. Development Assistant, Information or Database Offier)
• Integrated Alumni Relations and Development programmes
• Some have Campaign Officers, Deputy Directors etc
• Support staff – various but more limited, if at all

38. PRINCIPLES OF INTERACTION
• Principles and Protocols of Fundraising in the Collegiate University
(And the Best Practice Guidelines – produced in November 2009)
• Clearance: the principles
• Clearance: the process
• UODO requesting clearance from Colleges – DARS
• Colleges to Colleges – direct contact.
• Colleges requesting clearance from UODO – “Reverse clearances”

39. CLEARANCE
Sample scenarios:
1. Humanities (UODO) wish to contact an Exeter alumnus
2. Exeter wish to contact a Balliol alumnus
3. Balliol wish to contact a non-alumnus
4. The Bodleian is fundraising for its music collection
• In each case, who are the critical partners/stakeholders to talk to?

41. How ready are you?
• Your donors and prospects
• Already giving?
• Ready to be asked?
• Ready to volunteer?
• Ready to ask/involve others?
• Ready to back you up within your institution &
with other alumni?
• Do you even know if they’re ready yet?

42. How ready are your donors?
• How many donors do you have? How
committed are they?
• Do you have a ‘pipeline’ of donors?
• Is there untapped potential?
• Do they understand different types of giving?
• Have you communicated with them?

44. 27,000 gifts worth up to £25,000
=
£20 million

45. 1,000 gifts worth over £25,000
=
£560 million

46. 3% of major gifts
97% of Campaign total

47. http://www.blackbaud.com/company/resources/giftrange/giftcalc.aspx

48. Generating major gifts – looking forward
NUMBER OF GIFTS
REQUIRED
To
Band To University Colleges
£5m & over 25
£1m to £4,999k 109
£500k to £999k 98 45
£250k to £499k 92 63
£100k to £249k 213
£25k to £99k 685 2,292
Projected numbers of new gifts needed to reach a £2.5bn total goal, were the same
pattern of gifts to occur:

49. Generating major gifts – prospects required
To
Band To University Colleges
£5m & over 100
£1m to £4,999k 436
£500k to £999k 392 180
£250k to £499k 368 252
£100k to £249k 852
£25k to £99k 2740 9168
Projected numbers of prospects
Numbers required needed from June 2011 to realise the projected number of gifts
Uses a standard assumption of 25% of qualified prospects going on to make a gift

50. More prospects required – what is the gap?
University only
Current
Band Prospects Gap
£5m + 42 58
£1m+ 84 352
£500k+ 37 355
£250k+ 50 318
£100k+ 90 762
£25k+ 184 2,556
Total 487 4,401
Covers „qualified‟ prospects
Data on the numbers of additional College prospects is not yet available
“Current” excludes existing donors
Experience says they should not all be excluded

51. Is it feasible?
• Role of feasibility study:
• Assessment of your database
• Measure how ready to give your donors are –
qualitative and quantitative
• Wealth assessment (wealth-screening plus
focus groups / individual interviews)
• Internal audit of staff and processes
• What do you do with the answers?

52. University of Oxford feasibility
study, October 2010 – June 2011:
1. Meetings between external
consultants and senior
University leadership to
identify key aims of next
Campaign phase (Oct – Nov);
2. Production of Case for
Support, financial and vision
documents (Dec – Mar);
3. Identification of list of top
100 donors and prospects to
be personally interviewed
(Jan – Feb);
4. Interviews conducted to ask
about first Campaign phase
and assess views of what
needed to be done to extend
Campaign to £2.5 billion total
(April – June).

53. Not managed Responses to Meeting Invitation
to arrange, 5
In process of
arrangement, 4 Declines, 10
Completed , 50
Profile of Meeting Respondents
Rest of world
Rest of world non alumni, 5
alumni, 3
US non
alumni, 1
US alumni, 8 UK alumni, 25
Non-donor
Giving History of Interviewees UK non
(or very alumni, 8
small
donor), 6
Given up to Given £1m+, 27
£1m, 17

54. Volunteers
• Is the existing board the right one?
• Campaign Board
• Do they support campaign goals?
• Can they open doors?
• Are they motivated to raise money?
• Will they donate to the Campaign?
• Do you have the time/resources to
manage/support them?

55. Charter for members of the Bodleian Libraries Development Board

56. Charter for members of the Bodleian Libraries Development Board
TERMS OF REFERENCE
To lead the fundraising campaign for the Bodleian & University Libraries, an integral
part of Oxford Thinking: The Campaign for the University of Oxford, by advising on
prospective individual, trust and corporate donors who can help the Libraries achieve
their initial campaign goal of £100 million.
Role
A Board member’s role is an active one, not simply a name on paper. Board members
are expected to:
Provide individual and collective leadership for the philanthropic aims of the Bodleian
& University Libraries.
Review and advise on the viability in fundraising terms of the proposed academic
priorities identified by the Bodleian & University Libraries and to provide comment on
related development and marketing plans.
Advise on the strategy of approach to particular prospects.
Contribute financially to the Campaign for the benefit of the Bodleian & University
Libraries with a gift or a series of gifts to the best of their personal capacity. ETC ETC

57. The Oxford Thinking Campaign Summit
Ditchley Park
3-5 June 2011

58. Participants
Donors/friends 23
Hosts 2
Senior Oxford leaders 9
Other attendees/speakers 13
Summit Facilitators 2
Oxford Summit team 11

59. Programme
Friday 3 June: Oxford and the world
Oxford as a global university and its world impact
Oxford's role in solving the world's problems
Evening programme
Exhibition of Bodleian “treasures”
Dinner Q&A – Vice-Chancellor

60. Programme
Saturday 4 June:
“Investing in Oxford”
How can philanthropy support and preserve Oxford's critical tutorial system?
How do we further enhance and develop support for Oxford's colleges?
How do we further enhance and develop support for academic departments and
other university institutions?
How can philanthropy further support students?
How do we inspire and encourage alumni to engage and give?
How do we inspire and encourage non-alumni to engage and give?
How do we increase support from international donors & where should we focus?
Presentation on Feasibility Study findings by Iain More Associates

61. Programme
Saturday 4 June:
“Next Steps”
How does Oxford achieve greater financial freedom?
What should the priority topics be for the next phase of our philanthropic
initiative?
Review of the plans and principles we have discussed
What are the practical next steps?
Evening programme:
Schola Cantorum
Dinner in the Grand Hall
Recital by Jennifer Pike
College ports and stilton
Fireworks!

62. Documentation and materials
Campaign Summit website
“Essential” documents
Wider background reading
material
Biographies provided by
participants
Programme and travel
information
Information about Ditchley
Regular weekly update emails

63. Big themes
University and College collaboration
Undergraduate and Postgraduate
Teaching v research
Tutorial teaching – “the intimacy of learning”
British/European v global
Endowments and managing our money
Principles and Protocols
Case for Support
Stewardship – donors want to feel needed

64. Reaching conclusions
Endorsement for a next phase
Further refinements to Case for Support
Menu of priorities
Deeper engagement is essential
Improving communications
Multipliers – volunteers, matched funding
Creating a truly global campaign
Top Prospects
Scholarship and Bursaries
Driving Participation
Role of Development Office – best practise &
support

65. Key successes
Making space to listen not broadcast
Tangible sense of goodwill
Balancing internal and external attendance
Emergence of a body of potential new high-level volunteers
Greater awareness of some of the complex issues
Close engagement between University leadership and donors/friends
High quality of presentation and materials
Highly bespoke programme information – more than 40 personal packs
Summit website
Great team effort on the day – especially UODO and PAD Events Team
Clarity v flexibility
Summit Facilitator

66. Is your Communications
strategy ready?
• Are you ready to be transparent?
• Content is king
• Focus on offering bespoke information in
different ways to segmented audiences
• Integrate messages with Campaign priorities
and direct mail/telethons.
• Make use of email / social media

67. University of Oxford ‘annual fund’ direct mail letter, September 2011

68. CAMPAIGN MATERIALS
1. Campaign Key Facts booklet (May 2008)
2. Campaign High-value donors materials
• Campaign brochure,
• Humanities,
• Medical Sciences,
• Graduate Funding,
• Bodleian Libraries,
• Maths, Physical & Life Sciences and
• Mathematical Institute

69. Bespoke proposal to major prospective donor for gift to endow
Music Curator post at the Bodleian Library.

70. CAMPAIGN MATERIALS
1. Campaign Key Facts booklet (May 2008)
2. Campaign High-value donors materials
• Campaign brochure,
• Humanities,
• Medical Sciences,
• Graduate Funding,
• Bodleian Libraries,
• MPLS and
• Mathematical Institute
3. Annual Campaign Report
• Summers 2010, 2011

72. University of Oxford financial statement
of accounts, 2009/10

74. Is your Alumni Relations /
Events strategy ready?
• Do you offer events which people want to come back
to?
• Are your events purely social, or do they integrate
with academic vision?
• Are you making the most of events already
happening?
• Have you planned events to reach out to those who
don’t come back?
• Have you worked out your follow-up strategy?

77. Is your stewardship ready?
• How do you say thank you to your major donors?
• Have you worked out how to thank people
appropriately? Have you budgeted for it?
• Have you worked out how to thank everyone in an
affordable, sustainable way?
• Have you worked out how to make it personal?
• Have you worked out who will manage your
stewardship programme?

79. Donor Report on specific
fundraising project

80. Saying ‘Thank You’ of sounding
‘is music the act
to our donors
mathematics?'
Annual meeting of the Vice-Chancellor’s Circle, May 2011

81. Campaign to date: Headline Figures
Figures to end of July 2011
£ 1,200 M Campaign progress against target
£ 1,000 M
Launch Date May 28th Colleges
2008
£ 800 M University
Launch total Outstanding
£575m
£ 600 M Legacy
Pledges
£ 400 M Trendline
£ 200 M
£0M
Jul-04 Jul-05 Jul-06 Jul-07 Jul-08 Jul-09 Jul-10 Jul-11 Jul-12 Jul-13
August 1st 2004 to May 27th 2008; private Year May 28th 2008 onwards; public phase
phase
Campaign Total: £1,152,520,964
(92.2% of minimum target)

82. Campaign to date: Headline Figures
University/College income split
University £ 670,879,879 (58.2%)
Colleges £ 481,641,085
(41.8%)
University
Colleges
Figures incorporate University figures to end of July 2011 and
latest available figures from Colleges to end of January 2011

83. Campaign to date: Headline Figures
Split by key strategic themes – University only
Campaign Priorities
Other
7%
Student Academic
Support Posts
4% 10%
Buildings
20%
Academic
Programmes
59%

84. Campaign to date: Headline Figures
Income by Campaign priority area – comparing University and
Colleges
University* Colleges**
Buildings 20% 27%
Student Support 4% 11%
Academic Posts 10% 22%
Academic Programmes 59% 6%
Other 7% 34%
* figures to end of July 2011
** figures from 2009/2010 benchmarking figures

85. Has your campaign succeeded?
• Amount of money raised against target
• Time it took against expectations
• Contribution to institution’s bottom line
• Increased level of alumni participation
• Increased level of legacy pledges
• Increased awareness of institution’s needs and ambitions
• Better alumni engagement (eg, student placements, event
attendance)
• Improved communications with alumni
• Lasting culture & infrastructure for future campaign successes

86. Any Questions?