Articles on Advancement at Independent Schools by Barbara Barron

Advancement Articles

It's my sincere hope these articles help you work through any big questions you may have about the wonderful work we do.

If you don't see your question answered below, I encourage you to send it my way via email.

Most Recent

Featured image for “How to Create a “Guide to Giving and Getting Involved” for New Parents”

How to Create a “Guide to Giving and Getting Involved” for New Parents

The Board of Trustees

Featured image for “How Do We Thank Trustees?”

How Do We Thank Trustees?

Featured image for “How Can We Help Boards Overcome Campaign Jitters?”

How Can We Help Boards Overcome Campaign Jitters?

Featured image for “The Board of Trustees at The Nirvana School”

The Board of Trustees at The Nirvana School

Featured image for “Selecting Good Trustees: 6 Ways to Make Sure the Newest Addition is a Good One”

Selecting Good Trustees: 6 Ways to Make Sure the Newest Addition is a Good One

Featured image for “11 Ways to Make Sure Your School’s Newest Trustee is Prepared for the Job”

11 Ways to Make Sure Your School’s Newest Trustee is Prepared for the Job

Featured image for “How to Build a Great Advancement Committee”

How to Build a Great Advancement Committee

Changing the Culture

Featured image for “How Do We Create a “Culture of Philanthropy” At Our Schools?”

How Do We Create a “Culture of Philanthropy” At Our Schools?

Featured image for “How Do We Become Schools That Truly Value Teachers?”

How Do We Become Schools That Truly Value Teachers?

Featured image for “Ignoring “The Gap” and Moving Away from a Scarcity Mindset”

Ignoring “The Gap” and Moving Away from a Scarcity Mindset

Featured image for “How Can We Fit In at Our School?”

How Can We Fit In at Our School?

Featured image for “Moving Beyond Conflict Between the Development & Business Offices”

Moving Beyond Conflict Between the Development & Business Offices

Featured image for “Sacrificing Sacred Cows: Some Reflections on CASE-NAIS ’23”

Sacrificing Sacred Cows: Some Reflections on CASE-NAIS ’23

The Development Team

Featured image for “How Can We Show Our Team That We Appreciate Them Every Day?”

How Can We Show Our Team That We Appreciate Them Every Day?

Featured image for “How Can We Train Volunteers To Be Superstars For Our Campaigns?”

How Can We Train Volunteers To Be Superstars For Our Campaigns?

Featured image for “Let’s Hear it for the One-Woman Development Office”

Let’s Hear it for the One-Woman Development Office

Featured image for “What is the Real Cost of Turnover in Our School’s Development Office?”

What is the Real Cost of Turnover in Our School’s Development Office?

Ending Things

Featured image for “How Can We Know When We’re Done?”

How Can We Know When We’re Done?

Featured image for “Ending Our Engagement”

Ending Our Engagement

Featured image for “Should We Plan for Our Own Succession?”

Should We Plan for Our Own Succession?

Engaging with Donors

Featured image for “How Do We Write a Really Good Annual Fund Letter?”

How Do We Write a Really Good Annual Fund Letter?

Featured image for “What Are Some Low-Cost High-Impact Gifts We Can Give Our Donors?”

What Are Some Low-Cost High-Impact Gifts We Can Give Our Donors?

Featured image for “How Do We Prepare for the Biggest Ask of Our Career?”

How Do We Prepare for the Biggest Ask of Our Career?

Featured image for “How Do We Write a Welcome Letter to the New Parents at Our School?”

How Do We Write a Welcome Letter to the New Parents at Our School?

Featured image for “How Can We Get Better at Asking Parents for Gifts?”

How Can We Get Better at Asking Parents for Gifts?

Featured image for “How Do We Create Word-of-Mouth Buzz With Our Donors?”

How Do We Create Word-of-Mouth Buzz With Our Donors?

Featured image for “What Should We Do When We Make a Donor Angry?”

What Should We Do When We Make a Donor Angry?

Featured image for “What Are the Dangers of Having an Angel Donor?”

What Are the Dangers of Having an Angel Donor?

Featured image for “What We Can Learn From Banks – and Then Do Very Differently”

What We Can Learn From Banks – and Then Do Very Differently

Featured image for “The Best Question You Can Ever Ask a Donor”

The Best Question You Can Ever Ask a Donor

Featured image for “How We Can Get Rid of That Terrible Thank You Letter”

How We Can Get Rid of That Terrible Thank You Letter

Featured image for “How to Create a “Guide to Giving and Getting Involved” for New Parents”

How to Create a “Guide to Giving and Getting Involved” for New Parents

Fundraising Tactics

Featured image for “How Can We Create a Strategic Fundraising Plan That Actually Works?”

How Can We Create a Strategic Fundraising Plan That Actually Works?

Featured image for “How Can We Make Sure Our School’s Annual Report Isn’t a Scam?”

How Can We Make Sure Our School’s Annual Report Isn’t a Scam?

Featured image for “How Do I Get Rid of My School’s Phonathon and Raise More Money?”

How Do I Get Rid of My School’s Phonathon and Raise More Money?

Featured image for “How Can We Make Our School’s Annual Auction More Successful?”

How Can We Make Our School’s Annual Auction More Successful?

Featured image for “How Do We Get a 100% Return On Our Annual Fund Appeal Letters?”

How Do We Get a 100% Return On Our Annual Fund Appeal Letters?

Featured image for “How Can You Know if Your School is Prepared for a Capital Campaign?”

How Can You Know if Your School is Prepared for a Capital Campaign?

Featured image for “How One School Reimagined its Gala and Raised Over a Million Dollars”

How One School Reimagined its Gala and Raised Over a Million Dollars

Featured image for “How Do the Recent Tax Changes Impact Giving?”

How Do the Recent Tax Changes Impact Giving?

Featured image for “How to Quickly Create a Legacy Program at Your Independent School”

How to Quickly Create a Legacy Program at Your Independent School

Featured image for “Taking Care of Our Heads — of School, That Is”

Taking Care of Our Heads — of School, That Is

Featured image for “How to Use Permanent Life Insurance to Help A Donor Make Their Largest Gift –Ever”

How to Use Permanent Life Insurance to Help A Donor Make Their Largest Gift –Ever

Featured image for “Giving Circles Taken to the Next Level”

Giving Circles Taken to the Next Level

Featured image for “Ignoring “The Gap” and Moving Away from a Scarcity Mindset”

Ignoring “The Gap” and Moving Away from a Scarcity Mindset

Featured image for “Major Gifting with Elizabeth Carter”

Major Gifting with Elizabeth Carter

Featured image for “How Can We Earn the Opportunity to Make That Big Ask?”

How Can We Earn the Opportunity to Make That Big Ask?

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The Head of School

Featured image for “How Can We Cultivate a Strong Relationship With Our Head of School?”

How Can We Cultivate a Strong Relationship With Our Head of School?

Featured image for “Taking Care of Our Heads — of School, That Is”

Taking Care of Our Heads — of School, That Is

Featured image for “How to Make Yourself Invaluable to a New Head of School”

How to Make Yourself Invaluable to a New Head of School

Interviews

Featured image for “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: An Interview with Tesha McCord Poe”

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: An Interview with Tesha McCord Poe

Featured image for “Major Gifting with Elizabeth Carter”

Major Gifting with Elizabeth Carter

The Nirvana School

Featured image for “Welcome to the Nirvana School”

Welcome to the Nirvana School

Featured image for “The Board of Trustees at The Nirvana School”

The Board of Trustees at The Nirvana School

Unsexy Money

Featured image for “How Can We Raise Money for Debt Reduction and Cash Reserves?”

How Can We Raise Money for Debt Reduction and Cash Reserves?

Featured image for “How Do the Recent Tax Changes Impact Giving?”

How Do the Recent Tax Changes Impact Giving?