by Barbara Barron | Posted May 26th, 2026 | Subscribe to this newsletter

Here’s the challenge: Do We Have the Right Leader?

Since I began my consulting practice in 2017, I have been asked by a Head of School to evaluate (I say appraise) the advancement program of a school more than a dozen times.

In most cases, those Heads were new to the school and, in four cases, the Heads were in their very first headship. Such a smart choice when you think about it. Who wouldn’t benefit from getting an early, objective, and experienced set of eyes on things at the start of a big job?

How good it is to understand deeply where the opportunities lie and, vitally, where the weaknesses are hiding in plain sight? And those weaknesses are often, sadly, the people in the department.

To say that I don’t relish discovering people in the wrong seats or not well suited to their positions is an understatement. I am, in my heart, a development person. I know the role and its many pressures and tensions. I haven’t always been a stellar leader but, over time, I learned how to spot and promote talent, support bold actions that yield results rather than sticking with the way we’ve always done it, and to give honest, constructive feedback.

Ultimately, I report to the Head regardless of the consulting gig’s purpose. I need to be their trusted advisor. Still. It’s brutal to need to tell a Head that their director (or others on the team) either need to be redeployed or released to industry.

Ouch! 

So how to do it, then?

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Tell the truth

Tell the truth. Make a change.

In several instances, the director was not the right person for the job, at that time. Everyone liked them! But that quality – being liked – while essential in our work, is not enough.

Sometimes, the Board has no confidence in the director (a death knell), or other members of the team felt rudderless and unsure about what was the strategy. It can also show up in the Head just not feeling 100% about the advice or strategy the advancement director is advocating. They find themselves asking: Is that the best we’ve got?

As anguishing as that realization can be, what I’ve come to know with a certainty is what’s right for the school is (ultimately) right for the individual, even if it doesn’t feel like that in the moment.  

In one case, the director moved into a different and more satisfying position at the school. In another, the director gave up responsibility for marketing and refocused solely on development. That particular change had the nice result of allowing a member of the marketing team ready to lead to flourish.

Of course, in other cases, it meant the director left the school. Painful, yes. But it is essential that the Head fully understand and trust what’s going on in that vital office and that the Board has full confidence.

Here’s their Success:

Happily, after the disruption, in every one of these cases the school is on better footing. Some have had successful capital campaigns, or have seen strong growth in annual giving, or dug deep to start or renew major gifts and planned giving programs. In this work, it’s all about the people. Helping schools find, retain, and mentor great development pros is a joyful part of my work.

Have a challenge? Give me a call! And as always, thanks for all you’re doing.

Barbara Barron
barbara@barbarabarron.com

BARBARA BARRON is one of the most respected and highly sought-after independent advancement professionals in the country, having worked with dozens of schools in every corner of the United States.

She has raised over $20 million for schools where she served as the Director of Development. Barbara is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and presenter who currently advises dozens of schools in various capacities. She is considered a thought leader in the world of advancement, with her writing widely shared by professionals in development offices worldwide.

More Advancement Articles

• 
  Success Story #4May 26, 2026
• 
  What Can We Do About Our Changing Parent Donors?May 11, 2026
• 
  Success Story #3April 24, 2026
• 
  How Can You Set Yourself Up So That Next Fall is a Huge Success?April 14, 2026
• 
  Metrics That Matter vs. Metrics That Don’tMarch 16, 2026
• 
  What is Your Brand?March 2, 2026

The post Success Story #4 appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted March 13th, 2026 | Subscribe to this newsletter

All of us working in school advancement have noticed, to our dismay at times, that our donors (read: parents, since that’s who 90% of our supporters in independent schools are), have changed.

We talk about how difficult it is to get them to respond to our communication.

We see falling or non-existent (ouch!) RSVPs to events.

The old guideline of expecting about 50% of those invited to attend an event is shrinking. And then there are the giving percentages: everyone reports dollars are up, but participation rates are down. 

What’s going on? And what does it portend? 

Those of us who’ve been at this work for a while see it. The generation we began our careers working with is no longer the reigning one.  Increasingly, it’s (some) Gen X – but mostly now Millennials with whom who we now work. They are our colleagues and our current parents. And let’s be clear: current parents are and will remain our primary source of charitable support.

We may dream of alumni coming to save the day, but they are not and will not. 

It’s parents, friends, who are the priority.

And they are of a different generational cohort. Their values, behaviors, and priorities are different from the generations before them. Therefore, our behaviors need to change, too. 

The Boomers of my early days in advancement are moving on, in all ways. Some still serve on our Boards but they are even being replaced by pragmatic, younger cohort members: Gen X. And while Gen X is a small cohort, they are looking for high degrees of engagement and tend to prioritize local causes and charities. They typically ask more questions and want data-driven strategies. They are currently the parents of our students in middle and high school. But again, small cohort. Just as you get familiar with them, they’ll be gone.

So I urge us to turn our attention, and quickly, to the next cohorts arriving. Why? So we can make smarter plans to bring them in. Those of you readers in schools with younger students–preschool through sixth grade–these are your current parent donors: Millennials, with Gen Z on their heels. 

Quick reminder: Millennials (born between 1981 & 1996) are currently aged 30-45 and make up over half of all adults in America (73 M). Gen Z (born between 1997 & 2012) are aged 14-29. Now, clearly many Gen Z are still in your schools as students. But since their eldest sisters are 29, you’ll soon be seeing them as new parents. Plus, you are already working with them in your alumni community or in your youngest faculty. So, all info is helpful to us here as we consider how to adjust our philanthropic efforts and messages to be more effective.

Here’s some of what we know already:

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What We Know Already

• These two cohorts are the most racially and ethnically diverse generations in US history.
  
• Both cohorts are becoming wealthy fast. Faster than any generation before them. Millennials and older Gen Zs more than quadrupled their wealth between 2019 and 2024.
  
• The top 10% of Millennials have accumulated on average 20% more wealth than the top 10% of Boomers did at age 35, so Millennials alone now hold over $15 trillion in total wealth, up from $3.93 trillion just five years earlier. Wow. 

So, we have a group of newly wealthy people who already view themselves as philanthropists. (75% of Millennials and 33% of Gen Z vs. 35% of Boomers say so). And they are acting on it: Millennial giving increased by 22% in 2024 (Giving USA’s 2025 Annual report on Philanthropy).

• 80% of Gen Z say they aspire to be givers, and 63% want to be known as advocates for their causes. Great!

 What else?

• Both say that earning their trust prior to asking them to make a gift is a prerequisite. The other way around was the common orientation for Boomers.
  
• They believe in investing. A MotleyFool study showed that 57% of stock investors are in these cohorts. And they are investing at younger ages: 54% of Gen Z owned stock by the time they were 21!
  
• The internet is their primary source for financial information.
  
• They own crypto: 1 in 3 crypto owners is between 30 & 44 with Gen Z investors more than 4x as likely to own it over a retirement account.
  
• Forget about checks. Only 8% of Millennials prefer to pay by check, and only ONE quarter of Gen Z have EVER WRITTEN ONE  — EVEN ONCE! This is in part because they know that checks are a frequently targeted payment method for fraud, and they’re not having it.

So, what can we take from all this to help us shift our approaches to meet these good people where they are as they become parents at our schools? It starts with seeing our roles differently.

What We Can Do Differently

We need to welcome parents into philanthropy at our schools.

Since they already see themselves as philanthropists, let’s show them how they can have an impact on our schools along with the other charities they support. We need to start early with transparent education about how the financial side of the school operates.  Share big picture budgets, what are our (limited) sources of revenue, what are the broad categories of how we spend tuition and non-tuition dollars to deliver on our missions. Don’t assume they know our schools even are nonprofits.

Offer objective, sound information about the role and impact giving has at our schools from which they can make their charitable decisions. Provide good financial references. Be sure any annual report you publish is easy to read and clear. No jargon.

Make online giving easy. Our giving pages and all giving communication needs to be simple and straightforward. How many clicks does it take on your site to make a gift? When it’s tiresome or tricky, they’ll go elsewhere. 

Do you accept Venmo? Are you set up to receive gifts of crypto, stock, and grants from DAFs easily and seamlessly? When folks make gifts from DAFs, they often increase their overall giving since the hardest part of this transaction (when they created their fund and transferred money into it) is behind them. 

Use social media to share stories of other donors like them who give this way. Social proof really matters to this cohort. Regular readers know that I urge you to collect and publish testimonials from supporters (their peers) that share the reasons why they give. Let’s add on. Ask those giving you a testimonial to also say how they give (not how much). Use video. Homemade and real. Social media is where they (still) are. Skip email and forget about voice mail.

Not long ago, I coached a preschool with a capital campaign. Their parents are in the group we’re discussing. And for most of them, their campaign gift was the first and largest of their lives. While that was impressive and so moving, I know it won’t be their last.

We may bemoan that today’s parents are increasingly demanding and unresponsive. They are also setting up to be wealthy and potentially hugely supportive donors. But they are not going to adjust to us. We need to get out of the comfort of our familiar lanes and meet them where they are.

We have a beautiful opportunity to help them establish good philanthropic habits and to experience the joy of investing in our fine schools. Let’s do it.

Sources: Source: Fidelity Charitable, Giving USA, Qgiv, Give.org, Foundation Source, The MotleyFool, Arta Finance

As always, I am grateful for all you’re doing. 

Barbara Barron
barbara@barbarabarron.com

BARBARA BARRON is one of the most respected and highly sought-after independent advancement professionals in the country, having worked with dozens of schools in every corner of the United States.

She has raised over $20 million for schools where she served as the Director of Development. Barbara is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and presenter who currently advises dozens of schools in various capacities. She is considered a thought leader in the world of advancement, with her writing widely shared by professionals in development offices worldwide.

More Advancement Articles

• 
  Success Story #4May 26, 2026
• 
  What Can We Do About Our Changing Parent Donors?May 11, 2026
• 
  Success Story #3April 24, 2026
• 
  How Can You Set Yourself Up So That Next Fall is a Huge Success?April 14, 2026
• 
  Metrics That Matter vs. Metrics That Don’tMarch 16, 2026
• 
  What is Your Brand?March 2, 2026

The post What Can We Do About Our Changing Parent Donors? appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted April 29th, 2026 | Subscribe to this newsletter

I call this challenge: How to Strengthen Giving to the Annual Fund.

A small progressive school contacted me to help them build their nascent development program. Their annual fund was meager, and after a few years, they finally had a part-time development pro on staff. The Board had recently committed to getting involved in advancement, but they weren’t sure what to do or how to go about doing it.

The result of the appraisal of their advancement program I conducted was clear: they needed to be far more personalized and direct in their appeals to families. This meant they needed to stop relying solely on a generic written appeal and follow-up email messages. Their task was to identify the families they believed they could get in-person meetings with during the fall and ask for meaningful (read: leadership level) gifts. 

But how to have those conversations? How to ask? They didn’t know. And honestly, how could they know? They’d never done it.

So what would you advise in this situation?

Once you’ve thought about it, let’s compare notes:

Have you subscribed to this newsletter yet? It only takes a minute.

Time for training

The Board chair, two trustees, and the Head committed to learning the asking skills and practicing them. It was a vulnerable moment. At first, it was awkward and embarrassing.

We’re all going to stumble, talk too much, get lost, maybe even forget to ask for the gift.

That’s why we practice – so we know where we are and can remain clear about our purpose. 

This group did that, but what I really respected about them was they were willing to trust me and follow my advice: do it the way I modeled until they were so comfortable and confident that they could start to modify my approach to make it their own. After all, these are conversations, not scripts.

They also invited me to debrief with them part way through their campaign and took course-correcting advice. Varsity level! 

In just a couple of weeks, they met with ten families, asked for and received gifts 5 and 10 times larger than last year (because they asked for an amount), and are now reporting that their annual fund is up by 15%. Reminder: that was only with 10 families. And there were several additional steps to the process that I am leaving our here. But they were excited about this solid start and are committed to do it again, earlier, and with more families next year. They told me they felt guided and supported (and pressed, too) to fulfill their commitment to this fine school.

Bravo! 

Barbara Barron
barbara@barbarabarron.com

BARBARA BARRON is one of the most respected and highly sought-after independent advancement professionals in the country, having worked with dozens of schools in every corner of the United States.

She has raised over $20 million for schools where she served as the Director of Development. Barbara is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and presenter who currently advises dozens of schools in various capacities. She is considered a thought leader in the world of advancement, with her writing widely shared by professionals in development offices worldwide.

More Advancement Articles

• 
  Success Story #4May 26, 2026
• 
  What Can We Do About Our Changing Parent Donors?May 11, 2026
• 
  Success Story #3April 24, 2026
• 
  How Can You Set Yourself Up So That Next Fall is a Huge Success?April 14, 2026
• 
  Metrics That Matter vs. Metrics That Don’tMarch 16, 2026
• 
  What is Your Brand?March 2, 2026

The post Success Story #3 appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted April 15th, 2026 | Subscribe to this newsletter

As we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel this spring – and assuming that light is not an oncoming train! – it’s understandable that we might need to take a break.

This work is intense. The pressure are endless. And in this uncertain, even confusing, and sometimes downright scary world, it can occasionally feel a bit pointless to do too much long-range planning.

Maybe that’s wise. Too often we see five-year plans sit forgotten on a shelf because things changed so quickly that even six months in, they were obsolete.

But even with all that, if you could do something this week that would improve, even guarantee that next fall’s fundraising goes well, would you do it?

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The first step

I would. And that’s what I recently coached a client school to do.

The school is well-resourced, highly regarded, and fully enrolled with waiting lists. But my advice applies equally to schools without all that going for them. If your school has donors who love your program and believe in your mission, this is for you.

We know from the brilliant mind and work of Penelope Burke (Cygnus Research) that when donors are asked what might inspire them to give again and maybe give more, they report three things:

1. Thank them right away
2. Thank them accurately and even personally (goodness!)
3. Tell them what you did with their gift before you ask them again

We’re going to assume here that you’ve got numbers 1 and 2 nailed. (If not, run, don’t walk to fix that problem and your process).

It’s number 3 where the juice lives. 

The project I’m suggesting here is to engage in a full-on stewardship “campaign”. What do I mean? I mean creating and sending personal thank you messages to your donors, reporting on the good their gift brought to your school and its program. Might be a handwritten note. Or an email or text, depending upon the recipient’s preference.

Daunting? Not if you’ve taken the time to get to know these good people and what they care about at your school.

When you do, you can easily find evidence of how their gift (regardless of size) made a difference. Look for stories of impact, movement towards set goals, examples of your mission in action. Share those in personal notes or emails or conversations.

It needn’t be complex and should not be too heavily produced. Authentic short-form (homemade!) videos are an effective way to do this. Record a simple message of gratitude and tell a brief story. Or ask a teacher to talk for a minute about a great professional development experience they had. Find a coach or advisor to explain how their program was enhanced by extra resources or opportunities like a class trip or special guest. Take that and wrap your intro and outro around it.

That’s it. But don’t add “hope we can count on you again next year” or anything similar. That turns it into an ask. This is not an ask.

Take it to the next level

Varsity level approach? Make it a team effort.

Whether your team is an office of five or it’s you and two volunteers, it’s still a worthwhile project. You will need to decide if you do this for just your top 20 donors or your top 100 donors.

Some messages may be about the way their volunteerism saved the day. Or how their generous hosting of an event was a leap forward for your program. For others, it will be about the impact of their financial generosity. It’s supposed to be highly personalized, so you’ll need to decide.

However you define it, set aside the time. Keep copies of what you send to store in their donor record. But do it! I can assure you it will be a joyful exercise. Let that and your genuine appreciation shine through.

Your future self will thank you

Need more incentive? Imagine how you’ll feel next fall.

It’ll be time to reach out to Mary or Pat or Jessie. Rather than having a moment of hesitation or hearing a whisper in your head that the only time you contact them is to ask for a gift, you’ll know you’re good!  Your future self will know that you closed this year’s loop with a big bow of gratitude. You’ll feel on firmer, more confident ground to ask again. And maybe (yes!) ask for more.

And once you’re finished, share the experience with one another. How did it feel? Maybe this becomes part of your spring process going forward. More stewardship is routinely what I hear schools lamenting they need and want to do more of but find it always on the back burner. No more!

So what you do you think? Can you take the first step today? First thing tomorrow?

As always, grateful for all you’re doing. 

Barbara Barron
barbara@barbarabarron.com

BARBARA BARRON is one of the most respected and highly sought-after independent advancement professionals in the country, having worked with dozens of schools in every corner of the United States.

She has raised over $20 million for schools where she served as the Director of Development. Barbara is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and presenter who currently advises dozens of schools in various capacities. She is considered a thought leader in the world of advancement, with her writing widely shared by professionals in development offices worldwide.

More Advancement Articles

• 
  Success Story #4May 26, 2026
• 
  What Can We Do About Our Changing Parent Donors?May 11, 2026
• 
  Success Story #3April 24, 2026
• 
  How Can You Set Yourself Up So That Next Fall is a Huge Success?April 14, 2026
• 
  Metrics That Matter vs. Metrics That Don’tMarch 16, 2026
• 
  What is Your Brand?March 2, 2026

The post How Can You Set Yourself Up So That Next Fall is a Huge Success? appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted March 18th, 2026 | Subscribe to this newsletter

As I wrote earlier, I was a presenter at two conferences this winter: Southern Independent Schools Association or SAIS (https://sais.org) in Chattanooga and for the second year, The Small School Leaders Conference, hosted by the great people at Easy School Marketing (https://www.easyschoolmarketing.com).

That second one was remote. It featured a panel of Heads and another of advancement pros (friends and colleagues!) and a packed line up of offerings from marketing to enrollment management, development to governance issues. I encourage you to check them out and plan to attend next February. (https://www.easyschoolmarketing.com/conference).

My session was about readiness for a capital campaign. This is a much sought-after topic, and I’ve been honored to present my experience at several conferences. Here’s a popular article on the subject (https://www.barbarabarron.com/how-can-you-know-if-your-school-is-prepared-for-a-capital-campaign).

One of the readiness factors is indeed about metrics. What are we measuring and is that information leading you to have confidence that your school is prepared to launch a campaign? Is your annual giving growing, flat, or decreasing? Do you know? Do you know why?

Have you subscribed to this newsletter yet? It only takes a minute.

Getting Started

One of the back-of-the-envelope calculations that generally bears out in real life is taking your total annual giving raised and multiplying it by 5 times and 10 times. That is often the range that a school might consider for a campaign working goal. It’s also a helpful starting place when thinking about an ask amount or a range for a prospective donor.

But that’s just a start. The project itself is vital. Does it have the potential to bring a transformative impact to your school and its people and programs?

What about leadership? Is your Board prepared to do this important work? Do they have the training they’ll need to be successful and confident? Is your Head prepared to dedicate 40% of their time during periods of the campaign? Do you have the staff power for this? Do you have donors in your community who are engaged, connected, and have the financial means to be leaders?

Lots to consider. Often a good first step is to get an objective assessment (or as I call it, an appraisal) of the advancement program so you know the areas that are strong and can be amplified and the areas that are a bit wobbly or outdated. I can help you there.

So that’s a bit about my session. The session I wish to highlight here was from Jill Goodman (https://www.jillgoodmanconsulting.com). She spoke about metrics that are helpful vs. those that aren’t but keep hanging around. Chief among them is participation in the annual fund. I’ve been chirping about this for years and so wasn’t surprised to hear at both conferences how unhelpful a focus on this metric is. But it can be hard to get trustees and others to stop obsessing over it.

The truth is that the days of 100% participation from parents (or any other constituency except Board members) are over. Everyone I talk to and hear from reports the same thing: percentages are down and dollars are up. 80/20 is now 90/10 or even 95/5. That may be scary but it’s happening. It’s true for campaigns as well. A colleague reported that they have raised $9.5 M towards a $11M goal with just 73 gifts. Do the math.

So, what should we be tracking instead? Like Jill, I encourage my client schools to focus on new leadership gifts. New donors stepping in right away to those top giving levels. Also, those families increasing their gifts into those top levels. Are you asking them to do that? What is their motivation?

Also worth evaluating are your events. We know that events have the lowest ROI of all fundraising activities (personal solicitations in capital campaigns have the highest). Are you digging in to understand what you’re spending in dollars AND staff time to net what you do at your spring event? What about other events? You may find that what really moves the needle are small, inexpensive gatherings. If you don’t do the evaluation, you can’t know.

Finally, but primarily, what about stewardship? Do you have a sense of how many touches you are giving donors each year? Do you have a good system to track it? Not just the big splashy moments but the small and meaningful times we surprise and delight our supporters by showing them how their generosity is making a difference, having an impact. We may bemoan the slip in participation but one upside is it is getting ever clearer who we need to be spending time with.

What we focus on persists and increases. Gratitude is the center of the work. I’m here to help you refocus on what matters.

As always, I am grateful for all you’re doing. 

Barbara Barron
barbara@barbarabarron.com

BARBARA BARRON is one of the most respected and highly sought-after independent advancement professionals in the country, having worked with dozens of schools in every corner of the United States.

She has raised over $20 million for schools where she served as the Director of Development. Barbara is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and presenter who currently advises dozens of schools in various capacities. She is considered a thought leader in the world of advancement, with her writing widely shared by professionals in development offices worldwide.

More Advancement Articles

• 
  Success Story #4May 26, 2026
• 
  What Can We Do About Our Changing Parent Donors?May 11, 2026
• 
  Success Story #3April 24, 2026
• 
  How Can You Set Yourself Up So That Next Fall is a Huge Success?April 14, 2026
• 
  Metrics That Matter vs. Metrics That Don’tMarch 16, 2026
• 
  What is Your Brand?March 2, 2026

The post Metrics That Matter vs. Metrics That Don’t appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted March 4th, 2026 | Subscribe to this newsletter

We’re coming off of conference season!

Did you participate, attend, or present at one or more?

I had the honor of being part of two conferences this year: The Small Schools Leaders Conference and the Southern Association of Independent Schools (first) Brand Conference in Chattanooga.

Whenever I return from a conference, I’m eager to share some of my takeaways. I’m always pumped to try something new. Also, I want to remember what I learned, and put some of these innovative ideas into practice.

In Chattanooga – at SAIS – I spoke about how we can help our schools build a true culture of philanthropy. I’ve written previously about that topic here: “How Do We Create a Culture of Philanthropy at Our Schools?”

Since that conference was all about branding, I made the point that a school’s philanthropic culture is part of its brand. And every school has a culture of philanthropy. You may not like what it is or how it feels. But it’s there.

What do I mean? Well, let’s start with:

• “Is it ok to talk about money at your school?
  
• Is development work done in what I call “the light of day,” so it is not perceived as shameful or mysterious?
  
• Is innovation part of your charge or are you stuck doing it like “we’ve always done it”?
  
• How would a parent or alum or Board member or teacher describe your school’s philanthropic culture? I suggest you ask a dozen people. Take what you hear and then begin to evolve towards a culture that is alive, open, and joyful. 

As I pointed out in my Tips & Take Aways, this is challenging work. Changing culture always is. To help, here is some advice to get you started, and to help you keep going:

Have you subscribed to this newsletter yet? It only takes a minute.

Some bits of advice:

1. Find a believer – even just one—to begin the work. Ideally, this is your Head. But maybe it’s a Board member who can help deliver the message to the rest of the Board.
   
   
2. Partner with someone. Maybe its a colleague at another school who is trying to do the same thing at their school. Or an outside consultant who can be your thought partner.
   
   
3. Begin to tell heartwarming stories about the good things that philanthropy brings to your school. Listen at school meeting. Visit a classroom. Watch a play rehearsal or a basketball practice. It’s all there.
   
   
4. Ask donors of all stripes to give you testimonials about why they support the school. The gift amount isn’t relevant. It’s the feeling of giving and supporting programs and people they love that does.
   
   
5. Stop focusing so much on the metrics that don’t matter and address those that do (more on this in Part 2). But chief among these is keeping your eye on new, increased, and renewed gifts, not participation.
   
   
6. Center joy. In your appeals, your thank you notes, your emails, your reports to the development committee, your standing meeting with your Head.

This last one gets me to the other “ah-ha” from the SAIS conference. I had it when I was in a session on “creating better development board reports”, offered by Mattingly Messina of Throughline (https://www.findthroughline.com/#hero) and Kaitlin Windel of APTe (https://www.apte.com/).

They too connected the dots between their topic and the brand theme. They talked about ensuring that the Board is focused on the right metrics and trends. They said that the metrics that help us measure how accurately we can project outcomes are central to the job of the advancement professional. When we bring that kind of clear data and smart analysis, we teach trustees what to look for and then how to ask smarter questions.

That, dear professional, is part of your brand!

This smart session showed great examples of far better dashboards we can use to give trustees the information they need to make the decisions that fall to them. (I encourage you to reach out to learn more.)

Next time, some good learning from the Small School Leaders Conference hosted by the very good people at  Easy School Marketing (https://www.easyschoolmarketing.com). 

What useful tips or takeaways did you gain from a conference this season? I’d love to hear.

 As always, thank you for everything you’re doing.

Barbara Barron
barbara@barbarabarron.com

BARBARA BARRON is one of the most respected and highly sought-after independent advancement professionals in the country, having worked with dozens of schools in every corner of the United States.

She has raised over $20 million for schools where she served as the Director of Development. Barbara is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and presenter who currently advises dozens of schools in various capacities. She is considered a thought leader in the world of advancement, with her writing widely shared by professionals in development offices worldwide.

More Advancement Articles

• 
  Success Story #4May 26, 2026
• 
  What Can We Do About Our Changing Parent Donors?May 11, 2026
• 
  Success Story #3April 24, 2026
• 
  How Can You Set Yourself Up So That Next Fall is a Huge Success?April 14, 2026
• 
  Metrics That Matter vs. Metrics That Don’tMarch 16, 2026
• 
  What is Your Brand?March 2, 2026

The post What is Your Brand? appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted February 18th, 2026 | Subscribe to this newsletter

Here were the initial challenges:

The Head of an outstanding K-8 school came to me with a nagging sense that there was a sizeable opportunity among many families enrolled to raise far more money — IF they could land on the right project. The Board was eager to test the viability of their desire to build an additional outdoor learning space on campus. They retained my services to conduct a feasibility study for a possible capital campaign that combined the physical plant concept along with an expansion of their endowment.

Along came the next challenge:

The feasibility study resulted in mixed reviews. While most families thought the learning space would be a “nice to have,” it did not land as an imperative with them. As we know, capital campaigns need to have the potential to have transformational impact to be worth the time, expense, and risk involved. The reaction to the endowment piece was similarly tepid. Families understood the value of a larger endowment for the school but, as we often see with donors these days, the longer term (read: delayed) impact didn’t excite them enough to see themselves making significant gifts to the effort.

Okay, at the break, I want to know what you would do in a situation like the above.

Do you have an idea? Good. Now I’ll tell you how I tackled it.

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Here’s what I did, in order:

I am about to use a word I’ve avoided since it was overused during COVID times: we pivoted.

As I presented the study results to the Board of Trustees, I could say with authority that I’d heard deep love for the school among the families I interviewed along with a willingness to give to make something important happen. But the project we tested just didn’t hold sway.

What did I discover DID have the needed energy and excitement? The desire to do something significant for their beloved teachers. Raising money to ensure that the school had the financial resources to hire and retain the best educators became the priority. And to do that, I recommended that they build a major gifts program for that fundraising.

As we know, major gifts is not a campaign but a program. An ongoing program that each year might have fundraising potential among a small group — or even just two or three families. I shared with this client school the winning strategy I’d created at another school for HOW we approached identified families to discuss their participation in the program.

But before we dove in, I delivered an educational session for the Board in which we defined the program and agreed to its policies and centering values. We determined how this new program was different and yet would be aligned with the rest of their advancement program. I brought them a set of prompts to work with that helped them gain confidence to have far more meaningful conversations with members of their community and build deeper and more lasting relationships.

Today, their major gifts program is in full swing. They carefully cultivate select families for those meetings and have had good success. The program has benefitted the school and its cherished teachers. An added benefit, the school has expanded the advancement department slightly to enable their director to focus on major gifts, deepening their reach and impact. Lots of wins there. 

Have a challenge? Need some smart solutions? Give me a call!

And thanks for all you’re doing.

Barbara Barron
barbara@barbarabarron.com

BARBARA BARRON is one of the most respected and highly sought-after independent advancement professionals in the country, having worked with dozens of schools in every corner of the United States.

She has raised over $20 million for schools where she served as the Director of Development. Barbara is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and presenter who currently advises dozens of schools in various capacities. She is considered a thought leader in the world of advancement, with her writing widely shared by professionals in development offices worldwide.

More Advancement Articles

• 
  Success Story #4May 26, 2026
• 
  What Can We Do About Our Changing Parent Donors?May 11, 2026
• 
  Success Story #3April 24, 2026
• 
  How Can You Set Yourself Up So That Next Fall is a Huge Success?April 14, 2026
• 
  Metrics That Matter vs. Metrics That Don’tMarch 16, 2026
• 
  What is Your Brand?March 2, 2026

The post Success Story #2 appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted February 4th, 2026 | Subscribe to this newsletter

I’d like to start by reposting a piece by the great Seth Godin:

It’s difficult to write directions.

A user interface, a map or a recipe all require empathy.

That’s because the person writing it knows something the reader doesn’t. In fact, that’s the only reason to do it.

But because instructions exist to bridge this gap, we benefit by understanding and focusing on the gap. The instructions aren’t there to remind you of how to do something. They serve to help someone who doesn’t know, learn.

Here’s a useful way to begin:

Assume less.

Yes, the person reading your recipe knows what a knife is, but do they know you keep your mustard in the food cabinet, not the fridge?

List every step you could imagine, and then list some more.

Once the overdone, step-by-step instructions exist, begin removing them. The interface for your induction cooktop probably doesn’t benefit from having icons so obscure they’re meaningless, but it also doesn’t need every step for boiling water enunciated in capital letters.

In my experience in reading instructions, it’s easier for the user to skip over steps that are too complete than it is to try to guess what the person writing the directions had in mind.

You can – and should – give him a follow at his blog.

I read this article by Seth, and a little light went off.

I have been writing this blog for over nine years. Many of my articles are big think pieces designed to debunk myths or invite us to work in new and better ways. Others are what my web manager calls “hand-holdy” ones. These are the pieces that take a reader step by step through a new process or offer specific ways to refine one. My piece “How to Write A Good Welcome Letter for Parents” was first published in August 2018 and continues to be the most read and shared article yet.

Similarly, but even earlier, in September 2017 in the first month of my business, “How to Get Rid of the Terrible Thank You Letter” was published. That one is also very popular.

Both are good examples of the “hand-holdy” piece. They help guide someone new to this work or someone looking to revamp their work. Step. By. Step. They get a lot of eyes because advancement pros share them with new trustees or new members of the team. Love it.

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Invisible steps

When I read Seth’s piece, it made me think about all the steps that are invisible to me – and likely to you if you’ve done this work for a while. It’s the invisible stuff that trips us up every time, whether we are writing an appeal or welcoming new families or offering orientation to new trustees.

We naturally and innocently make assumptions about what others already know. Seth’s point is that it is better to be more specific and allow the reader or learner to skip over the steps they know — rather than leave them guessing, because we’ve assumed.

 So, I’m thinking about how to help someone new and maybe a bit tentative to ask for a gift.

I can show you how to do that. We can practice until you get comfortable with my method and can then customize it to fit your style. But writing out the steps? Not so easy. And that’s precisely because there’s so much that is unique to each circumstance. I can tell you, for instance, that it’s helpful to start the conversation by asking how their early experience has been at the school.

But the step I may have missed for you is how to ask for the meeting itself.

Or – after they’ve shared about their child’s early days and how things are going for their family – you might need to know how to steer the conversation to the school’s giving program and what you hope they will consider. 

Or even trickier for many, how to ask for that gift. Or how to ask and then wait. Or ask, wait, and then ask how you can follow up if they want more time to think about your request. (That happens a lot.) 

It is after that meeting that you get the chance to do great cultivation work. That’s where it all begins. 

The day I purchased my first personal computer, the sales guy loaded the giant boxes (yep, it was back then) into my car and said, “This is where the sale actually begins.”

So maybe Seth’s recipe analogy falls apart for us here. Maybe step-by-step instructions, as good as they can be, and as complete and even obvious as Seth urges, aren’t enough. Instead, we ought to talk this out, practice the different parts until we are so comfortable with the goal of the conversation (which is not only to secure the gift), that we can be fully and totally in the moment with these good people who’ve come to meet with us and hear our request of them. 

I do agree about the empathy. When we put ourselves in the shoes of the people we are asking to support our schools, we have a far better chance of seeing it from their perspective. We can slow it down. Ask better, more thoughtful questions about them and what is important to them. We can be clearer about our hopes for them as engaged members of our community.

This kind of coaching is something I love to do and have done with big success for many clients. We all need to keep our donor skills sharp. It’s the only thing that we as human beings can truly do far better than AI. If you could use a walk-through session, do reach out. 

Thanks for everything you’re doing. 

Barbara Barron
barbara@barbarabarron.com

BARBARA BARRON is one of the most respected and highly sought-after independent advancement professionals in the country, having worked with dozens of schools in every corner of the United States.

She has raised over $20 million for schools where she served as the Director of Development. Barbara is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and presenter who currently advises dozens of schools in various capacities. She is considered a thought leader in the world of advancement, with her writing widely shared by professionals in development offices worldwide.

More Advancement Articles

• 
  Success Story #4May 26, 2026
• 
  What Can We Do About Our Changing Parent Donors?May 11, 2026
• 
  Success Story #3April 24, 2026
• 
  How Can You Set Yourself Up So That Next Fall is a Huge Success?April 14, 2026
• 
  Metrics That Matter vs. Metrics That Don’tMarch 16, 2026
• 
  What is Your Brand?March 2, 2026

The post The Steps We Skip appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted January 21st, 2026 | Subscribe to this newsletter

Regular readers know that I am a huge proponent of the value of good stewardship.

It goes way, way beyond thanking donors in prompt and accurate ways. It is the storytelling of how a donor’s gift was put to good and actionable use. What difference their generosity made. Did we show (not tell) the impact it had? The impact it had on the things our donor cares most about?

Wait. Do we even know what that donor cares most about?

Probably not.

The problem with traditional and generic fundraising is it uses a broad brush. Appeal letters list 25 ways an annual fund gift is used. When we do that, any discerning reader wonders: “My $1,000 did all that? I doubt it.”  Add a zero or even two to the gift amount and it’s still not credible.

The dreaded generic thank you note is more the same. It lists ways that our gifts advanced the mission. If we’re lucky, one of the things we mention actually matters to the donor.

What if instead we knew? We knew because we had taken the time to get to know our donor and, more importantly, learn what they deeply care about in our program?

How to get from where we are to that sweet spot? By centering donor joy. By deciding that we are not just fundraisers but are something much more. We shift our perspective and therefore our strategy from doing things that benefit the school to doing work that helps create a meaningful, joyful experience for the donor.

Some time ago, a former colleague told me that her goal is to be a trusted advisor to her donors. I loved that. I want that, too! To be a trusted advisor to you and my clients. And don’t you want that? Most of us get into the work of school development and advancement because we thrive on rewarding relationships. Shifting our attention to looking for ways to create joy for our supporters is like an infusion of energy towards that intention.

OK. Are you feeling curious about this — but not sure how to actually do it?

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Starting questions

First, we start with good questions. These questions will help us get to know what really matters to those we serve (the donor). I’ve written about using a set of prompts to have deeper and more meaningful conversations. I have presented this work at several conferences and have conducted training for school Boards to show them how to use them in their important cultivation work.

Here are some fresh ones that get to what a donor cares about at our schools.

• You have been such a generous supporter of our school. Can you tell me what about our mission is most important to you?

• Are there things we’re doing that you’d love to see amplified?

• Are there programs that you believe could have a bigger impact if they were more resourced?

• Who in your life was influential in how you think about giving? Please tell me about that person.

• What would you love your legacy to be? 

Once we know more about donor motivations and the things that light them up, we can tailor our stewardship to reflect that. Tracking our updates and reports over time, we will show them how their sustained generosity has not only made a difference to the school and its people but to them in their goal of experiencing deep meaning. We will build a “portfolio of impact” for them. And, yep, provide joy.

Our stewardship needs to be designed to reflect who they are, their identity. Not just what we accomplish with their generosity.

Shifting your priority

Years ago, I had the good fortune to collaborate with a trustee who was passionate about building the school’s planned giving program. He convinced me to make this a priority. Together we expanded the number of individuals and couples who included the school in their estate plans.

The result for the school was clear: a future enriched by the generosity of people who will not see their gift realized in their lifetimes. But for this trustee and donor, he was forever changed by how his work reflected his values, his identity.

This kind of stewardship work is next to impossible when we aren’t staffed or organized for it. It’s impossible when the development office is working away in their silo and communication office in theirs. It’s impossible when the defining metric to our success is “participation rates” and telling the tired story about funding the “gap.” There’s no joy there, my friends.

This shift in priority can have another really powerful outcome.

It helps us do what we have long wished our various giving circles would do: create a community of people that share values. Values they see are alive and well in our school. It’s that notion of social norms – the things we collectively believe are important and that guide our behavior.

What if we gathered all the families we know care passionately about supporting teachers’ professional growth? And the families who are huge supporters of our arts programs? The families who want to ensure that the school is sustainable in the future come what may? Once our community has been gathered, our standard recognition events will have no choice but to change. They will be about celebrating and reporting on what donors’ love, not just their gift amount.

In the end, it’s not really about how great our school is. Our families are enrolled because they already know that. Rather than asking them to support us because we’re terrific, let’s seek to find out what they love best about our school and ask them to support that. And then it’s on us to show them in large but mostly small ways, in acts that surprise and delight them, that what they care about most matters to us, too. 

Not easy. But clear. And clearly better.

As always, thanks for everything you’re doing. 

Barbara Barron
barbara@barbarabarron.com

BARBARA BARRON is one of the most respected and highly sought-after independent advancement professionals in the country, having worked with dozens of schools in every corner of the United States.

She has raised over $20 million for schools where she served as the Director of Development. Barbara is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and presenter who currently advises dozens of schools in various capacities. She is considered a thought leader in the world of advancement, with her writing widely shared by professionals in development offices worldwide.

More Advancement Articles

• 
  Success Story #4May 26, 2026
• 
  What Can We Do About Our Changing Parent Donors?May 11, 2026
• 
  Success Story #3April 24, 2026
• 
  How Can You Set Yourself Up So That Next Fall is a Huge Success?April 14, 2026
• 
  Metrics That Matter vs. Metrics That Don’tMarch 16, 2026
• 
  What is Your Brand?March 2, 2026

The post What if Fundraising Was Really about Creating Donor Joy? appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted January 7th, 2026 | Subscribe to this newsletter

In 2018, I was approached by a little preschool, well-loved by families and deeply respected as a leader in early childhood education.

Their problem was that they had outgrown their space and had a dream of expanding to allow more children to experience their outstanding program. After a lengthy search, they found an ideal new location but would need to raise significant funds to complete a renovation that would convert that space into the right environment. They needed to launch a capital campaign, but they had no development staff and a Board of dedicated but inexperienced volunteers.

How would you launch a capital campaign when you have no development staff and a group of eager, yet inexperienced volunteers?

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Here’s what I did, in order:

1. I began by conducting an appraisal of their program. This allowed me to identify what they were doing well (plenty) and what they needed to get in place so they could consider engaging in a capital campaign. (A lot!)
    
2. Once we established some good practices internally, we developed a campaign theme and a strategy for the leadership phase of the campaign.
    
3. I trained many of the members of the Board in the art of the ask and supported them in their early, nervous solicitations.
    
4. I served as wing woman to the Executive Director who did the lion’s share of the solicitations. For most of those early donors, this was the single largest gift they’d ever made. It was exhilarating.
    
5. We created beautiful campaign materials to support the work and strengthen their brand including a series of heartfelt newsletters to keep early supporters aware of our progress, to share sneak peaks into the renovation, and to express ongoing gratitude for their faith and support.

Year two, we moved steadily outward from the center, as one does in campaigns, engaging with more families.

• All the while, I managed the campaign and ran the weekly (yes, weekly) campaign steering committee meetings, trouble-shooting and supporting the highs and inevitable lows until the campaign was successfully completed.

The result: an audacious goal met and a larger, more vibrant school community created, operating in a beautiful, mission-aligned learning space. Only one family did not participate.

Today, they have a development professional on staff. As a result of their efforts, they have expanded their fundraising capacity to engage families and raise more money to support and advance their inspiring mission. 

What do you think? Did we tackle this school’s particular issue the same way?

Curious to hear your thoughts, and how this resonates with you.

Barbara Barron
barbara@barbarabarron.com

BARBARA BARRON is one of the most respected and highly sought-after independent advancement professionals in the country, having worked with dozens of schools in every corner of the United States.

She has raised over $20 million for schools where she served as the Director of Development. Barbara is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and presenter who currently advises dozens of schools in various capacities. She is considered a thought leader in the world of advancement, with her writing widely shared by professionals in development offices worldwide.

More Advancement Articles

• 
  Success Story #4May 26, 2026
• 
  What Can We Do About Our Changing Parent Donors?May 11, 2026
• 
  Success Story #3April 24, 2026
• 
  How Can You Set Yourself Up So That Next Fall is a Huge Success?April 14, 2026
• 
  Metrics That Matter vs. Metrics That Don’tMarch 16, 2026
• 
  What is Your Brand?March 2, 2026

The post Success Story #1 appeared first on Barbara Barron.