by Barbara Barron | Posted October 22nd, 2025 | Subscribe to this newsletter

If you are like most advancement pros I know, the new tax laws are a bit of mystery, and a source of concern. I‘ve now participated in a few webinars and have done my reading by experts I trust to try to make sense of what this means for nonprofits, and in particular, independent schools.

Beyond the changes to the itemization and standard deductions, a couple of big take aways for me are these:

Corporate Giving

There is an anticipated $4-5 billion decrease in giving from corporations. While this may leave some breathless, I say let’s not get caught up in that. Very few independent schools receive significant funding from corporations anymore.

But what may be affected are corporation’s matching gift programs. The effect is not fully known, yet. But what we do know is that it makes sense to get ahead of this. Do your research.

·   Call the matching gift companies where your families work. Ask if they have adjusted their giving match amounts (or percentages) and if they have changed the timing of their program in any way. This could mean gifts are better off matched this year than next.

·   Personally notify families who have matched their gifts in the past and share what you’ve learned. Best that they hear it from you, even if they hear it from their employers as well. Not a group email. Personalize it. This will help increase their confidence in your knowledge and your program.

·   Post about this on your social media and add a simple info box on the giving pages of your website.

Non-Cash Gifts

Whether we are talking about the new guidelines around deductions and how donors might “bunch” their gifts to clear the new 0.5% of AGI (adjusted gross income) floor, what has emerged for me is the importance of non-cash gifts.

These are not affected by the tax law changes. Read that again. Still a great gift option for donors with no impact from the tax laws.  

What do we mean by non-cash gifts?

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1. Let’s start with appreciated securities.

I wrote about this gift option in February 2025. Here’s a link: https://www.barbarabarron.com/tax-talk/

Stock gifts remain an excellent way of giving, unaffected by tax changes. Be sure your stock givers are reminded of this. Put transfer instructions in an easy to find spot on your website site.

2.    DAFs (donor advised funds)

I’ve been preaching about these for a few years and wrote about their value and impact last July. 

Donations to DAFs are rising fast. Reminder: once the money is in the fund, it can ONLY be used for charitable purposes. Think about talking with your DAF donors about making multi-year gifts upfront. Huge impact for your school and pain-free for them.

3.     Gifts from IRAs

This is an especially good message to send to donors who are over 70 1⁄2, the age at which minimum distribution requirements kick in. Think grandparents. While many are not yet at that target age yet, they will be. This message can take a minute to be absorbed.

Like with matching gift donors, start with the individual. Look to your board, former board members, and other long-term donors who you know are in that age range. Share what you’ve learned about this option with them personally. Invite a conversation.

Then start to promote this more widely. Experts suggest sharing this message 3-4 times a year, so it gets traction. Something like:

“Are you 70 ½ or older? Did you know you can give directly from your IRA to maximize your impact and minimize your taxes? Let’s talk!”

Varsity tip: When you secure one of these gifts, write a story or make a short video about it and let the donor talk about its benefits and how it made them FEEL to do this for your school.

In fact, do that for all these noncash gifts to make it feel easy for others. Testimonials work.

We’re headed into the giving season. Let’s be sure we’re getting as smart as we can about the different ways families can support our schools that benefit them the most.  

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.

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  Success Story #4May 26, 2026
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  Success Story #3April 24, 2026
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  How Can You Set Yourself Up So That Next Fall is a Huge Success?April 14, 2026
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The post Why We Need to Leverage Non-Cash Gifts in Light of the New Tax Laws appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted November 5th, 2025 | Subscribe to this newsletter

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak to the Palmetto Association of Independent Schools Advancement & Mar-com cohort at their monthly online gathering. PAIS has super big schools and super small schools, and some in between. So, lots of places with one- or two-member advancement teams. Still other schools have one person doing both jobs! Their centering question for me was: how can advancement (and admission) work more collaboratively with mar-com?

Can you relate? I sure can.

I’ve worked at schools where the relationship I had with mar-com was close and trusting and together, we created effective and beautiful work. Other times, it felt more like I was competing with other departments for scant time and attention from mar-com. And still other times, I just went outside the school resources and hired a designer as a thought-partner and creator to help me create what I needed.

In my consulting, I’ve worked with schools that mirror each of my experiences. Other times, Mar-com feels a bit abused by the constantly changing requests or multiple drafts of projects from their advancement colleagues. One Director of Communication said it was like having to repeatedly “open up the patient”. Eek.

So, I’ve felt it; I’ve seen it. I knew I could address their question.

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Some tactical advice

I started by inquiring about the sources of friction. Most often, it’s a result of “competing mandates” and lack of clarity about priorities.  And those come, dear readers, from our leaders.

As Peter Drucker said: “The bottleneck is always at the top of the bottle”. 

So, when that’s the case, we must turn to our Heads and ask for help establishing priorities. We cannot do everything simultaneously, and well. Not possible. Get clear and you can get going.

Another way to build a better environment is to spend time together. Set and keep regular meetings to catch up, and to hear from one another what’s really going on for them. What’s on each of your plates? What’s keeping you awake at night? Get human and watch trust build. This won’t cure every ill but without trust, not much can.  

Here’s some more tactical advice:

1.     Build a shared calendar. Look at it through the lens of your parents’ experiences. When do they receive requests? When are they asked to attend something or give or share? And who is issuing those different requests?

2.     Walk together through the upcoming months and look for the predictable traffic jams. Where can we either layer events or communication so we reduce some of the gnats-in-your-face feel of some of our communication to parents.

3.     Create – and stick with! – agreed-upon throughline messages. These are about why families choose your school and why they support your school. Same messages that can be tweaked and used in admission and advancement.

4.     Build a stockpile of testimonials. Like #3, some may be used for admission or advancement because they feature the answer to the essential question of why. Why give? Why enroll? Why volunteer? Why stay?

5.     Share the wins. When you secure a nice gift, go tell Mar-com and thank them for their contribution. When they fix the nagging issues on the online giving form, be sure to let them know when you see gifts coming in, unimpeded.

The next level version of this is to make sure you brag on them to your Head and compliment their work at a faculty meeting or a Board meeting.

6.     Debrief with care. When the mailing isn’t perfect, the annual report runs late, the pages on the site won’t load well, the video stalls, talk about it. Bring your most generous interpretation to that discussion. Figure out how you can fix it together. Express gratitude and a willingness to move on. And then do it.

7.     Finally, I return to the project that I have personally seen do wonders for both the working relationship between these vital departments and increasing the amount of money the school raises: A Guide to Giving and Getting Involved. I’ve written about this smart project. I’ve watched those who build one deepen the very nature of the way they relate to one another. And I’ve seen it reduce the confusion new families experience when they join our school communities. Parents appreciate the clarity it gives them about what and when to expect the school to approach them for all manner of things. Like a good Swiss army knife, it serves many purposes.

At the end of the day, a good working relationship makes not only our hours at work more pleasant and productive, and less stressful, but it also makes the work itself 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.

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• 
  How the 2026 Mid-Term Elections May Impact Our Fundraising & What We Can Do About It June 7, 2026
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  Success Story #4May 26, 2026
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  Success Story #3April 24, 2026
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  How Can You Set Yourself Up So That Next Fall is a Huge Success?April 14, 2026
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  Metrics That Matter vs. Metrics That Don’tMarch 16, 2026

The post How Advancement & Mar-com (with Admission!) Can Work Together with Better Outcomes for All appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted September 24th, 2025 | Subscribe to this newsletter

At the heart of my work as an advancement consultant is helping schools get better at creating the environment that makes it possible to raise more money to support their inspiring mission.

Whether that’s for the annual fundraising or special moments like a major gift opportunity or the high-stakes capital campaign, having the skills that give us the confidence to sit with a family and ask them to support the hopes and dreams of the school is imperative to creating that environment.

But there’s a teeny, little barrier there.

When asked, most people say they’d rather do just about anything else than ask someone for money. I’ve worked with dozens of school Boards as well as hundreds of development professionals themselves. That’s a very common feeling. Or let’s call it what it is, fear. Who likes being scared? Anyone out there love the idea of trying something you have no experience with and doing it in front of others, and at a moment that’s very important?

Didn’t think so. 

But here’s the good news: these are not terribly difficult skills to gain. Do they take a bit of practice? Well sure. But like most skill-based activities (making the perfect omelet, giving a great speech, executing a slick parallel parking job), all can be learned.

What gets in the way are those awkward and vulnerable moments before that skill is landed. It’s those moments we avoid.

And that’s where training helps.

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Training time

The very best musicians, actors, dancers, athletes – they get coached. And they welcome it. They listen and then follow the coach’s instructions and advice because they know it works. Same for learning how to skillfully and compassionately ask for support. 

I’ve had the truly joyful experience recently of helping some terrific volunteers and staff gain those skills so they can be the leaders they want to be in the areas of advancement as well as governance and the running of a school. And it starts a little gingerly, for sure. But once we actually get to practicing, those fears begin to fade, and what emerges is excitement.

Because what is always, always revealed is the why behind the ask.

These volunteers feel anew why they love and care for the school. They remember that they are asking not for themselves, ever, but for the teachers and the program that they have seen have a huge positive impact of the students it serves. They get right on over themselves in the most beautiful ways when they center the mission in their asks.

 Mission. It’s all about the mission.

The first time I ever asked an alum for $1000, I was afraid a frog was going to leap out of my mouth. I’m sure I was awkward and weird. Sweet, guy, he still said yes. I’ve never forgotten him. So, I get it. But I’ve also had the pure delight of asking for a transformative gift from a family and hearing them say yes. And not just “well, ok” but “YES!.” They felt the joy of being able to do something significant and meaningful with their resources that changed lives.

That’s what we have the possibility of doing here, friends. That’s why we do it.

So if you – or those you work with – could benefit from coaching in this critical area, call me. If you know you could use a boost of skills and confidence yourself, let’s talk. In the end, the impact of this work can create huge ripples of good.

 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.

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The post How to Turn Good Volunteers Into Great Askers appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted August 12th, 2025 | Subscribe to this newsletter

As we begin another school year, everything is new again.

I believe that most of us who work in, and for, independent schools do so – in part – because we love that feeling of a fresh start. There are new students, new colleagues, and new families to welcome and engage. There are even new school supplies: a fresh notebook!

For those of us “school people” we can tell you how August and September feel radically different from November. Or the dreaded February (the shortest month with the longest days). 

But here we are at the start. And I’ve been thinking about the power of trust.

A Starting Point

We begin with that important assumption of goodwill. Our new families are full of trust right now as they step into our school and join the rushing river that is our busy community. New colleagues swim in that river hard and fast to make sense of our sometimes-arcane and often-invisible systems, all while setting up their classroom and creating lesson plans. (They trust our organization to support them and be honest with them about our outsized expectations!) Our families and alumni are trusting us to explain our fundraising program clearly and accurately, ask them respectfully for their support, and then report back to them quickly about the impact of their gifts. 

This work demands trust.

Sadly, we aren’t currently living in a time with abundant examples of trust at work. Quite the opposite.

So, what we do in our small world matters even more. It’s an important point of distinction.

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The Multiplying Power of Trust

Trust, when it’s present, changes the quality of our work. I hope, dear reader, that you, like me, have had the grand experience of a trusting, collaborative relationship with a Head of School (or with your Board chair – for you Heads).

Sadly, it’s more likely that you had the opposite: a tense, uncomfortable, suspicious relationship. It’s awful. It’s why advancement pros don’t stay in their jobs. And it’s now the leading reason Heads cite for leaving theirs: lack of trust with their Boards. I’ve seen it up close with a handful of client schools. Wrenching. The average tenure for a Head is now less than 7 years. Yikes. 

Recently, I had coffee with a professional friend who was starting a new gig at a big school after serving for eight years at another great school. Why did she leave? Lack of trust. Why is she so excited about this new position? Full trust and confidence in her as expressed by her new Head. It’s exhilarating and it makes us advancement pros want to work harder and smarter. 

And if that’s true for us, it’s true for those we mentor and lead.

As the wise Seth Godin wrote:

“The job of the leader is to create the conditions for others to raise the standards. Trusting your team isn’t settling for less. It’s settling for better.”

Ben Sander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, wrote about the idea of giving students an “A” at the start of the term as a way to foster a mindset of possibility rather than limitation. He detailed the practice in his wonderful little book The Art of Possibility. It reframes the concept of grades as a “potential to be realized, rather than a standard to be achieved”. Zander encourages students to write a letter at the beginning of the course, dated at the end, detailing what they will have accomplished to earn that “A”.

Kinda brilliant.

What if we approach those who work in our departments with that mindset? Ask them to consider what, at the end of the year, will be their most prized achievements. Start your first staff meeting by affirming your trust and belief in them and their good intentions.

As we all begin this new school year, even amid the uncertainty and worry surrounding us right now, let’s decide to place trust at the center of our work.

Let’s each be trust – worthy and then extend that assumption of goodwill to others.

Let’s see how it moves us forward and creates the kind of environment we and others want to be part of. 

Wishing you a peaceful, joyful start. And thank you for all you’re doing — and all you’re about to do.

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

• 
  How the 2026 Mid-Term Elections May Impact Our Fundraising & What We Can Do About It June 7, 2026
• 
  Success Story #4May 26, 2026
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  What Can We Do About Our Changing Parent Donors?May 11, 2026
• 
  Success Story #3April 24, 2026
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• 
  Metrics That Matter vs. Metrics That Don’tMarch 16, 2026

The post The Power of Trust appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted June 5th, 2025 | Subscribe to this newsletter

With all the chatter about the rise in giving through Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) and the controversy about how much money has been contributed and is sitting idle (and not being distributed to charities as intended), I decided to do some snooping of my own.

I did a little inventory, clicking around on the giving pages of 25 of my current and former client schools’ websites. I was looking to see who lists “Donor Advised Funds” as a way to give on the main giving pages — or anywhere, frankly. 

Shockingly, only half did.

Then I looked through the sites of several well-established and respected schools’ sites. (You’d know the names.)

Again, only about half of them list this vital giving method.

This is one of those problems you may not even see as a problem. But the easy fix in solving it may well result in far more gifts and larger gifts than you expect. Plus, a path revealed toward potential major or transformative gifts. Wanna hear more?

Here’s the data:

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DAF giving is big and getting bigger

As of 2025, there is $250 billion in donor-advised funds in the US.

That represents 15% of all US giving. So, it’s a staggering figure.

That money – and commit this phrase to memory – is “ready to go funds.” Meaning they have already left the hands of the donor, earmarked for charitable giving and only charitable giving.

They can’t be taken back. They can be given to a charity, or they can sit in the fund.

But those are the only two options.

Moreover, the number of grants given increases each year along with the average gift amount (now around $4000). This is partly because more people have created DAFs (not just the uber-wealthy anymore so it’s all less mysterious).

It is very likely that there are members of your community who have DAFs, and you don’t know about it. In fact, this is the chief concern fundraisers express about DAF giving: they don’t know who has one and how to talk about directing grants from them.

Really? I don’t buy that last bit. I have too much faith in development pros. Don’t we all know that the only way to receive a gift is to ask for it?  It follows that the only way to find out a family has a DAF is to ask them. It needs to be part of your cultivation process to learn about those donors’ giving tendencies and priorities. 

But if the identification of DAF donors is a hurdle, let’s also make it easy for them to self-identify!

Getting started with DAF

Where is the posting of giving through DAFs on your website? Where is it in your solicitation materials, emails, letters, brochures? It ought to be prominently displayed on the giving page, not only the Ways to Give sub-page. And pair it with a testimonial from someone who gives this way about why they did.

Make it visible and simple.

Looking for prospects to kick this off? Start with your current Board of Trustees. Many of them fit the profile of the majority (but, again, not the only, anymore) DAFs donors. Next, how about former Board members?

It is imperative that – if you are new to this – you educate yourself and the team about DAFs. There are restrictions on the solicitation and use of the grants. There are also requirements for how the gifts are recorded and acknowledged. But it’s so worth the time to learn about this rich vein of giving. Again, it’s already earmarked for charity. Why not your school?

Need a resource? Try this:

A hedge against the downturn

Here’s one more aspect of DAF giving that I found particularly relevant at this moment of near-constant economic ups and downs.

Many view DAF giving as an excellent hedge against possible economic downturn.

Think about it: if a family is reluctant to make a cash gift now or at any point, they can instead direct a grant from their DAF without feeling it in their cash flow. Maybe even a larger gift than is typical for them. And recurring gifts through DAFs are also an option. Imagine 12 gifts per year instead of one. 

This naturally leads us to think about DAF donors as potential major gift donors or, at the right time, more significant supporters of a capital campaign. Getting to know these families in this way provides us with an opening to talk about smart giving since we know that non-cash gifts tend to be larger.

And lest I stray from what my readers know is a subject I hold dear – the stewardship opportunities abound with gifts from DAFs. Because many DAF givers tend to be very intentional in their giving choices and may be clearer in the directing of grants vs. cash givers who often just “mail it in” in response to our appeals, you’re going to learn more about what they care about. You are then able to share the impact of their grants on the school and tie a direct line to mission.

That’s a generalization for sure. But there’s truth in it as well.

In creating more compelling stewardship for these good people, you may find yourself inspired to make your stewardship of all donors more robust and heartfelt.

Go for it! And as always, thank you 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

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  How the 2026 Mid-Term Elections May Impact Our Fundraising & What We Can Do About It June 7, 2026
• 
  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

The post How Can We Harness the Gift that is Donor-Advised Funds? appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted April 16th, 2025 | Subscribe to this newsletter

Since starting my consulting business over eight years ago, some of my favorite client experiences have been coaching advancement professionals.

There are the folks who are newbies to the profession. Heads wisely hire me to support and “train” them at the start of their journey. These are fun because people tend to be eager to learn and want to get it right from the start. Developing good habits is much simpler and faster than unlearning bad ones.

I’m able to help them create good systems and calendars, help ask smarter questions of their leaders, and focus on the activities that are important rather than all the stuff that isn’t.

But just as often, I’ve been retained by highly experienced professionals themselves. People at great schools who were running effective, even envy-worthy programs. Managing good-sized teams.

But what they decided they needed was an objective thought partner. They know their stuff but know their stuff enough to know they might not be seeing everything clearly or dispassionately. That’s hard to do, especially after several years in the position. It’s like the adage about how fish don’t know they’re in water; it’s all they’ve ever known.

 As I work to become their trusted advisor, here are some of the ways I can be helpful:

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How can I be helpful?

1. I can listen for the question under the question – or the challenge at hand.

What were they simply not seeing or hearing? Like most things in life, the work is about other people and our relationship with them.

Many of us who get into these roles don’t bring management acumen. Or any experience supervising. I can offer a structure for individual and team meetings to make them more productive. I can co-create smart and helpful evaluation systems.

Together, we can restructure roles and responsibilities to try to get the people on the bus into the right seats. And I can support compassionate leaders when they have to do the hardest of things: counsel out a member of their team.

2. I can point out the things that you have come to accept as “normal” that are not.

Sometimes this is the behavior of other team members. Or a function of how and when you report to – and get input from – your Head.

I can offer advice about how you can improve your role as liaison to an important Board committee like Governance or Development. We can talk through how to make vital changes, often in small steps.

3. I can edit.

Even best-selling authors benefit from editors. I happen to be a good and quick editor, so it is easy (and often fun!) for me to reorganize – or just put a bit of polish on – a piece of writing by my client.

I’ve done this for annual funds, website language, major gifts appeals, job descriptions, and Board reports.

4. I can assist with your preparation and your practice.

I can help you get ready and fluent with asking for gifts. Often, this is done with a volunteer or a Head before an important solicitation meeting. We can run through it. You’ll get tighter and clearer.

Then we can do some debriefing afterward so you can honestly assess how you did as you continue to improve and sharpen these important skills. I confess I am on tenterhooks when I know the meeting is taking place and am eager to hear how it went.

It’s so exciting when you can report that you secured a significant gift! (But it’s also important to determine the best next steps when it didn’t go as you’d hoped…)

5.    I can say the things you can’t say.

This may be the most valuable gift a coach can bring to the client.

My role is the objective expert. So, while my client may have just as many years in the work as I, by dint of my role, I am heard. I have the ear of the Heads, the trustees, and the other members of the team. There is no world in which a DoD can tell a Board member that their latest and greatest idea is not a good one. It just sounds like they aren’t up for the challenge. I can say it. And they (usually!) listen.  

It’s not a power trip and I take this seriously. We are talking about highly sensitive and very important messages I am delivering. Messages vital to the school’s ability to execute the strategies and goals set. My honest counsel that may help the school hang onto a great leader who is starting to feel burned out. That is a costly risk I might be able to help the school avoid.

So how’s it work?

Sometimes my coaching work is a short-term, problem-solving project. A few sessions and we’ve nailed the issue and have a new way forward. Other times it is an ongoing relationship. Maybe a once a week or twice a month scheduled call. Plus, any stuff that pops up in between. I love those arrangements. They allow me the opportunity to get to know the school and its people in a granular way so I can offer advice steeped in knowledge. One beloved client told me that she kept a journal of things I told her for future reference. Another had a post-it note on her laptop that read: “What would Barbara do?”

So flattering. I get it. I still have the journal from my work during COVID with a life coach. Similar. Pearls.

But what moves me most about this work is the ability to help the people carrying such heavy loads at our schools. The people who often feel a little lonely in their roles. Being that sounding board, that truth-teller is deeply gratifying. So, too, is seeing them succeed in the work. I believe I am helping them do what only they can do: lead a program that really does advance the mission of their school.

How about you? Could you use some support or targeted problem-solving? Send me a quick email and I’d be happy to help.

And thank you 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

• 
  How the 2026 Mid-Term Elections May Impact Our Fundraising & What We Can Do About It June 7, 2026
• 
  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

The post How Might You Benefit From An Advancement Coach? appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted April 2nd, 2025 | Subscribe to this newsletter

If you’re anything like me, you’re struggling to stay positive and sturdy during these tumultuous times. It feels like the “fight, flight, or freeze” response is everywhere. Sometimes within me, all during the same 20 minutes!

Recently, I joined a webinar featuring Deb Dowling, the Executive Director of the California Association of Independent Schools.

She used the term “flocking” as a helpful alternative to the familiar fight, flight , or freeze response we often have when we experience perceived or real threats. She was making the point that independent schools, by their very natures, have the potential to provide us with that option. I loved that and went looking for more information

I found the following article:

What If Instead of Flight, Freeze, Fawn or Fight, We “Flock”?

The author also includes the notion of “fawn.” Her definition: to people-please in ways where we overextend ourselves. We forget to hold our boundaries, and rely on codependency to get us through the rough times. 

Okay, so not an ideal response. 

I’ve also heard “faint” as another response. Think of those goats who, counterintuitively, stiffen like a board and fall over when approached by a coyote.

 Flocking, is, instead, a coming together. Our author’s definition:

“the use of solidarity, allyship, connection, and community to resource ourselves and to create positive experiences. It is through kinship and collectivism where we are able to find support, share resources, generate thrivability.”

Our schools, in their best moments, are places of connection and community. As I’ve written before, culture is community; our communities are expressions of our culture. Hand in hand. If we create spaces of kinship, where support and shared resources are available, there is the possibility of “thrivability.”  

I want that! Don’t you?

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In my consulting with schools, regardless of the project details, the effort to build a strong and joyful culture is at the heart of our work. That is what I believe and have seen good advancement programs accomplish. Everyday, it is those of us in advancement who are on the lookout for examples of gifts in action, volunteers joyfully engaged in the work of caring for our schools, students dug in and locked on with teachers who are passionate about their discipline.

This is all evidence of what we might deem to be “thrivability”. That’s what we want to be able to report on to our donors, since it is their generosity that makes so much of that possible.

What else might “flocking” look like?

Our author says:

1.    Noticing and aligning

2.    Providing safety, security, and support

3.    Promoting cohesion

Again, good school cultures do all of these.  New families find their way because they are noticed and offered a space and a seat. Faculty and staff offer students safety, security, and support. And the school community promotes connection and even cohesion.

The most beautiful visual for this is the phenomenon called murmuration. It’s breathtaking. And brilliant.

 “Starlings’ murmuration consists of a flock moving in sync with one another, engaging in clear, consistent communication and exhibiting collective leadership and deep, deep trust. Every individual bird focuses attention on their seven closest neighbors and thus manage a larger flock cohesiveness and synchronicity (and times upwards of over a million birds).”

– Sierre Pickett

Stunning.

Opportunities to flock

As you work your way through the very busy spring calendars, amid a seemingly endless barrage of confusing or worrying news, I wish for you opportunities to witness and experience flocking. 

Our first stop can be our school’s mission. That statement is (or should be) the unifying concept that brings families, faculty, and staff to want to be part of your school. Within it lies some of the values you share. Find the words or phrases that inspire you most. Reflect on them. Talk about with it others to find the common threads that animate it – and you.

Whenever I feel lost, returning to the values I strive to live by centers me.

Look for other flocking opportunities. Do it with your teams (do they need a chance to blow off some steam together?). Do it with your colleagues in other departments – even if it’s a stolen moment to walk around the block. Maybe you’ll find it if you slip into the dark theater during play rehearsal or at the back of a music class. Or by joining others in this fine profession to share what’s working for you and them. 

I’m better for knowing this response could be my choice in stressful moments. I can choose to look for and create flocking. Join me!

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

• 
  How the 2026 Mid-Term Elections May Impact Our Fundraising & What We Can Do About It June 7, 2026
• 
  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

The post What About “Flocking” During Chaotic Times? appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted March 19th, 2025 | Subscribe to this newsletter

When I am retained to conduct an advancement appraisal, I look at all aspects of a school’s giving program.

I look at things like:

• How their Board members are trained in their role in advancement

• Messages about giving, roles and responsibilities of team members and volunteers
  
• How much time and energy is going into stewardship that reports and celebrates impact

When done well, all are vital to expanding a school’s capacity to raise more money and create a joyful culture of giving. 

However, a school can do all of that well and still have a problem when it comes to their website, and particularly the giving pages.

Back in the day, when schools moved away from printed view books and embraced an interactive website, the main driver of that migration was admission. It makes sense since for most schools — tuition brings in 90% of all revenue. Development pages and in particular online giving was seen as a small piece of the puzzle. Scant resources were invested in those pages and online giving forms were – simply awful. Slow, cranky, cumbersome, repetitive.

Lately they’ve gotten much better. Online giving increased both in volume and in the size of gifts so that even the most skeptical IT and business managers were convinced that it made sense to make them more functional and attractive. It was a hard sell. But it paid off. 

Today, desktop giving still brings larger gifts than mobile (average gifts of $137 vs. $83). But we all know that optimized mobile browsing and giving is still essential. We are all used to easy, fast, seamless commerce on our phones so that schools whose sites are not are missing opportunities. Plus, they are unintentionally sending a dispiriting message that they are not sophisticated or even relevant and perhaps not worthy of the confidence and trust of supporters.

Ouch. Let’s fix that!

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Time to review and refresh

Even nice-looking and functional giving sites benefit from a regular review and refresh.

Consider accessibility, which is important when your visitors might be older alums or grandparents looking to make a gift or those in our communities working with some limitation in vision, for instance. There’s a free tool called Accessibility Checker (https://www.accessibilitychecker.org/) that will run a diagnostic to show you any spots on the site that need attention. 

Another one called, ominously, Dead Link Checker (https://www.deadlinkchecker.com/) that will do just that: find those broken links that frustrate visitors. And donors.

But for most visitors, it’s other issues that may be creating a barrier to giving or turning donors off altogether.

A few questions to ask:

How fast do our pages load? The average attention span has shrunk to 8.25 seconds. Goldfish. But if you can keep someone for 7-10 seconds, they are likely to stick around for up to 17 minutes. So, quick loads.

How engaging are our pages? We all love videos and the stat I just saw was that a decent video grabs 97% more attention than a static photo. But your photos should be great, too. Keep them fresh. Keep them joyful.

Side note: images of children and, wait for it, dogs are the most appealing. That’s great news for us in schools since kids are everywhere. But dogs? Sure.

I recently looked at a school’s faculty & staff directory. The Head’s dog was listed along with her photo. Cute but it also said a lot about the joy in their culture. Plus click bait, evidentially!

But keep those photos real. A heart-grabbing image of a defeated team consoling one another has far more emotional punch than a simple smiling group shot. And it’s more honest, right? Teams do not win every game and it’s the learning and connection we make in disappointment that lasts.

Is our donate link a button? Here’s a wild one: a donate link in the shape of a button, surrounded by white space (I know, crazy), increases clicks by almost 50%! Yes, just that simple.  Make a button. And put that button on the giving page but also on the “ways to give” page.

And here’s a good idea: put a button or a link to the giving page on any financial pages or where you post your annual report. Why? Because we increasingly see donors wishing to see strong financials before deciding on making significant gifts. Make it easy.

Do we have enough testimonials? Make your pages testimonial-rich. Testimonials have multiple benefits and potentially big impact. They communicate trust as they show the commitment of real people at your school. Not how much but why. In fact, they needn’t (actually shouldn’t) be the biggest donors always. Someone who gives $50 every year to your annual fund tells a valuable story of the importance of loyalty.  And what a nice way to honor that supporter. 

Seth Godin talks about how our culture can help others quickly understand and feel a sense of affiliation. They see and feel who we are, and what people who share our values act like. Testimonials are a short cut to that. But again, keep them fresh. Think about posting new stories each month. More during busy giving seasons. 

Do we have a regular meeting to review these pages? Finally, like everything worth doing, calendar this so you meet as a team and with mar-com on a regular basis to look critically at what you have up there and find ways you can make it fresh, relevant, joyful, and real.

To make it easier for you to send along to your team, here are all five questions in a copy-paste-able format:

1. How fast do your pages load?
2. How engaging are our pages?
3. Is our donate link a button?
4. Do we have enough testimonials?
5. Do we have a regular meeting to review these pages?

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

• 
  How the 2026 Mid-Term Elections May Impact Our Fundraising & What We Can Do About It June 7, 2026
• 
  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

The post How We Can Make Sure Our Giving Pages Aren’t Dissuading Giving appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted March 5th, 2025 | Subscribe to this newsletter

Twice this month, I’ve had the honor of presenting at conferences for schools.

The first was Prizmah 2025 (for Jewish Day Schools – 1,200 attendees from 200 schools in the US, Canada, and Israel) and The Small Schools Conference, a terrific remote offering by Aubrey Bursch at Easy School Marketing.

At both, I offered a session called How to Create a True Culture of Philanthropy at Your School.

I’ve written on this topic in various forms – see this popular piece – including my fantasy school I call The Nirvana School because they are doing everything right.

This question about how to build a culture of philanthropy is one I get often from advancement pros, Heads, and trustees. It feels like we spend a lot of time wishing for a culture of philanthropy at our schools but do so many things that don’t help build it or allow it to flourish. We are actually mostly doing “fundraising” and, friends, I suggest that is not philanthropy at all!

What do I mean?

Philanthropy involves fundraising, to be sure. But fundraising is not philanthropy. Let’s look at the word philanthropy. It derives from the Greek meaning, generally, “benevolence, humane feeling”. And “love of (hu)man kind in general.”

Yes, there are also definitions aligning with giving and the practice of performing “benevolent actions.” Fundraising, however, only refers to the raising of money. Therein lies the difference. Subtle and vast.

As I explained in my sessions, every school (every nonprofit) has a culture of philanthropy. You may not especially like the one you have, and it might be a far cry from what you want it to be, but it’s there. Here’s how to know: ask any parent at your school to describe what it feels like to give and volunteer at your school. What do they say?

Fun? Joyful? Do they feel warmly thanked? Can they tell anyone else how their gift was put to good use?

Or might they admit that it all feels a little awkward? The process is confusing, and they wonder why they are asked for the amount they are. Would they confess they don’t understand how the budget works or why the school needs the money you are asking for? And what’s all this stuff about the “gap”?

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Some helpful definitions

Here are a couple of definitions I shared with my audiences. We are aiming to create a school culture that:

• …values the engagement of its community in all ways; one that joyfully raises money to support its people and programs.
  
• …is generous in spirit and action, where volunteerism and giving of meaningful gifts are both joyful acts.
  
• …where the important work of raising money is done in the light of day.

Key phrases here are “joy and spirit” and “in the light of day.”

Turns out most of what we are doing is fundraising and very little is real philanthropy. And all that fundraising may be hurting your ability to create that joyful, spirited, transparent culture.

More food for thought:

• How many little fundraisers are run each year by parents or student groups? How does that land with the parents who are the chief donors to those myriad efforts when they then get your appeal to the annual fund?

• How often do your messages spotlight families that give and volunteer at your school as a way of celebrating that joy? Not how much, but why they give.

• How much time are you spending meeting with your supporters to learn more about their values and their reasons for giving to your school as opposed to asking them for yet another gift?

Now, I am all in favor of asking. I believe we should do so proudly and boldly because we are securing the resources our teachers and leaders need to help us deliver on the inspiring mission of our school. All good. I mean that if we think that simply asking for gifts, even big ones, is philanthropy, we’re missing something essential.

Taking the next steps

So, what are some steps you can take to start making this shift? Here are a few: 

1.     New families learn about your giving program and your hopes for their engagement as part of their orientation to the school.

2.     Members of the advancement team are part of the welcoming face of the school.

3.     You partner with the business office to give families a clear sense of how the operating budget functions and the role giving plays.

4.     You ask families to make meaningful gifts as opposed to defaulting to the gap or hammering participation.

5.     You thank every gift immediately and personally.

6.     Your thank you notes are real thank you notes, not a hand-scribbled note on the bottom of a form letter that is also functioning as a receipt.

7.    You report back to your donors how the past gifts they gave were used and the impact they had before you ask them to give again.

If your school is like the many wonderful places represented by those smart and engaged session attendees, I suspect there are a few of the above items that could use your attention.

Once you begin to tackle this work and focus more of your time and attention on getting to know your donors deeply, you’ll be moving your school towards a culture that is defined, at least eventually, by the qualities offered above.

But – as I underscored in those sessions – this is hard work. It takes the commitment of many, over time. As a way to get started, I suggest you bring this as an activity for your development committee at a future meeting. Engage these good people in a discussion that examines how your school’s culture of philanthropy is currently defined. And lead a discussion of how would you love for it to be defined. Sounds like a zesty meeting, right!? 

Getting support and buy-in will help you make this shift. And, once you have, it will create far-reaching, positive impact on your school.

 If you could use some help with this, be in touch. And thank you 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

• 
  How the 2026 Mid-Term Elections May Impact Our Fundraising & What We Can Do About It June 7, 2026
• 
  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

The post Why Fundraising is Not Philanthropy appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Posted February 19th, 2025 | Subscribe to this newsletter

We all know that tax benefits are not the sole – or even primary – reason people give to our organizations.

They give because they believe in the mission, or they are watching their own child thrive. Perhaps they had a transformative experience themselves while attending our school. That’s the why.

But the tax advantages of making charitable gifts are also real. When we, as advancement pros, do a better job of knowledgeably asking for the non-cash gifts that have huge tax advantages for our donors, we are often able to secure larger gifts.

Here’s some recent learning I got from another terrific FreeWill.com webinar.

That session looked at Schedule M data from 15,000 nonprofits. It was taken from 2022 and 2023 because we know that 990s generally lag a year or more. But their point was this: information can help us project what are likely the trends for 2025. The focus here is on stock gifts.

Some helpful stats. First this stunner:

62% of American adults own stock – even those who don’t have any savings! And that ownership is expanding. 

And how about these?

Women tend to own more stock than men (62% vs. 59%)

41% of adults ages 18-29 own stock (Millennials + Gen Z)

67% of respondents aged 30 – 49 own stock (Elder Millennials + Gen X)

66% of respondents aged 50 – 64 (Gen X + younger Boomers)

Gifts of stock are typically much larger than cash gifts. Specifically, 10x-100x larger.

Nonprofits that accept stock gifts saw growth of 66% over five years. More stock gifts and more money raised. 

K-12 schools saw a big jump in gifts of stock in 2023 ($22M)

Whew!

Clearly, this is a vital source of potential support for your school.

If you are not already accepting these gifts, run, don’t walk, to set that up. Make sure instructions are prominently displayed on your giving page. Spend time developing a good relationship with the school’s broker, if you have one. Create smart and efficient systems with your business office so you are notified immediately when a gift of stock is made.

So, what are the advantages of giving appreciated stock? First, the donor avoids any federal capital gains taxes by giving the stock to a charity. Next, they will avoid the additional capital gains tax some states assess. They receive a charitable receipt from your school — so they can declare the federal tax deduction on their return.

And finally, they can give your school a larger gift than they might be able to with cash. Win-Win-Win.

 “Give us stock – keep your cash – save on taxes.” Essentially, that’s the message. (Although you’ll craft one that’s more elegant.)

Here’s another takeaway: the sector enjoying the biggest increase in stock gifts is higher ed. Why is that?

Well, we know that those programs tend to be well- resourced, and the development staff has experience and talent. They also tend to be rather competitive.  But, it turns out, what really makes the difference, and we can all take this note, is they ask for stock gifts more. The more you ask, the more you get.

You don’t need to be a tax expert, but you most definitely need to be fluent in the basics of this important mode of giving. You need to get comfortable bringing it up. And your marketing of it needs to be robust.

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Some more good practices

What are some good practices?

·   Make stock giving (along with other non-cash giving options) highly visible on your giving page. Think “ease in giving.”

·   Include it in your appeals on multiple channels and platforms.

·   Communicate about this 2 or 3 times a year, in particular during tax season.

Wait. What? Does this surprise you as it did me? The donor giving you a stock gift in March won’t be able to use that deduction until they file this year’s tax return next year.

It’s all about mindset. They are thinking about (and worrying about!) taxes now. That’s when we need to be talking about the ways a stock gift can benefit them and the school.

What else? Gather good tips and advice from a tax expert in your community to help you craft accurate and digestible messages. Make sure your data systems are tracking who gives you stock. Ask those donors to give stock again.

Other nonprofits are already doing this. Higher ed is crushing it. Why not your fine school? The good people at FreeWill.com have a cool AI tool called “Willy” that will quickly and easily help you create some messages to get you started.  

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

• 
  How the 2026 Mid-Term Elections May Impact Our Fundraising & What We Can Do About It June 7, 2026
• 
  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

The post Tax Talk appeared first on Barbara Barron.