by Barbara Barron | Posted August 14th, 2024 | Subscribe to this newsletter
You don’t need me to tell you that the demographics of our parents are changing.
You feel it and see it every day. Gone from most of our schools’ parent bodies are the Baby Boomers. They are approaching and entering retirement and their kids are beyond our schools. I, for one, will miss them. It may the last group to ever RSVP to events!
But the good news here is that the Boomers are great prospects as grandparents. In fact, this ought to be a focus for you and your advancement program, especially in K-8 schools. (Though I have successfully run Grandparents Days in high schools, too. They can be so meaningful and sweet.) Boomers are the wealthiest cohort we’ve sever seen. And they are excellent prospects for their grandchildren’s schools. Trust me!
Today, we work with parents who are, for the most part, Gen X and Millennials. That vibe is very different. Largely, they are more demanding, more skeptical, and less likely to attend events. Many of our communication colleagues complain that parents never read email. They want information pushed to them. They’re on text threads that make the chances for misinformation run wild. We all see this. We need to deal with it.
As our world slides out of the Boomer era, through the Gen X, and into the Millennial times, what will this mean for our profession and the advancement professionals running our programs?
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Because as Boomers age out of our parent communities, so too, are they retiring from our advancement offices. These pros, for the most part, have lots of experience in front line fundraising and have developed good donor relations skills. This poses a challenge in a profession that already has a hiring problem. Experienced fundraisers, that independent schools can afford, are hard to find.
According to US Chamber of Commerce, the turnover rate in nonprofits is 19%, higher than the 12% in the broader market. Great jobs are open everywhere you look, a 20% vacancy rate by some measures.
It stands to reason that if you can hold onto good people a bit longer, by allowing for more flexibility, advocating for additional professional development opportunities, and focusing on creating a happy, healthy work environment, you might be able to postpone the inevitable a bit longer.
But it’s all happening. The news is bleak if you’re hiring. But pretty cool if you are looking for a new opportunity. As this shift comes into full, what are the opportunities we can consider to be best prepared?
Opportunity #1 – Consulting
If you are headed towards retirement or are seeking more autonomy in your work, there are now – and will continue to be – plenty of opportunities in consulting. I have joked that when I started my consulting business eight years ago, I was finally done making name tags and listening to a case of Pellegrino rattling around in the back of my car!
Seriously. That day-to-day stuff was making me crazy. I wanted to be at 10,000 feet and bring my strategic thinking skills to bear to help foster substantive change.
Consulting lets you do that. If you have the skill, experience, and willingness to teach others how to cultivate and effectively solicit donors, build out meaningful stewardship programs, bring fresh insight to tired old events, or coach others, you can have a rewarding consulting practice, working as much or as little as you want.
Opportunity #2 – Add Value as the “Donor Relations Maven”
Maybe you’re not quite ready for that kind of change, but want to be a prime candidate for the choicest of opportunities inside your school or at another one. If so, hone your donor relations skills.
The increased use of AI makes quick work of many of the more mundane and time-consuming tasks we’ve done for years. That’s only going to increase. But what AI is never going to do as well as human beings is connecting with donors in real and meaningful ways. The better you are at building trusting and authentic relationships, using good judgment, bringing warmth, creativity, and sensitivity to the work, the more valuable you will be. This is true if you’re a candidate or want to remain at your organization gaining value and appreciation (and perhaps a better salary or more flexibility).
Opportunity #3 – Bring Planned Giving Expertise
Most schools I see have weak or nonexistent planned giving programs. This is regularly the part of the program that receives minimal attention and even fewer resources. It’s never the crying child, demanding attention.
But given the stats about the great transfer of wealth, which is going to continue for another two decades and the shift in generational cohorts, this must become a priority in all advancement programs. Even K-8 schools can and should build this out. There are some simple ways to get this started and have real impact down the road. I can help you. As the professional, you need to have basic knowledge of how most planned gifts work.
Better still, be the expert. Become proficient in the many ways you can talk to families about how to create a plan for your school in their estates. There are plenty of PD opportunities available to you to get this knowledge and several good services that will help you ramp up the awareness of this giving opportunity. If your families and alumni don’t know you have a planned giving program, how are they going to include you in their estate plans?
We all know this Chinese Proverb:
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.” –
Same for planned giving. The number of planned gifts coming into all nonprofits and schools too is rising. In fact, it is the largest growth area in giving (17%). Hoist your sails.
As we all work to get our programs going this time of year, it can be hard to also look out at the horizon. But if you do, you’ll be ready for the chances that are at the door. And you can be the thought leader you want to be in advocating for resources your program will need (human and other) to take full advantage of these changes.
Wishing you a great start to the school year. And as always, thank you for all you’re doing.
Barbara Barron
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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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