February 11th, 2021 by Barbara Barron

Nearly every school I know has the tradition of setting “giving levels” for their Annual Fund and other fundraising projects. 

Most are pretty pro-forma, in my view. Generally, the top level is called something like Platinum or Gold — and the tiers work their way down from Silver and Bronze to the merely participatory.

Some schools use the date they were established to name a giving level. I don’t really know what that is supposed to evoke. 1884? 1953? Do we really care? And even if we do, how does that translate to my gift? Some use the name of their mascot. Again, okay…? 

More inventive places name their levels after important people – such as former Heads or beloved teachers. A little better. Or core values or characteristics articulated in their mission. Better still.

But in nearly every case, I’ve found giving levels to be rather ineffective in the effort to raise more money. The one place I think they can be helpful is when you list a highly aspiration level. Even if you only have one gift at $25,000 or $50,000 — use it! It serves to set other donors’ sights higher. It says to the entire community: “See! We have people who so believe in this school and its compelling mission that they support the school at this skyscraper level. Wow!” 

But the rather outdated belief that families will be motivated to join or move up simply because we list levels and try to give them interesting names has never really panned out in my experience.

That is, with the exception of one beautiful case. And that’s what I am delighted to show you today.

Full transparency: this is a current client school. I have been working with them in a consulting capacity since the winter of 2018. Mostly, I have supported the Head and Development Committee on strategic matters.  During the past 18 months, I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with their Associate Director of Development on everything from a successful Covid response fund effort to their now record-breaking Annual Fund.

Since they are still a relatively new school, they did not have established giving levels. They are also deeply committed to the values of DEI and wondered, very thoughtfully, whether giving levels are even appropriate for their school and its culture. I appreciate the thoughtful, intentional, collaborative way they take on nearly every decision. So, what to do with giving levels that, by their very nature, act as a sorting mechanism? And how to combat the strong message that one level is better than another? 

They asked my opinion. I told them much of what I have written above. 

It’s a fine line we’re walking, right? It’s not a secret to anyone that a $25,000 gift makes a bigger difference to the school’s ability to fund people and programs than a $25 gift. But if we can begin to shift our thinking and our language to talk to families about what Tesha Poe calls “making your best gift,” maybe we can find that sweet spot and encourage every family to make a gift that is deeply meaningful for them. And if we do, how might we design giving levels that help rather than hurt that effort, and still raise sights? 

Here’s how.

For context, this is a Pre-K through 8^th grade, progressive, Mandarin Immersion school. The Chinese culture is important. To start, their Development Committee set out to find imagery that would be deeply rooted in that culture. They sought advice from their Head and the Director of Chinese curriculum. They looked to the Chinese elements. Brilliant. They included Chinese characters and the equivalent English words Inclusive.

If you are unfamiliar, as I was, here’s something fundamental to understand: there is no hierarchy among the elements. In fact, they work to balance one another. (Are you loving this?) Metal has its value as does water, as does sun, as does fire. By using these elements, they are saying: “Yes, they are all different, as we are. They all have valuable properties, as do each of us.  No one is better than another. All are needed.” 

They took it a step further and envisioned them into circles, joined into one large circle.

For me, this is an ideal, inspired depiction of what they are seeking to express. And the fact that it is so colorful adds to its appeal. But that’s also strategic. They used their school’s style guide and expanded from there.

I did say that they’ve had a record-breaking Annual Fund this year – a year when they (like so many of you, perhaps) have lived through the whiplash of Covid – sometimes on campus, sometimes remote. They are just now closing their Annual Fund, as they do each year, at Lunar New Year. We’ve still got some analysis to do. But we already know that all-in, they are 36% ahead of last year. And we know that families stretching to give at Earth ($50,000) are notably up. As is the number of new or increased gifts at nearly all levels. These are huge moves. 

What’s next for them is to embed these elements into their stewardship program. We will be asking: what do these elements and their values mean to us, and how do we express our gratitude through this lens?

They’ve just begun to embrace this work and I am excited to partner with them as they do.

If you have any questions about Giving Circles, feel free to reach out. I’d love to know what work you and your school are doing to bring new life to some of the practices that have been around for a while and maybe need a fresh look. Let’s talk about it.

Stay well,

Barbara Barron

barbara@barbarabarron.com // @BBAdvancement

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The post Giving Circles Taken to the Next Level appeared first on Barbara Barron.

January 27th, 2021 by Barbara Barron

What if you had the chance to secure a significant, maybe even transformational gift from a donor at an amount far beyond what they give annually? One that rivals their largest gift ever or even…their cumulative giving? 

Interested?

But what if you knew from the outset that the pledge would not be fulfilled for several or even many years? Would you still be interested? How about if this gift came within a contractual agreement? Now would you accept it?

I believe you would. I know I sure would.

What is this type of gift? It was new to me, too, until recently. I became familiar with using permanent life insurance as a method to make such a stretch gift possible for me – as a donor! I fell in love with it as an idea.

And now, having done this, I want to share the technique so you can use it to benefit some of your donors and your long-term development program.

Quick backstory: I serve on the Board of an international art organization. (Cambodian Living Arts, so great!) As we were in the early planning stage of our capital campaign, I knew I wanted to make a pledge that was meaningful to me and the organization, and would help move us towards our campaign goal. But, of course, I am not in a position to make an outright six-figure pledge right now. But with the help of my financial advisor and career life insurance professional husband – thank you, Mark! – I learned how I could make that level of commitment by using a permanent life insurance policy.

Don’t panic! When discussing insurance as an idea, it’s easy to get lost in the details. For the purposes of sharing this technique with you, I am going to do my best to keep the description of this gift tool at the 10,000-foot level.

However, if you are interested in the deeper dive, I am including some links at the end of this article to give you more granular detail and some helpful info. But I don’t want to scare anyone off. So let’s stay at cruising altitude and focus on the benefits of this approach.

I’ll use my gift to illustrate.

My wish was to pledge $100,000 to the campaign. That is far and away the largest gift I have ever considered giving. Ever. And I’ve worked for some outstanding organizations that I care deeply about! I never knew what I might be able to do. Until now.

How to do it? In short: I purchased a permanent life insurance policy for $100,000. The owner of the policy and sole beneficiary is my chosen organization. That’s key. They own it. Every year, they will pay the premium, but I will add that amount to my annual gift so they are not out of pocket. That means no impact to their lean operating budget. And when I die, whether it be in 3 months or 30 years, the $100,000 gift will come to my organization. The beneficiary here is a non-profit, so there are no tax consequences. 

But since we hope – at least, I hope we hope – there are actually 30+ years more to my life, here’s an additional cool part of this type of gift: because it is a permanent policy, cash starts to accrue in the policy as I am paying the premium. That cash also belongs to my charity — since they own the policy! And it sits on their balance sheet as the asset it is. So cool. And lastly, they get to choose if they want to use the cash or borrow from it for some large investment, like the purchase of property or another important initiative. It’s theirs to do with as they please.

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We tracking so far? “What about the risks?” you ask. A good question!

The risks, as I understand them, are minimal for the owner and beneficiary. Let’s say that I – or your imaginary future benefactor – were to bail out, drop off the map, and stop paying the premium. What happens then is that the charity can decide to continue to pay the premium itself, in order to keep the policy in force (and ensure they get the $100k at my death). But they could also decide to reduce the amount of the policy to something more manageable to maintain. Or, lastly, they could cancel the policy altogether and move the cash value into the general account and operating budget.

Meanwhile, how about the benefits? For starters, my charity can contractually count on $100,000 at some distant moment — and actually see the plan’s equity grow on their balance sheet as a long-term asset. They can tell other donors that they have secured another $100,000 donor. (Huge.) And this gift, unlike a legacy gift promise, cannot be changed by the donor once it’s put in place. (If you’ve ever had this happen you, you know how reassuring that is.)

For organizations that embed this strategy into their Major Gifts and Endowment campaigns, it is possible, using long-range predictive modeling, to estimate future gift maturities and incoming insurance cash flows for planned program expansions and facility improvements. Think about how wonderful is to be able to plan, long-term.

Okay, so finishing up, here. How about the benefits to me as the donor? Are there any? Of course! For one, I feel enormous pride in having made this commitment. And as a result, I feel even more invested in the work of this organization and its bright future. They can (and will) treat me as the major donor I now am. Not my main driver but nice, anyway.

In closing, there are some important things to bear in mind with this technique. Not everyone will be eligible to provide this gift, depending on their health status. This little caveat makes me think of the old adage:

“We purchase life insurance with our money, but we buy it with our health.”

In other words, for healthy and – typically – younger people, this is an inexpensive way to leverage-up and make a really large commitment, at a discount. Far too many young parents don’t have life insurance but should. Perhaps, as they are introduced to this opportunity, we can help them see how they can protect their families and also make a long- term gift to your school. An important win-win.

And let’s not count out the older generation. Many more “seasoned” donors, if healthy, can possibly leverage their legacy gift by using a life insurance gifting plan.

I’m sure you can see by now how this kind of gift takes your advancement program to the next level. Experienced donors will appreciate the sophistication when you bring it up. (I’d bet you they never considered such a thing was possible.) Finance committees will deeply appreciate the long-range revenue planning this creates. You, the advancement professional will have another substantive conversation to engage key donors. So I urge you to share the concept with your CFO and finance committee so they can come to fully understand it. And while personally I am no expert in life insurance, I am fortunate to have access to someone who is world class. There is likely someone in your community with these skills and experience, too. She or he can help you see and share now this technique can elevate a donor’s giving to new heights.

I am also happy to talk about it with you. (I really do have an open door policy!) Meanwhile, thank you for all you’re doing.

For those interested in the deeper dive, here are some resources to read and share:

• Mass Mutual – “How to Use Life Insurance for Charity”
• Forbes – “2 Ways to Combine Charitable Giving and Life Insurance”
• CCIM – “Charitable Donations of Life Insurance”

About the Author

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.

She can be reached via email at barbara@barbarabarron.com

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The post How to Use Permanent Life Insurance to Help A Donor Make Their Largest Gift –Ever appeared first on Barbara Barron.

by Barbara Barron | Revised May 14th, 2025

Ever wish you could get a clear-eyed, objective look at your advancement program?  An honest assessment of what’s really working, what’s not, and what to do about it? 

You’re not alone. In fact, most schools would benefit from an outside eye. And it’s what I offer in the form of an Advancement Appraisal. 

An appraisal is “the evaluation of something of value.” That’s what your advancement program is. Or should be!

In short, an Advancement Appraisal is a thorough evaluation of your development program. And what kinds of insights can you expect to gain as the Head of School or the Director of Advancement or a Board Chair from an Advancement Appraisal? Many.

I’ll break it down for you. 

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A few insights

Spotlight on what’s working. Let’s start with which processes are working and ought to be amplified? Which practices are not? Where are the wobbly bits? Which things are you doing year after year but are either outdated or simply not getting the desired result?  It could be focusing too heavily on participation and not enough of growing your leadership donors. Maybe it’s relying on generic appeals rather than customizing your asks to be more thoughtful and more compelling.

Tracking long-term growth. Let’s find out if you are raising more money each year? From whom?

The right people in the right place. We’ll also discover if the right people are in the right seats in the department. We’ll explore how well the development, admission, and communication departments and professionals collaborate. How coordinated are your messages and communication strategy? Is the budget being allocated in the areas that bring the greatest return?

The Board. Then there’s the Board. How well is it functioning in its role of securing the resources the school needs? What’s the vetting and onboarding process like for new trustees? Do they fully understand what their role entails? Are they trained, confident, and prepared to be helpful?

Engagement with families. Let’s also investigate how prospective and new families are educated about what it’s like to be engaged with and supportive of the school. Are you telling families stories about the many benefits the school derives from having a supportive community? 

Stewardship. So vitally important: how robust or anemic is the school’s stewardship program?  Are you reporting to donors how you used their gifts? What do donor families feel about giving to your school? Have you ever asked them? 

These are the kinds of areas I examine and from which my recommendations flow. 

Gathering intel

So how do I get all this information for the appraisal? Via a series of interviews with key administrators and volunteers, and a careful review of communication, giving data, and departmental processes. AfterwardsI synthesize the information and insights into a report that details the strengths and weaknesses of the program. This confidential report goes to the Head of School, along with a set of recommendations intended to be shared widely. These recs list specific changes needed to help the school raise more money, and grow more leaders. Because in the end, the fastest and surest way I know to raise more money is to build leadership, in all areas. In our schools we work to build leadership, skill, and confidence in our students in and out of the classroom. Why not approach the raising of money the same way?

There are many occasions when this kind of analysis is particularly helpful. Take, for instance, a client school of mine that was considering embarking on a future capital campaign. As part of the vitally important pre-planning process, my advancement appraisal illuminated where the necessary preparation work lay, well before they stepped into that very public and high stakes effort.

Other examples: when the Head was new to the school and needed to quickly get an understanding of the challenges ahead. And when there was about to be turnover at the top of the advancement program. That Head of School needed my sense of the best way forward, before embarking on an extensive (and expensive) search and hiring effort. 

Often, I am approached for an appraisal because there is a vague sense that the school could and should be raising more money, but no one is certain how. Or sometimes there is a question about the Board and its role in development. Is this vital body ready to engage in the work?  Do they have the confidence or skills to be helpful?

Regardless of the reason I am retained to conduct the appraisal, the result is both strategic and practical. The report tells it like it really is — something a person on the inside is rarely able to do. And the recommendations I develop create a clear plan for moving forward with new energy and focus. We stop doing what isn’t working. And we start, working together, implementing tactics that are proven to raise more money and build a stronger giving community. 

Every school, every organization, has limited resources. Especially now. It is so important to celebrate what’s working and give those efforts more fuel. But we also need to be honest about what’s not getting results so we can begin to make the changes that are going to have a real and lasting impact.

And if you are thinking that we need to do this work in the dark of night, because people might feel threatened, let me assure you that in every one of these appraisals I’ve done, teachers, parents, administrators, and trustees enjoy the conversations and welcome the clarity and direction the process brings. 

The appraisal is ultimately a guide to greater success. For everyone.

Don’t Take My Word For It

Here’s how one client described it: 

“We couldn’t be happier – and most importantly, more strategic, productive, and confident – resulting from the work of Barbara Barron. The Advancement Appraisal that Barbara completed was specific to the Trinity community, provided relevant and readily applicable recommendations, was comprehensive and thorough. Trinity’s philanthropic work is greatly enhanced thanks to Barbara’s expertise and care.”

Matt Allio
Head of School, Trinity School
Menlo Park, CA

Or from Alexandra Lockett, Head of the Cate School:

“As a new school head, I am working to learn all I can about the evolving world of advancement. Working with Barbara opened my eyes to long-standing best practices as well as innovative approaches to donor engagement. Barbara is a warm and attentive listener and discerning in her insights. I’ve already highly recommended Barbara to my network!”

Alexandra Lockett
Head of School, Cate School
Santa Barbara, CA

Or from Andrew David, Head of the Mount Tamalpais School:

“Barbara provided an invaluable, third-party assessment of our advancement program. Her interviews and data analysis provided the clear next steps to take our advancement efforts to the next level.”

Andrew David
Head of School, Mount Tamalpais School
Mill Valley, CA

Thanks to them for these kind words. And to you, for all you’re doing for your fine schools.

Barbara Barron

barbara@barbarabarron.com

About the Author

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.

Related posts:

• 
  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 Finding the Good: How the Advancement Appraisal Works appeared first on Barbara Barron.