by Barbara Barron | Posted June 10th, 2026 | Subscribe to this newsletter If you live in a state with hotly contested primaries, you already see the level of marketing of candidates that’s going on. I’m writing today from Austin where its fierce and has been for months. Even if you are not, the midterm election impacts all of us …
Success Story #4
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 …
What Can We Do About Our Changing Parent Donors?
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. …
Success Story #3
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 …
How Can You Set Yourself Up So That Next Fall is a Huge Success?
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 …
Metrics That Matter vs. Metrics That Don’t
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. …
What is Your Brand?
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 …
Success Story #2
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 …
The Steps We Skip
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 …
What if Fundraising Was Really about Creating Donor Joy?
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 …