by Barbara Barron | Posted October 10th, 2018 Once upon a time, I was hired to build a major gifts program to reduce debt and build cash reserves. Exciting, right? I remember conferring with some professional friends at a conference shortly after I started. “Good luck, Barbara!” one of them said. “That’s what I’d call unsexy money.” Funny. And kinda true. …
How Can We Get Better at Asking Parents for Gifts?
by Barbara Barron | Posted September 12th, 2018 Let me start this by asking you a question: how many big asks have you made today? “Well, Barbara, I asked my favorite barista Chloe for a little less foam on my latte, and then I asked Jason to re-send that e-mail he sent yesterday because it didn’t show up…” I’m being …
How Do We Write a Welcome Letter to the New Parents at Our School?
by Barbara Barron | Posted August 8th, 2018 | Subscribe to this newsletter True story: someone dear to me recently enrolled her child in a beautiful, well-respected private school. She’s no slouch. She researched her options carefully. She visited the campus several times. She put her family through a rigorous admission process. And when it became time for her to …
How Do We Create a “Culture of Philanthropy” At Our Schools?
by Barbara Barron | Posted June 13th, 2018 Quick note from Barbara: So excited to share this work, which is a collection of advice from many trusted friends and collaborators. For those of you who came here by word of mouth, the fastest way to get the “Culture of Philanthropy” PDFs are by signing up for my mailing list. By …
How Can We Make Sure Our School’s Annual Report Isn’t a Scam?
by Barbara Barron | Posted May 9th, 2018 As you can probably tell by the title, I’ve got a tiny issue with the way we do annual reports. In fact, I have several, but they all come back to a central question, which is this: Is our school’s annual report actually achieving the thing that it is intended to achieve? …
How Can We Cultivate a Strong Relationship With Our Head of School?
by Barbara Barron | Posted April 11th, 2018 Got a little war story for you. Years ago, my Head of School and I were at a solicitation breakfast with a very involved couple from our school. We’ll call them Alison and Greg. The couple’s two children attended our school. This prominent family made leadership Annual Fund gifts each year and …
How Do We Prepare for the Biggest Ask of Our Career?
It amazes me how many times we crash and burn as solicitors, yet continue to just… wing it. Surely there’s a way to prepare? Of course there is. I can break it down into five easy pointers for you, in fact…
How Can We Know When We’re Done?
by Barbara Barron | Posted February 7th, 2018 This may come as a bit of a shock, but I’m not looking to be your school’s fundraising consultant forever. Obviously if you and I were to start work on a long-term project, like a feasibility study for an upcoming capital campaign, or creating of major gifts program from the ground up — …
How Can We Create a Strategic Fundraising Plan That Actually Works?
by Barbara Barron | Posted January 10th, 2018 How many times has this happened to you? It’s the beginning of the new year. Everyone is fired up and feeling ambitious. Things that didn’t feel possible before are within arms reach. You and your team get together for a series of meetings to look forward. You spend hours talking about your strategic …
How Can We Show Our Team That We Appreciate Them Every Day?
by Barbara Barron | Posted December 13th, 2017 Anyone who has ever held a management position knows how hard it is to keep people happy, productive, and engaged. It’s a tall order. We need to be inspiring leaders. We need to be clear and decisive managers. We also need to ensure our people are striving to reach their absolute best …