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
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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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