Development and Alumni Committee Meeting
October 22, 2003
The committee reviewed stated goals and brainstormed to determine 1-2 action plans for each goal.
Questions asked: are college campaign priorities available to faculty? How is a feasibility study being conducted? Will case statements be written for the upcoming campaign? What percentage of faculty currently donate to UT?
It was pointed out that an important group of donors and potential donors include UT retired faculty. This group may have a particular interest in donating to funds for faculty development.
Faculty have opportunities to partner with their assigned development officer in developing talking points and accompanying development staff on donor visits.
It was suggested that the committee chair attend one of the 2 training sessions for the UT campaign Oct. 23 or Nov. 6.
The next meeting will be Nov. 21, 2003 at 2 p.m.
Submitted by Nancy Howell, committee chair
Development and Alumni Committee Meeting
November 21, 2003
The committee discussed its goals and action plans to date.
Identify policy issues related to the determination of development campaign priorities (opportunities for faculty input)
Monitor UT Development Foundation* activities (meetings, minutes, initiatives)
Conduct a communications audit of UT alumni publications (via Candace White)
Develop talking points for development staff to communicate the benefits of faculty development funding to potential donors
Formulate a plan to encourage a higher percentage of faculty donors to UT (focus on participation rates)
It was decided that of the 5 goals, the priority items should be goals 1, 3 and 5. A fourth action plan was added to goal 5 to explore partnership opportunities between academics and athletics.
The UT Development Foundation was discussed, in particular the lack of current information available on its web site. The committee chair will write Eli Fly to obtain hard copies of information and ask if the site will be updated.
Linda Davidson said campaign priorities are derived from the original needs list developed for college budgets and will be updated as a campaign launch date is near. Generally, these fall under scholarships, graduate fellowships, endowed chairs, equipment and facilities categories.
Do most faculty members know who their development contact is in their college/department? Linda Davidson will provide a list of all contact to distribute. She underscored the importance of faculty involvement in the development process, saying that although it can sometimes be time consuming for faculty, they present the passion of the need to potential donors.
Linda Davidson mentioned that the university should strive to better acknowledge faculty and staff who donate to UT.
Nancy Howell discussed the recent training session she attended for the upcoming UT campaign. This session was presented by Dr. Art Criscillis, senior associate with Alexander Haas Martin and Partners to help educate UT administrators and others of key concepts in fundraising. Highlights:
Development is an exchange of values between the institution and the donor.
Donors must understand how what the university is doing affects lives and communities.
The role of academic leaders in fundraising includes planning, articulating vision and engaging faculty in the process.
A department head, faculty member, dean can convey the importance of a potential donation to the donor and provide credibility.
If a development officer asks deans, department heads or faculty to make a call to a potential donor, they should do so personally (not through an administrative assistant).
Faculty may be very helpful in identifying possible donors, who are sometimes former students.
Faculty may also assist in the process by helping to create opportunities to involve potential donors in the college/department (example: lectures, meetings, events, strategic planning activities).
The need to continue to encourage faculty to donate to the university was mentioned. Participation percentages is an important selling point to donors, regardless of gift amount.
The committee will meet again in late January 2004.
