Rethink Your Fundraising: What Are Other Charter Schools Doing?
DC charter school leaders have a lot weighing on their minds these days, including distance learning programs, technology access, and food security for the students and families we serve. Fundraising has never been more critical to support these needs, yet our fundraising approach must pivot and show immediate relevancy.
Wondering where to focus next? It pays to look at what other schools are doing, and identify what efforts may work best in the near-term and which are better saved for the long run.
Below we share what we learned when we surveyed development leaders across DC charter schools. We highlight the surprises, the opportunities, and successes schools are having raising money, even in this crisis.
See Philanthropic Giving Data >
A Strong Grant Culture
Among DC public charter schools, there is a strong tie to grants – 38% of total philanthropic giving comes through competitive government grants – often from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) and the US Department of Education – and nearly all schools put considerable focus here. Are we over-relying on government grants? Many fundraisers think so – pursuing additional revenue sources can reduce reporting and programmatic burdens, while also increasing sustainability.
While charter schools usually invest more resources towards government grants, many schools have started to pursue foundation grants with success – 26% of total philanthropic giving came from foundations last year. Foundations are increasing their investments to help schools close the achievement gap and implement critical and innovative programs. For schools without a foundation grant program, it may be time to start.
The Highest ROI Comes from Major Gifts
Individual giving is key to your fundraising plan – 16% of total philanthropic giving comes from individuals. These donors are often engaged ambassadors who bring in other donors and volunteers. Most successful fundraising programs invest considerable time here and see the total funds raised increase when they do so.
Many schools reported having a major gift program – bringing in 8% of total philanthropic giving and 50% of individual gifts. In our survey, 77 percent of schools count major gifts as over $500-$1,000 and 3 schools as over $5,000. Are you looking to increase your total funds raised? We usually see the highest ROI – $4 for every $1 invested – from allocating more time to major gifts to steward current donors and cultivate new ones.
Your individual donors, large and small, are likely to remain resilient even during this crisis. It is important to be authentic, transparent, and relevant to why it matters now. One school launched an Emergency Relief Fund to support distance learning, technology access, and food security – raising $50K in two weeks.
Families Represent our Friendliest Audience
Across DC charter schools, we see quite a variance in parent giving from school to school – raising 4.8% of total giving and 30% of individual gifts. Families represent one of our friendliest audiences since they value the mission and see a direct benefit to their kids. Surprisingly, Title I schools bring in 20% of individual gifts from families with some schools reporting up to 50% participation and $40K annually. As expected, non-Title I schools raise more money from families – $60K-$300K annually with participation as high as 75-90%.
Monisha Karnani, Director of Demonstration & Outreach, at the Inspired Teaching Demonstration Public Charter School shared that their spring giving campaign is a parent-led competition that raised $137K in one month – 45% from individuals, 10% from sustaining donors, 30% from live/online auctions, 10% from sponsors, and 5% from tickets. It is successful because it is parent-run with peer-to-peer asks so families don't feel like the school is asking. There are multiple ways to give and it builds urgency with daily leaderboard updates. The parents’ excitement and ownership make it feel like a community-driven campaign.
Are you raising money from your families? If the answer is “no,” then you’re missing out. Parents are our schools’ and students’ biggest allies. Regardless if you’re a Title I school or not, parents can have a tremendous impact on your school’s mission and fundraising. By giving families opportunities to support your work, you are deepening relationships and building a strong community of ambassadors.
During this crisis, families and major donors are the first to step up to support the broader school community. Now might be the time to start building those relationships.
Boards May Have the Resources to Give More
It is interesting that parent giving is three times higher than board giving. Board members should have the resources to give more. Among DC charter schools, board contributions equal 1.6% of total giving and only 10% of individual gifts. Consider, how can we get our board to be a fundraising board? We share some tips in this article that are worth discussing as a team and you may want to look at how you’ve structured your board.
KIPP DC found it successful to create an Ambassador Board centered on friend-raising and change-making – opening doors to meaningful connections to support student development. Similarly, the Academy of Hope Public Charter School developed an advisory board where members are asked to give or raise $1,000. Both are great examples of increasing individual giving. Your boards and parents can be key right now to reaching out to their networks with timely asks, such as an emergency campaign, family food security, or a faculty fund.
Rethink Your Events
Many schools have postponed events and are not sure when it’ll be safe to reconvene. It is good timing to rethink what fundraising we could be doing in its place. KIPP DC recently canceled its KIPP Prom and launched a campaign to support food insecurity and mental health for alumni. Washington Latino parents traditionally host house parties and have shifted to virtual parties for parents to connect via social distancing.
Most DC charter schools usually host an annual fundraising gala. Yet, you may be surprised that events only account for 5% of total philanthropic giving. When we consider all the energy spent here, it may payoff to reallocate time to pursue other funding sources.
When Sara Gibson of 20° was a development leader, she did an analysis of her event and found that redirecting time to major gifts and individuals had a higher payoff. Here’s her checklist for evaluating your events:
What are your event margins? Is your net income 70% or more after direct expenses?
Are you tracking staff time and adding it into your budgets? How does your event impact productivity? Are other tasks taking a back seat?
Is your event meeting your goals, financial and otherwise?
Are there more meaningful ways to engage our interest groups, outside of events?
What other fundraising activities could you be doing in place of event planning?
Obviously, dollars raised is not the only outcome from events, which can be valuable for visibility, donor cultivation, parent engagement, community outreach, and more. It is worth a strategic look to examine how well our events meet these goals before continuing, and compare the ROI to other ways we could fundraise.
Using this Data Moving Forward
We’ll leave you with a few ideas on how to use this data. Compare your metrics to your peers and ask yourself:
Which of our revenue sources has the best ROI? How could we focus more time here?
Which of our revenue sources are less effective? Where could we redirect these efforts?
Which ideas may work best in the short run? And which are better saved for the long run?
Did you make an innovative pivot in your fundraising recently? We’d love to learn more. Let’s chat soon.