"The University of Miami (UM) Dean’s Advisory Committees (DACs) help guide the future direction of each school and college mission and strategy. DACs, composed of 15 key advisors, provide executive feedback and insight on major issues facing the schools and college and serve as champions for the schools and colleges, engaging with alumni and supporting strategic philanthropic and friend-raising initiatives.
Just before announcing the public phase of the Ever Brighter Campaign, the University set the intention of revamping the existing Advisory Committees and creating DACs with a more defined purpose: building awareness, meeting community needs, and attracting resources to the schools and colleges during the campaign. With feedback from the Provost, Deans, and Development Officers (DO), the Volunteer Leadership Team provided the following tools to help Deans and DOs with limited experience managing a volunteer board.
• Deans Advisory Toolkit (Internal and External)
• Volunteer Compacts
• Volunteer Individual Impact Plans
• Guidance for meetings
• Cheat sheets on how to manage volunteer records
• Campaign Plan Templates
• A SharePoint site to communicate to all DOs about emerging resources
As the result of a one-year refresh, each DAC has successfully recruited 15 members, completed campaign plans with specific goals and campaign activities, and donated a total of $36,344,299 toward the Ever Brighter Campaign. As for the DOs, they now have the resources they need to manage a volunteer board effectively. The SharePoint Site, Resources for Volunteer Manager, has 68 members, eight pages, and 566 views."
From the Judges
The centralized approach of creating materials and methodology to keep volunteers and deans on track and focused was an impressive undertaking. The fundraising results were impressive.
