Empowering Faculty and Department Heads: Amplified Philanthropic Results through a Liaison Model
Collaboration, facilitated by cross-institutional strategic alignment of objectives and credit- and information sharing, is a guiding principle in contemporary university fundraising. But HOW does that work get effectively and holistically done in large, decentralized, and dispersed universities with many competing priorities? This presentation identifies a series of concrete strategies, building on examples from a large College of Arts and Sciences at a public R1 flagship characterized by a high level of strategic alignment between the Dean's Office, front-line fundraisers, and alumni relations. We examine the visioning process we undertook to identify the opportunity for transformational change and then move into the tactics: principles and practices of stakeholder engagement in the Dean's office and among faculty, department heads, and program leaders; design and implementation of a gift officer liaison model; strategica engagement of the Advisory Board; and mobilizing positive accountability and dynamic metrics staff and faculty roles. We draw conclusions about what works from the transformational results we have seen over a nearly two-year period. We also address how to overcome organizational resistance, enhance collaborative culture, and storytell around the endeavor.