In October 2014, Carol B. walked her Lovett School kindergartener to his classroom and then delivered a $2,500 check to the advancement office for True Blue, the school's annual fund. The following spring she made a sizable endowment contribution.
Two gifts in one year? From a new parent?
She's not an outlier. This school year, 100 percent of new parents gave to True Blue and 60-70 percent will likely make capital or endowment commitments, thanks to our New Parent Philanthropy Program.
How do we get new parents to give so generously, so soon? We start building relationships in the spring, when their children receive admittance letters. When classes start in the fall, the warm welcome to the Lovett Lions community includes intimate gatherings with the headmaster and personalized outreach by highly trained peer solicitors. The result is a strong parent-school partnership.
The coordinated welcome wagon
Parents are the philanthropic lifeblood of many independent day schools. That's why Lovett, a K-12, coed, independent day school in Atlanta, invests substantial resources to welcome, involve, and listen to this important group. We want to get off to a good start with the 130 new families who join Lovett each year.
The New Parent Philanthropy Program is part of an interdepartmental effort to provide a meaningful, parent-centered welcome and orientation. This was a major shift. From 2002–07, advancement worked independently of other departments, and our strategy was to hold fundraising pitch meetings, in an uninspiring lecture format that presented philanthropy as a parental obligation. The new program meant letting go of our singular focus of fundraising and working with admission, the head of school, principals, and other key staff to develop a more subtle 19-month effort to:
- Establish good communication between Lovett and parents.
- Strengthen the partnership between parents and the school.
- Integrate new parents more easily into the school community.
- Educate new parents about important facets of the school, such as core values, governance, strategic planning, technology, and volunteering.
- Boost participation by new parents in school life, including fundraising.
The New Parent Philanthropy Program includes all parents, regardless of geography, wealth, or marital status. Approximately 14 percent of our 1,665 students receive some assistance from a $3.4 million financial aid budget (operating budget of $54 million).
Parents, like their children, are joining a complex and sometimes foreign community. They are making a huge financial and emotional investment. We give new parents a lot of information—and we request a lot, too. It can be daunting and overwhelming, like drinking from a fire hose. This is especially true for the increasing number of parents with no independent school legacy. Parents need to feel welcomed and listened to and receive concise information in a timely manner.
Spring: The greetings meeting
In May, about a month after their child enrolls, new-to-Lovett parents gather at the annual Welcome Meeting and Reception. Rather than overwhelm parents with details about the logistics of school life, we simply say: "Welcome, and thank you for choosing Lovett." Parents meet administrators, board members, and volunteer leaders, receive a tour of the school's website, and learn other ways to gain information and guidance. A question-and-answer period and then a reception follow the brief presentations.
Summer: The dog days of development research
Throughout the summer and as the school year commences, the admission office and academic divisions call each incoming family to answer questions and help parents find their place in the Lovett community. Additionally, a buddy system pairs new families (students and parents) with a returning family. There are other student-specific opportunities for engagement with their peers.
Development and alumni office staff members attend the welcome reception, but advancement's involvement begins in the summer, when we start our new parent prospect research. Admission officials, trustees, other volunteer leaders, and wealth-screening tools provide insights on incoming families' philanthropic tendencies. We also learn about parents' connections to foundations, volunteer roles in other organizations, major financial happenings (sale of a home, loss of a job, taking a private business public, or a recent inheritance), and giving capacity. This process shows us which parents (and grandparents) could support Lovett as major donors and/or as experienced volunteers.
Fall: Preparing parents to give
As the school year begins, all new families attend one of 10 New Parent Small Group Meetings with the headmaster at 8:15 a.m. (school starts at 8 a.m.). Development coordinates these meetings, but the headmaster's discussion has little to do with fundraising. (That comes later.) Instead, we concentrate on building a strong, positive, and open relationship between our newest families and the school. Discussion focuses on the "Lovett-Parent Partnership," which describes what the school can expect of parents—yes, that includes giving and volunteering—and vice versa. The headmaster also reviews key policies, the school's budget, signature programs, and parent education opportunities.
For many parents, the most enjoyable part of these meetings is the half-hour Q&A with the headmaster and other administrators. Limited to approximately 20 parents, the gatherings encourage an honest exchange about areas of concern and interest, from campus security to future plans. Why is the carpool lane so slow? Why is the student body so large? Such questions give administrators an opportunity, for instance, to talk in detail about campus traffic and parking improvements that are planned but need funding. They can also discuss the strengths of a large school and the ways in which Lovett feels like a small, tight-knit community.
"Understanding school leadership's perspective on educating my child, discipline, Lovett's strategic plan, leadership transition, etc., is invaluable to us, particularly as parents completely new to Lovett. I also appreciate very much being treated as a partner by the leadership and have since been recognized on a first name basis by some in the meeting, all very good things,"wrote a parent about her small group meeting.
During the fall, we also launch True Blue. All parents are solicited, but after a customized written appeal hits the mail, True Blue New Parent Committee members—"recently new" parents whose children have been Lovett students for two to three years—also contact new parents individually. Peer-to-peer education and solicitation help families understand how True Blue provides the margin of excellence that elevates Lovett from good to exceptional. The wide array of academic, fine arts, athletic, and co-curricular programs; small class sizes; hiring and retention of talented faculty and staff; and unique resources such as Siempre Verde (Lovett's 825-acre cloud forest research station in Ecuador) are examples of excellence.
We remind committee volunteers to remember how they felt as new parents and train them to listen well, answer basic questions about annual giving, and emphasize the importance of participation when they ask for the gift. These efforts have paid off: Every year, most new parents participate in True Blue—although even we were surprised that all new families gave by the end of November this school year.
Winter: Campaign season
The program capstone, the New Parent Capital Campaign, occurs during the second semester (even when we're not in a schoolwide capital campaign). For the 2015–16 school year, the campaign encourages new parents to support the endowment or make an unrestricted capital gift. Our prospect research, interactions with parents during the fall group meetings, True Blue giving history, and alumni involvement records usually reveal a couple to recruit as New Parent Capital Campaign co-chairs. We typically select a couple that includes an alumna/us with a strong record of giving and volunteerism at Lovett and thus well positioned to manage and inspire their fellow new parents. The co-chairs are also familiar with Lovett's development staff, processes, and strategic goals. The co-chairs select 10 new parent couples or single parents to serve as the Steering Committee. These members in turn recruit—and manage—another couple or single parent to serve on the Leadership Committee. Both groups consist of new parents who are highly rated as major gift candidates, have made True Blue leadership gifts, and are experienced fundraising volunteers. Other recruitment factors include diversity of zip codes, background, and children's grade levels.
Collectively, these parents form the volunteer leadership for the New Parent Capital Campaign, and they train hard to be strong development ambassadors. Because of her leadership-level True Blue giving and her fundraising experience at her child's previous school, Carol B. was asked to join the campaign leadership team. She also lives in an area of Atlanta where we have few students. Carol and her cohorts learned about the need for parent philanthropy, the differences between True Blue and capital gifts, and the school's strategic objectives and investment priorities. We provide sample scripts and email message templates that volunteers can customize for the initial contact and follow-ups. We emphasize that 90 percent of their job is getting prospects to attend an upcoming meeting with the headmaster and that the development staff will help significantly with the gift solicitation.
Spring: A seat at the headmaster's table
New parents meet in small groups with the headmaster and a few development staff. These "Headmaster's Tables" help parents understand Lovett's strategic plans, finances, and fundraising. To accommodate parents' schedules, the meetings are at 8:15 a.m. in the board room and 5:30 p.m. at the headmaster's residence. Campaign volunteers are each assigned four to five other new families to shepherd through the campaign, encouraging attendance at a Headmaster's Table, answering questions, and soliciting a gift commitment following the meetings. Development staff, the headmaster, and co-chairs cultivate the exceptionally capable prospects.
Educating new families about philanthropy's role at Lovett is key; participation is a secondary goal. We explain how high parent participation helps the school leverage foundation and major donor contributions: About 60-70 percent of families give with an average gift range of $5,000-$15,000 (multiyear pledges and one-time gifts). After these meetings conclude, we honor moms and dads for their contributions with a New Parent Philanthropy Celebration, an evening reception at the headmaster's house in May. But we encourage and accept campaign gifts and pledges through Dec. 31.
Once a giver, always a giver
Since 2002, the New Parent Capital Campaign has raised nearly $10 million for the endowment and brick-and-mortar projects, such as the new Pope Gymnasium, baseball-softball complex, and the renovated Alston Memorial Chapel. That amounts to 6.1 percent of all capital dollars raised, including during two separate schoolwide capital campaigns. The dollars are significant, but establishing a long-term relationship and future giving is even more important. Parents who give their first year tend to keep giving—often at higher levels. Based on survey feedback, we know parents feel more involved and a part of the community. The feeling of inclusion boosts fundraising and volunteerism. At the least, parents are better informed about Lovett and the value of philanthropy at our school, and they make better decisions about giving. We attribute the success to many factors, including:
- The focus on relationship-building, communication, and education, rather than a dollar goal.
- The willingness of our headmaster to lead all the meetings and be transparent about the school's finances and fundraising
- The eagerness of our new families to volunteer and support the school
Mount Paran Christian School in Georgia adopted a similar program three years ago, and its experience reiterates the importance of relationship-building and early communication. Mount Paran's fall new parent meetings are similar to Lovett's, except that parents are asked to share why their family joined the school and how the experience is going. "New families say they feel listened to, valued, and motivated to invest in the school," says Jennifer New, Mount Paran's director of development. "The results have been astounding! With a young annual fund (11 years) and just one capital campaign under our belt, we are working hard to establish a culture of philanthropy, which must begin when a family joins our school community."