This week’s entry completes another round of the five aspects of Advancement, focusing on Development.
It’s an easy one: share ideas.
Don’t keep trying to reinvent the wheel.
If you’re involved simply with Development, there’s an acronym I use to describe the activities associated with the position:
ARCHANGEL
The N stands for networking, and sharing ideas is a great way to connect with others.
Also remember that most people join to “get” ideas, just as schools like to “get” contributions from donors. However, the best way to accomplish that goal is to “give” value first!
Give your ideas.
Become a thought-leader.
Through sharing, you’ll then find the other ideas that you’re searching for.
One of the ways you can share ideas with development and advancement directors across the country is to join LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com) and sign up for a free account. Once you’re a member (or, if you already are a member), there are some great groups you can join that focus on Marketing, Development, Fund Raising, Philanthropy, and all those things related to what Advancement professionals do.
If you’ve been member of SchoolAdvancement.com from the beginning, you’ll remember it started with a discussion group on Yahoo.com. Through the evolution of technology, it morphed into a forum, which, became a LinkedIn group on this Web site.
But just like everything that has life, things change, and the group is now on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/459906818099477/
If you’d like to join, visit the link. Since it’s a private group, you’ll have to apply to be part of it. You just need to be associated with a school.
Why did it move from LinkedIn, since LinkedIn is more of a professional platform? There are a few reasons.
- Advancement personnel move from position to position – sometimes quickly. Most of the folks who started in faith-based and private schools on the LinkedIn group are no longer “school” advancement folks, but are engaged with non-profits in other fields.
- Facebook is used more than LinkedIn. While Facebook has more members than LinkedIn, the key is time spent using the service. Facebook users spend twice as much time on Facebook than LinkedIn users spend on LinkedIn. And since it’s a private group, it’s more likely that group activity will appear in a Facebook feed than it will in a LinkedIn feed, and that encourages sharing. (https://elementthree.com/blog/linkedin-vs-facebook-which-is-better-for-b2b-advertising/)
As for ideas, if you’re still planning for the 2024-2025 school year, and are in need a new event that doesn’t take a whole lot of planning, drop an email to [email protected] for an idea that first surfaced about 17 years ago. Use the words “Easy Planned Event Info” in the subject line.
Interestingly, it would have been THE event to pivot to during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, but if we get to a point to where we need to pivot again, you’ll have this strategy in your arsenal!
Recalling the first part of this article, “N” in ARCHANGEL stands for “Networking.” So what do the other letters in ARCHANGEL stand for?
That started off as a presentation, and has developed into a “BANG” – a Big Audacious Noble Goal (https://mikemichalowicz.com/how-noble-are-your-goals/) – called ArchangelAdvancement. You can find out more about what the letters stand for in the article at https://schooladvancement.com/?p=4042.
It’s all about all the things a Development Director needs to do. The key words in that sentence are “all” and “needs.” If “all” the components are not being attended to, it’s just like a gasoline-powered car engine without a serpentine belt. It’s only a small and relatively inexpensive thing, but without it, eventually, the car’s engine will overheat, the battery will die, and the car may crash because the brakes or steering have no power assist.
And no one wants your school to crash.