10 Monthly Tasks to Help Advancement Professionals Perform
The world of institutional advancement, on a primary or secondary school level, can often seem vast and neglected. I should know. I’m an Advancement Manager at a K-12 private school, and I’m always searching for people and information relevant to my work.
We know that our primary goal is to advance the mission and work of the school. We know that this is often accomplished through a combination of communications, enrollment, and fundraising. Then, we bank on those who did the work before us to show us exactly how to connect the goal with the tasks.
And that’s where I come in. Consider me one of those who have done the work and is now connecting the dots for you. In this post, those dots are the routine or regular tasks we must complete to keep our work current and high-performing.
Communications
Review and Send Newsletters
Most schools send out newsletters to donors, alumni, and prospective families. This can be done weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Regardless of the frequency, it’s important to always analyze the performance of the last newsletter before sending out the next newsletter. Check open and click rates, as well as content that was clicked and ignored. Then, with that information in mind, draft, edit and send the next newsletter.
Review and Update the School’s Website
Every school has a website now. They’re a great source of information for the various constituencies interacting with the school. So it’s very important to keep this source of information comprehensive and current. Review the website’s analytics to see which content is most visited, and therefore most needed. Check the school’s website for broken links, outdated content, and errors. Add to the website anything pertaining to the upcoming month.
Review the School’s Social Media Presence
Every school has a social media presence now, too. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Snapchat, or TikTok, it will need regular review. Make sure you have business profiles on these platforms so that there’s access to analytics. Review the analytics to see which content is most engaged with, and therefore most preferred. If desired, plan out the content to be posted for the upcoming month.
Review the Calendar for Upcoming Media Opportunities
Is there a pep rally coming up? Homecoming dance? ASB elections? Community service project? Check the calendar each month to see what’s happening and what each event’s media needs are.
Enrollment
Gather Data
Recruitment, admissions, and enrollment are incredibly fast-paced and ever-changing fields. It’s important, especially during peak enrollment season, to regularly review the data - how many students have applied and been admitted, how many more spots in each class are there, how are recruitment and admissions tools performing, etc. This is even more helpful if, like me, you have to present this information to the school’s Board of Directors each month.
Prepare for Recruitment Events
This may not need to occur every month, but it could. Recruitment events often require a fair amount of preparation. Dates and locations need to be confirmed, staff need to be arranged, and materials need to be prepared. Its helpful to review the upcoming month’s calendar for any recruitment events and prepare accordingly.
Update Voicemail Greetings
This may be specific to me. But during peak enrollment season, I leave very important information on my voicemail greeting (as well as the homepage on the school’s website). To keep this information from becoming incorrect and upsetting parents, I remember to update it every month with the most current information.
Fundraising
Prepare for Fundraising Events
This may not occur monthly. But it’s helpful to review the upcoming month’s calendar for any fundraising events or miscellaneous school events that will present solicitation opportunities. If there are events, coordination of staff, materials, goals, etc. will need to be conducted.
Review Giving Data
At a regular interval - mine is monthly - analyze the giving data. Look for how many gifts were received, the average amount, the gift sources, the trends, comparison to another period of time, and the goal. The purpose is always to know how fundraising is performing and its likeliness to meet the goal. Additionally, if - like me - you have to present this information to the school’s Board of Directors, it’s helpful to have this information readily available.
Reviews the Needs of the School
I like to check in with the Principal and/or Board of Directors each month to see if the school has any sudden or small financial needs. This keeps me informed and ready for when a donor calls wanting to give to something specific or small.
I know. It feels like a lot. But when doing these things regularly, they’ll be quicker and easier to do. Letting them accumulate is what makes them daunting tasks. I tend to dedicate a few days at the beginning of each month to these tasks. And you can see examples of my work here.
What about you? What do you do each month that I should add?