Covering the Campaign

Presenter: David Gibson, Communications Director for Development, Dartmouth

-Lesson #1: Dartmouth has a communications director specifically for fundraising. Amazing!

-Communication between editors and fundraisers is key. You all have the same goals – to advance the interests of the institution, demonstrate its relevancy and engage your audiences.

-Write a communications plan WITH your fundraisers. Develop story ideas based on that.

-Part of that conversation with fundraisers should be educating them about what a magazine does well (tells a story, puts your institution in context) and what it does poorly (asks people for something)

-Fundraisers know better than anyone that there is a time and place to ask for money. There’s a process of bringing them closer to the issues you’re raising money for and a respect for the potential donor.

-The magazine is widely read and credible for a reason – don’t ruin it by asking for money.

-Potential donors are investors. Content is critical in their decision to invest in the university. Magazines can serve as a prospectus for them to tell them what they need to know about you.

-Doing a story just based on its merits can be a huge fundraising tool, even if it doesn’t directly ask for money.

TYPES OF CAMPAIGN STORIES

Big Donor, Cool Story, No Gift
-Brainstorm with fundraisers: Any big donors out there who have an interesting story that has nothing to do with their gift to the college? Story doesn’t even have to acknowledge that they’re donors. The good story will make the donor happy, regardless if it mentions their gift

Everything Personal is a Success
-Brian Doyle at Portland did a story of a 95-year-old school cafeteria worker who gave a $25 gift
-Ask your fundraisers about these types of donors
-Use creativity you use in feature well and covers for these sidebar-type donor stories
-These stories don’t come around very often, but the only way you’ll find them is by talking to your fundraisers

Campaign Priorities, No Gift
-These are stories all about the content of what’s happening in your campaign
-Trying to raise money for faculty endowments? Do an up-close profile of a fabulous professor who just happens to hold an endowed professorship. Fundraisers can then take that piece with them to show potential donors the value of their gift.
-A good story can be the best way to inform people about a need or area they can donate to
-Northwestern was trying to raise money for buildings: Did photo essay “5 Ways the Campus You Remembered Has Changed” on new architecture on campus
-If a reader thinks the magazine is only telling them something so that they’ll give money, you’ve lost them

Campaign Priorities, Ok Gift
-Focus 95% of article on the content, 5% about the donor. You can reverse that in fundraising materials or a campaign newsletter, but it’s not for the magazine. A sales pitch ruins the magazine’s credibility.

Lover of Mankind, Lighten Up
-Story on unusual gifts (Dartmouth “Oh You Shouldn’t Have: What do you say when an alumnus gives you a zebra head?”)
-Make it accessible, not heavy-handed
-“What Your Money Buys” sidebar
-Story about “The Future of…” as seen through the prism of your university – gather faculty, student alum stories of what they see as the future of their area of expertise (Denison and Portland have done this)

Set Price, Discount It, Beg for Bucks
-The university business plan is wacky – doesn’t make sense to a business person
-Universities are inefficient – more cost-effective to have 1 prof and 200 students, but 1 prof and 9 students is a better product
-Explain how things work – make it clear to donors. The myth of the over-flowing endowment. A primer on university finances.

Return of the Edifice Complex
-Use new building photos as easy way to fill some space and make donors happy
-Use infographics – graph of capital campaign giving in relation to stock market vs. annual fund giving in relation to stock market

Tackle the Campaign Straight On
-Summarize campaign accomplishments, students who will benefit, by the numbers graph, thank donors. Use good solid business reporting. Capital campaign is a daunting goal – the journey to reach it IS a story
-Use campus icon (e.g. main tower) in place of thermometer to show giving levels
-Show the numbers, people and places that made up the campaign
-Do some “Institutional journalism”

Back of the Book is All Right Too
-It’s ok not to put fundraising content on the cover or up front (and the editors rejoiced)
-Use some restraint
-Not every fundraising story is paramount to the wider audience
-Just like every news story is not a feature
-Sections dedicated just to development ARE NOT READ. Weave these stories into the texture of the magazine in ways that make them solid stories for the reader
-BUT don’t neglect those stories creatively – present the campaign stories with the same care and creativity you devote to features. Give it a chance to be read!
-What is the face of fundraising you’re presenting to your audience? Is it an old white guy sitting on a bench, introduced via a boring headline?

-Your magazine loses its power when its used for fundraising. Want to ask? Put it in an ad! Readers know what those are. Don’t dress up an ad like a story. It won’t fool anyone. Context is key.

-Fundraisers insist on inserting ask envelope into magazine? Find the data – how much money is coming in from those? Couldn’t that money be applied to additional fundraising trips or visits by your staff? Speak to them in business terms.