Presenting Circumstances
- Athletics Director wishes to install a comprehensive long range plan to develop diversified revenue streams: annual giving, direct mail, ticket sales, fundraising event income, licensing and merchandising, corporate sponsorships, planned giving, and major giving; and/or
- Booster club wishes to enhance its own fundraising efforts or increase the capacity of the athletics department to raise funds; and/or
- Need for capital or other major development campaign and athletics director or development staff does not know if the current donor base can generate resources required or needs information necessary to set an achievable campaign goal; and/or
- Athletics department is confronting any of the following challenges:
- dependence on unstable, unpredictable or highly fluctuating sources of revenue
- one of more years of failure to meet revenue goals
- lack of diversity in number and type of revenue streams
- absence of planned giving or major giving program
- inexperienced communications, marketing and/or fundraising staff
- limited or disorganized involvement of alumni in development efforts
- underperforming revenue properties or programs
- absence of athletics department/donor/institutional consensus about the viability of current organization goals given financial resources of the program and a desire to assess other options
- staff burn-out, capacity challenges create need for major financial investment in organization infrastructure, questions regarding of feasibility of obtaining such resources and plan for addressing staff workload crisis
Overview of Consultant Deliverables
- Assessment of current status of fundraising and revenue generation capabilities:
- skill sets of current communications, marketing and development staff
- current yield vs. potential of existing revenue stream
- resource connections and capabilities of former athletes, alumni supporters and coaches
- size and wealth status of current and potential alumni/donor base
- database capabilities re: solicitation, contact, wealth assessment and sales management
- Guide senior management, development staff and chair of board or board development committee through a strategic analysis of underdeveloped or untapped revenue streams, prioritizing each according to potential for development and conditions required for exploitation
- In consultation with the Athletics Director, review assessment data and prepare recommendations/plan for expanding existing and new revenues streams, establishing priorities, timetables, developmental costs (staff and operating budget) and revenue projections
- Formal presentation, upon request, of results to faculty athletics council, institutional vice presidents and/or alumni stakeholders