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You Gotta Believe!
Fund Raising: Random Ramblings ! You Gotta Believe! by Dana C. Rooks Available online 7 November 2006
he need to secure external funding for the Libraries was one of the only actions of which I was certain when I was named Dean of Libraries. The University of Houston is a state-supported institution. It is relatively new, having achieved state-supported status in the 1960’s. It is not the flagship institution in the State. As with most states, funding from the State was declining while needs within the Libraries were increasing. The University of Houston Libraries had great plans and even greater aspirations. Yet the gap between the budget realities and the aspirational goals was only growing larger. The obvious solution, at least to me, was if we could only find a means to tell the world about our aspirations the world would rush to their checkbooks to make it happen. I truly believed this was the case. How could anyone not believe in libraries and not want to make our vision a reality. I started by outlining my plan to the University of Houston librarians and staff. The plan was relatively straight-forward. We would recruit and appoint an experienced professional development director. Together we would identify potential library donors. We would wine and dine these donors and tell them of our dreams and aspirations. They would be consumed by our passion and sign on as a true believer. Not necessarily simple but definitely straight-forward. My first reality check, as a true believer, was the reaction of my own librarians. While they acknowledged my own passion for this plan, there was clearly deep skepticism within their ranks. Could the Libraries expand beyond the capabilities and limitations of relying on competitive grant applications to fund new initiatives and enhancements of existing programs? Could the Library really raise significant funds from the philanthropic community? Could we garner support for any initiative beyond the acquisition of rare books or manuscripts and maybe some support for collections in certain disciplines? How could the Library be successful? We had no identified donors. We did not have alumni. We were only rarely the focus of a gift solicited by our University Development office. While acknowledging the history of successful philanthropic efforts in elite private universities, could this translate to our own environment? While I may not have converted the Librarians to ‘‘believers’’ in this initial foray, I did receive tolerance for the plan and acceptance to move forward.
T
Dana C. Rooks is Dean of Libraries, University of Houston, USA [email protected].
Step Two in my plan was to recruit an experienced and knowledgeable development professional. I did not know how to play this development game and I needed someone to teach me. In my case, identifying one of our librarians with an outgoing personality and assigning that person to this role was not going to achieve the results I was seeking. Therefore I approached the University development office to ask for their help in this recruitment. This was reality check number two. Since they too believed the Library could be no more than a minor player in the University Development goals I was encouraged to hire from the minor leagues. They proposed I consider using an intern or looking for someone trying to ‘‘break into’’ development. As I was below novice level myself in the fundraising game. I knew this was not what I needed to achieve our goals. I knew it took money to make money. However, as a true believer, I was also convinced that the investment would garner handsome returns. So I persevered, committed the library’s money to create the position I envisioned and began a search. This decision turned out to be the key to our success that followed. The Library Development Director brought professional expertise, an understanding of the nuances of philanthropy and the firm belief that libraries can be successful in fundraising. If, as with many of us, you are not an experienced fundraiser the appointment of a professional development director is critical. This person will be your teacher and your guide through the world of giving. Listen and learn. Be open to exploring unfamiliar territories with its own terminology and protocols. Find a good workshop, do some homework, and seek out experts in your university, your community, and other libraries. Ask questions, question responses you think are ill informed (you may have approached a non-believer). The next step is to formulate and articulate your vision. What do you want to achieve? How will it impact the success of your constituency? How will it enrich your community? What will be required to achieve your vision? How does your vision match the vision, goals, and interests of your donor? How do you make this donor a believer? In the development world, the answers to these questions form a case statement. After articulating your vision you may find that university administrators or others are still not convinced. They may argue that while your vision is compelling to them it may not be to donors. My favorite story is the Vice-President for University Development who said, ‘‘Dana, I wish Libraries were as sexy as football, but they aren’t.’’ My response was
646 !The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Volume 32, Number 6, pages 646–647
that to some people, including football fans, they are. Clearly a non-believer in need of conversion. Others may agree your vision is compelling, but only within the halls of academe. Libraries, after all, are thought to be staid foreboding places entered only by those who must complete that term paper including ten citations from print resources. Paint a picture of the vibrant bustling library melding both print and electronic resources. Sell your vision and don’t succumb to the out of date image of non-believers. Stick to your plans, adapt, adjust, but keep making progress. The next hurdle is to start developing a donor base. If you have a Friends group convert them to a donor and donor identification group using your case statement. They are probably committed to the Library goals but they may not believe that Libraries and librarians can be effective fundraisers. Be innovative in your donor identification initiatives. Attend community and alumni events and gatherings. Meet as many guests as possible. Tell the Library story. Invite them to visit the Library and see the activity going on. Solicit non-donor lists from other colleges on campus. Just because an individual does not give to the College of Social Sciences Annual Fund does not mean they will not give to the Library. In fact, many will, others will give to both, and this can be an important example to convince the campus non-believers. Ask to be added to all solicitations as a designated gift including the University’s annual solicitation, the Alumni Organization fundraising campaigns and others. In addition to donors being able to designate a gift for a specific college, or to athletics, or the general scholarship fund, ask that the Library be listed as an option. Our experience was that the option of designating the Libraries increased the response from previous non-donors.
The Libraries offer a positive alternative for many donors. They may have fond memories of their days spent in the Library. The universality of the Library may appeal to many donors. A gift to the Library benefits all students and all disciplines. The perpetuity of a gift to the Library is compelling to other donors. Annual funds, telefunds and other efforts that target funding for the Library or offer the Library as an option are a great source of making believers out of library staff, administrators and others. Success, in many venues, dispels disbelief. The process may seem unending, disbelievers are always out there. The key is the depth of your own belief, dedication, and commitment. Do not be afraid to start, do not quit when frustrated. If you believe external fundraising is your library’s avenue to excellence, you also have to believe that librarians can make it happen and that they are the only ones who will. The first and most important component for success is ‘‘you gotta believe’’. You have to believe that libraries and librarians can raise money. You have to believe you can convince otherslibrary staff members, university administrators, library supporters, individual donors, foundation trustees, community leaders, business and corporate leaders that libraries and librarians can raise money. You must persevere. You will encounter many who don’t believe. Don’t let them discourage or stop you. Continue to believe. In the end, your success will convert the naysayers to true believers. In future columns I will elaborate on some of the experiences, lessons learned, successes and failures of my own fundraising efforts. I am not an expert. I do not espouse I have all the answers. This column is called ‘‘Random Ramblings’’ because that is how I envision my contributions.
November 2006 647
he need to secure external funding for the Libraries was one of the only actions of which I was certain when I was named Dean of Libraries. The University of Houston is a state-supported institution. It is relatively new, having achieved state-supported status in the 1960’s. It is not the flagship institution in the State. As with most states, funding from the State was declining while needs within the Libraries were increasing. The University of Houston Libraries had great plans and even greater aspirations. Yet the gap between the budget realities and the aspirational goals was only growing larger. The obvious solution, at least to me, was if we could only find a means to tell the world about our aspirations the world would rush to their checkbooks to make it happen. I truly believed this was the case. How could anyone not believe in libraries and not want to make our vision a reality. I started by outlining my plan to the University of Houston librarians and staff. The plan was relatively straight-forward. We would recruit and appoint an experienced professional development director. Together we would identify potential library donors. We would wine and dine these donors and tell them of our dreams and aspirations. They would be consumed by our passion and sign on as a true believer. Not necessarily simple but definitely straight-forward. My first reality check, as a true believer, was the reaction of my own librarians. While they acknowledged my own passion for this plan, there was clearly deep skepticism within their ranks. Could the Libraries expand beyond the capabilities and limitations of relying on competitive grant applications to fund new initiatives and enhancements of existing programs? Could the Library really raise significant funds from the philanthropic community? Could we garner support for any initiative beyond the acquisition of rare books or manuscripts and maybe some support for collections in certain disciplines? How could the Library be successful? We had no identified donors. We did not have alumni. We were only rarely the focus of a gift solicited by our University Development office. While acknowledging the history of successful philanthropic efforts in elite private universities, could this translate to our own environment? While I may not have converted the Librarians to ‘‘believers’’ in this initial foray, I did receive tolerance for the plan and acceptance to move forward.
T
Dana C. Rooks is Dean of Libraries, University of Houston, USA [email protected].
Step Two in my plan was to recruit an experienced and knowledgeable development professional. I did not know how to play this development game and I needed someone to teach me. In my case, identifying one of our librarians with an outgoing personality and assigning that person to this role was not going to achieve the results I was seeking. Therefore I approached the University development office to ask for their help in this recruitment. This was reality check number two. Since they too believed the Library could be no more than a minor player in the University Development goals I was encouraged to hire from the minor leagues. They proposed I consider using an intern or looking for someone trying to ‘‘break into’’ development. As I was below novice level myself in the fundraising game. I knew this was not what I needed to achieve our goals. I knew it took money to make money. However, as a true believer, I was also convinced that the investment would garner handsome returns. So I persevered, committed the library’s money to create the position I envisioned and began a search. This decision turned out to be the key to our success that followed. The Library Development Director brought professional expertise, an understanding of the nuances of philanthropy and the firm belief that libraries can be successful in fundraising. If, as with many of us, you are not an experienced fundraiser the appointment of a professional development director is critical. This person will be your teacher and your guide through the world of giving. Listen and learn. Be open to exploring unfamiliar territories with its own terminology and protocols. Find a good workshop, do some homework, and seek out experts in your university, your community, and other libraries. Ask questions, question responses you think are ill informed (you may have approached a non-believer). The next step is to formulate and articulate your vision. What do you want to achieve? How will it impact the success of your constituency? How will it enrich your community? What will be required to achieve your vision? How does your vision match the vision, goals, and interests of your donor? How do you make this donor a believer? In the development world, the answers to these questions form a case statement. After articulating your vision you may find that university administrators or others are still not convinced. They may argue that while your vision is compelling to them it may not be to donors. My favorite story is the Vice-President for University Development who said, ‘‘Dana, I wish Libraries were as sexy as football, but they aren’t.’’ My response was
646 !The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Volume 32, Number 6, pages 646–647
that to some people, including football fans, they are. Clearly a non-believer in need of conversion. Others may agree your vision is compelling, but only within the halls of academe. Libraries, after all, are thought to be staid foreboding places entered only by those who must complete that term paper including ten citations from print resources. Paint a picture of the vibrant bustling library melding both print and electronic resources. Sell your vision and don’t succumb to the out of date image of non-believers. Stick to your plans, adapt, adjust, but keep making progress. The next hurdle is to start developing a donor base. If you have a Friends group convert them to a donor and donor identification group using your case statement. They are probably committed to the Library goals but they may not believe that Libraries and librarians can be effective fundraisers. Be innovative in your donor identification initiatives. Attend community and alumni events and gatherings. Meet as many guests as possible. Tell the Library story. Invite them to visit the Library and see the activity going on. Solicit non-donor lists from other colleges on campus. Just because an individual does not give to the College of Social Sciences Annual Fund does not mean they will not give to the Library. In fact, many will, others will give to both, and this can be an important example to convince the campus non-believers. Ask to be added to all solicitations as a designated gift including the University’s annual solicitation, the Alumni Organization fundraising campaigns and others. In addition to donors being able to designate a gift for a specific college, or to athletics, or the general scholarship fund, ask that the Library be listed as an option. Our experience was that the option of designating the Libraries increased the response from previous non-donors.
The Libraries offer a positive alternative for many donors. They may have fond memories of their days spent in the Library. The universality of the Library may appeal to many donors. A gift to the Library benefits all students and all disciplines. The perpetuity of a gift to the Library is compelling to other donors. Annual funds, telefunds and other efforts that target funding for the Library or offer the Library as an option are a great source of making believers out of library staff, administrators and others. Success, in many venues, dispels disbelief. The process may seem unending, disbelievers are always out there. The key is the depth of your own belief, dedication, and commitment. Do not be afraid to start, do not quit when frustrated. If you believe external fundraising is your library’s avenue to excellence, you also have to believe that librarians can make it happen and that they are the only ones who will. The first and most important component for success is ‘‘you gotta believe’’. You have to believe that libraries and librarians can raise money. You have to believe you can convince otherslibrary staff members, university administrators, library supporters, individual donors, foundation trustees, community leaders, business and corporate leaders that libraries and librarians can raise money. You must persevere. You will encounter many who don’t believe. Don’t let them discourage or stop you. Continue to believe. In the end, your success will convert the naysayers to true believers. In future columns I will elaborate on some of the experiences, lessons learned, successes and failures of my own fundraising efforts. I am not an expert. I do not espouse I have all the answers. This column is called ‘‘Random Ramblings’’ because that is how I envision my contributions.
November 2006 647