I'm a big fan of advancement shops over separate marketing, alumni and development shops. And here's why. It's almost impossible for marketing and alumni folks to directly connect their good work on a daily basis to the ultimate goal of revenue if they do not see strategies and tactics and results that move people from conversations and engagement to giving.
Everyone working in higher education these days knows that universities and colleges are struggling to make ends meet. University leadership is therefore very focused on the bottom line, in order to meet the mission of high-quality research output and knowledge transfer to students and community.
The best way to boost the university bottom line is by bringing in new revenue. A complete advancement shop whose many resources are all tasked with adding revenue creates a clear and inspiring goal for staff to work toward.
Does that fly well with marketing shops who are working on building reputation or alumni shops who are building relationships? In my experience, yes. It inspires them to do even better work because they clearly see how reputation and relationship building are critical for new revenue generation and enhancing the university's impact on society.
Here's how my shop has done it. We've gone from using the traditional donor pyramid to adding a conversation pyramid and an engagement pyramid as well. This "advancement pyramid" reminds us that it takes the whole team working toward the same goal to make a significant impact.
What do think? Do you agree with a shared advancement mission of revenue generation? I'd love to hear from you if have any other models that work well.
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