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News Washington News Welcome to the March, 2002 edition of Washington News, the Washington Services newsletter. Washington News is published each second month and is designed to alert clients and others to developments in international school and university administration. Read on for client consulting activity, development and marketing news items and a featured article on Innovation in Fundrasing. Washington Services works with schools and universities internationally assisting them with alumni relations, fundraising, marketing, feasibility studies and governance opportunities. In this edition
Recent Consulting Activity (return to top) In recent times Washington Services has been engaged by a range of local and international clients, some of the more rewarding assignments being: Ekamai International School, Bangkok - Feasibility study for the establishment of a Development function. Ekamai International School is a successful and fast growing school of 1,200 students which is assessing the possible upgrading and expansion of its single campus. The school wanted to review how the establishment of a development function might help with the funding of such a program and Washington Services consultant Frank Opray spent three days at the school assessing the prospects for philanthropic support. As a consequence the school is now proceeding with the appointment of a development officer with the assistance of Washington Services. Sporting Clients, Australia - Philanthropy and Sport. Washington Services has been assisting Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club and Royal Brighton Yacht Club in Melbourne and Kooyonga Golf Club in Adelaide, introduce a process of philanthropy into their club settings inclusive of tax deductibility for donors via the Australian Sports Foundation, a Federal Government agency established to provide this amenity. Projects for support range from the establishment of an Australian Tennis Museum to the provision of yachting facilities for the disabled to golfing tuition and scholarships. School Marketing Assignments - Kingswood College & Braemar College. These Victorian, (Australia) based schools each sought assistance with the establishment of a strategic marketing plan in order to help reach enrolment goals. Washington Services was able to provide this service inclusive of parent surveys and an objective review of each school's web site as a marketing tool. ECIS Administrators' Conference, Budapest, April 2002 Arising from presentations made at this conference on fundraising in international schools, a number of Heads in central Europe have requested Washington Services to make a similar presentation to their Boards on the opportunities available to their school. Planning is now underway for this to be done at each individual school in the first semester of the 2002/03 year. Development and Marketing News Items (return to top) Tax Deductibility in Canada for International Universities A number of foreign universities, (primarily US based), are named in the Canadian taxation legislation enabling donors to those universities to receive income tax relief in Canada. Universities outside of Canada, which have alumni or other potential donors resident there, should take steps to gain such a listing with Revenue Canada and offer their donors tax deductibility accordingly. Such a move will heighten the prospects of Canadian alumni giving to their "foreign" university. Information Retrieval Cost Reductions Schools and universities internationally should be aware of the massive subscription cost reductions presently taking place for informational retrieval from on-line organisations such as Dialog. These reductions are for the first time bringing their services within reach of smaller institutions and individuals. This may be of particular interest to those institutions which are serious about their donor research activities. Dialog is a worldwide leader in providing online-based information services to organizations seeking information in such fields as business, science, engineering, finance, and law. Further information can be found at www.dialog.com The Prem Centre, Chiang Mai, Thailand - Visiting Schools Program Under the direction of Lister Hannah, known to many in the international school community, the Prem Centre in Northern Thailand is hosting visiting schools from around the world and engaging them in the centre's "global concerns at a local level" program. Sometimes unaware of the needs of other people and of the natural environment in the normality of everyday life, school groups coming to the Prem Centre for the sustainability, cross cultural, adventure and community services activities provided by the Visiting Schools Program, have their minds and hearts quickened by the needs of people and nature, both in Northern Thailand and at home. Information about the Prem Centre can be obtained from Lister Hannah at listerh@premcenter.in.th Featured Article - Innovative Fundraising Tools (return to top) This is an abridged version of an article by Frank Opray which first appeared in the March 2002 edition of Creative School Management. It explores some recent innovative approaches to educational fundraising driven by societal changes in North America and elsewhere. Societal, technology and corporate changes worldwide are leading to increasing innovation in fundraising generally and in the educational environment in particular. Some of the most noteworthy examples of innovative fundraising practices observed in recent times include: Matched Giving Matching gifts are a vitally important source of funds for educational institutions and non-profit charitable organisations in the US. They are also an increasingly important way for companies to allow their employees to direct a portion of the corporate monies earmarked for charitable contribution. The original idea was the brainchild of Philip Reed, chair of the General Electric Board of Directors, who wanted to encourage GE employees to contribute to their alma maters. Reed believed the incentive to contribute was greater if the company matched the employee’s gift. This GE matching gift program was launched in 1954 and other companies soon followed suit. Since 1954, employers and their employees have contributed more than US$2 billion to education in the US thanks to corporate matching gift programs. Over the years, companies extended their gift giving to other charitable organizations. Today museums, hospitals, public television networks, and community organisations are among the nonprofits that receive corporate matching gifts. In the educational setting in the US the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, (CASE), provides a register and clearing house for those companies which support this form of giving. Companies match an employee’s gift on a one for one or even more generous basis, normally with a ceiling on the total amount that can be matched for any one institution. Companies establish matching gift programs for a variety of reasons, the main ones being:
International schools and universities need to be aware of those companies who are now beginning to offer matched giving programs around the world and they need to encourage their alumni or parents who are employed by those companies to seek matched giving benefits. “Give for a Friend” During the Christmas season just gone in the US a number of charities made a feature of a program that was promoted as “Give for a Friend”. The essence of this was for friends and relatives to make a donation to the favourite charity of the gift “recipient” rather than give that person a Christmas gift as such. In many cases schools or universities were nominated as the preferred charity and those institutions benefited accordingly. Such a program has merit internationally but the challenge is get the message out to alumni that they should nominate their school to friends and relatives well in advance of the Christmas season. Alternatively, given that schools hold the birth dates of alumni, and many schools do send birthday cards, especially to alumni who have been donors, the program could be geared to diverting birthday gifts to schools as well as Christmas gifts. Offshore Giving Tax Effectiveness Engaging financial support from offshore alumni and parents has long been a difficult area for international schools and universities especially when tax deductibility has not been on offer. An opportunity exists for British Commonwealth based educational institutions to source donations from US residents and/or taxpayers and offer them consequential US tax deductibility. The lack of tax deductibility for potential donors in the US has often meant that schools and universities have not been able to effectively fundraise amongst alumni, parents and other supporters there. A number of schools and universities have used this opportunity as a most effective donor cultivation tool in the US amongst alumni and some very substantial gifts have resulted. Other schools have used the program as a means of attracting US tax effective donations from ex-pat parents based in the host country. The foundation that operates this program is:
The Foundation has been approved by the United States Treasury Department since 1964 as a charitable organisation under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, contributions to which are tax deductible. The charter of the Foundation enables it to support educational institutions in the UK and in all British Commonwealth countries. The Foundation made its first grant in 1964 and by the end of 2001 had made grants of more than US$12 million. Registration of an approved project for support must be made with the Foundation but there is no charge for this registration. As regards UK based alumni or parents a similar tax deductible program is operated by Charities Aid Foundation, (CAF). The program was originally created to assist US colleges and universities to raise funds amongst alumni in the UK. It is now available to educational institutions worldwide. CAF is a registered UK charity and under its Trust Deed it may establish sub trusts or funds for non-UK educational institutions that have been established as not-for-profit entities. The origins of CAF date back to 1924 and its development since then, particularly over the last decade, has been impressive. Today it handles over £1 billion a year for donors and charities, employs more than 300 staff in Kent and London and works across the world. Its patron is HRH Prince Phillip. Endowed Chairs or Programs The concept of endowed professorial chairs or teaching programs has long existed in US tertiary institutions and to a lessor extent in British, Australian and New Zealand universities. With the increasing emphasis being placed on bequests and gifts from foundations in international schools and universities, the opportunity to use this form of donor engagement is emerging. Bequestors can be encouraged to have a chair or a program named in recognition of their gift if that is in accord with their giving motivation. The naming may not necessarily recognise the donor but may honour a family or a respected academic for example. Past Student Giving Programs Many schools actively develop amongst their students a sense of philanthropy and concern for others during their student days. All too often however this commitment to philanthropy walks out the school gate at the completion of year 12 and little or nothing is done to sustain it. Not only are the causes previously supported thereby denied continued assistance but also the opportunity to use this process as a means to encourage alumni to support their alma mater is constrained. It is recognized that financial support for schools from very recent leavers is generally sparse and of low unit value but if past students can continue to be engaged relative to causes supported during student days, the school will stand a better chance of developing supporters for its own philanthropic program in due course. A good example of this is the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore, which is using past student support for its student “Global Concerns” program as a means to eventually engage past student support for its growing scholarship fund. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [i] The British Schools and Universities Foundation Inc. is represented in Australia, New Zealand and Asia in a voluntary capacity by Frank Opray who can be contacted at Washington Services.
Further Information (return to top) For further information and all other enquiries regarding Washington Services' consultancy services, please contact Frank Opray at: frank@opray.net Washington Services [ About Us | Our Products | Sporting Clubs |Email Form | Related Sites ] Copyright © 1998-2007 Washington Services. All Rights Reserved. |
