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As universities resume in-person learning, students, staff and faculty continue working toward a safe return to life as usual on college campuses: cheering on the basketball team with friends by your side. Attending a lecture surrounded by socially distanced strangers in adjacent seats. And developing the next generation of campaigns to elevate those universities that have survived the pandemic’s financial consequences.
One element central to building successful campaign strategies is the transformational gift. The meaning behind this gift type is best described by anonymous donors who in 2012 made a $5 million gift to the Harvard University T. H. Chan School of Public Health to re-envision its doctorate in public health degree:
We have followed with admiration the work of the School for more than two decades, and this initiative is one of the most exciting things that we have seen during this period. It speaks to our deep belief in the power of young people—in particular, this generation of young people—to change the world.
The initiative that this gift supported spoke directly to the donors and their deep belief in the Chan School’s mission. Their generous support gave the school the ability to completely redesign a degree program that produces public health leaders who literally do change the world.
Transformational gifts profoundly and positively alter both the institution and the donor. In many cases, they also go on to change the institution’s constituents as well. In announcing last year a $25 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, the nonprofit Grameen America, which helps women entrepreneurs rise from poverty, described this additional consequence: “MacKenzie Scott’s goal was to build upon and amplify your collective support and help us change the game” (emphasis added). Ultimately, transformational gifts lift the entire institution onto a new plane with groundbreaking ideas, committed leaders and energized constituents who see new possibilities ahead.
Such gifts are more important than ever to higher education institutions. As alumni giving declines across the United States, total fundraising dollars and campaign goals continue to rise. That paradox is made possible through the successful cultivation and solicitation of principal and transformational gifts. Presidents, fundraising leaders, board members and alumni groups should continue to engage donors at all giving levels, as this enriches the environment at their institutions. But an analysis of Harvard University’s most recent campaign reveals just how important transformational gifts are, no matter how high the goal.
Harvard was able to complete higher education’s largest-ever comprehensive campaign in 2018 with a total raised of $9.62 billion. That sum is more than the annual gross domestic product of 60 of the world’s 190 or so countries. But even at that dizzying financial level, we see the same trend that’s been in motion for decades: a smaller number of donors are contributing a substantial portion of the total dollars given. Four donors and their families gave about 10 percent of the campaign's total (more than $1 billion) while about 633,000 gifts made up the remainder.
The takeaway should not be “Well, that’s Harvard!” The takeaway is that, no matter how ambitious the campaign goals are for your institution, a smaller number of donors will be helping you reach them.
Following are four key steps that presidents, cabinet members and faculty leaders can take to cultivate transformational gifts for their campus.
Know thyself. Some institutions believe that opportunism is the best strategy for locking onto potential donors. They think it’s best to “follow the money,” acceding to a donor’s wishes even if those wishes don’t align with the institution’s long-term vision for itself. But my experience as a former university development executive tells me that shifting an institution toward a donor’s vision too dramatically often ends with an unsatisfying result: a single superstar faculty member leaves. The administrator who built a program retires. A president is wooed to another institution. And after any one of these scenarios, the donor’s dream deflates.
True transformational gifts support organic programs that arise from the institution’s DNA and build on its strengths. They catapult an institution rather than taffy-pull it in an entirely new direction.
Know your constituents. Given that time is a resource that can’t be replaced, higher education leaders must be well informed about the giving capacity of individual constituents who may become donors and remain disciplined about building relationships with them. I’m not advocating that a president, dean or athletic director spend time only with those who can make substantial gifts. But knowing which specific individuals can transform your institution is vital to its success—and, in some cases, its survival. This is where trusted and effective development staff members are invaluable—they should be sharing this information with you continually.
Build strong and authentic relationships over time. As you begin to know the key people who can make transformative gifts, you will begin to understand them, their motivations and their philanthropic desires. Find time and create opportunities to explore those motivations and desires by inviting them for campus visits, conversations with faculty members and senior administrators, and private dinners to sift through their experiences. They can be steadfast supporters of your vision, but you must earn their trust by building relationships with them first and foremost as individuals and partners.
Share your vision and invite the potential donor to be part of it. As a campus leader, you will develop a comprehensive and complex vision for your program, school and college or university, and you will also discover which pieces of that vision are most attractive to the transformational donors in your orbit. As you develop a refined picture of the future, share that portrait with those donors and invite their input and thoughts. Help them understand why you believe your vision will lead to the future success of the institution. And try to remember, as you have such conversations, the words of master fundraiser Jerry Panas from his book Mega Gifts: “Large donors give to heroic, exciting programs rather than to needy institutions.”
These authentic conversations will become the basis for a sincere partnership and can ultimately lead to a transformational gift that will realize not only your institution’s vision but also the donor’s. By doing this, you will have accomplished both of your goals and secured the most enduring gift to your campus: a bright future.
