As an Academic leader today, I am very aware of the reality that anything transformational we want to do for our program, College or University will be possible only through philanthropy.
Every day I see students and faculty in my College who have more opportunities and brighter futures because of the fundraising success in our Business School. Knowing these facts, I am very surprised to see how many academic leaders and fundraisers do not have a healthy, collaborative relationship.
I wanted to share my top three suggestions on making these relationships more positive:
1. Academic Leaders must fully embrace fundraising – this is essential for any academic leader in a modern University. I have a Ph.D., author-leading textbooks and articles, teach a class and make tenure and promotion decisions, but, even if I do all of that perfectly, I will not be the Dean my College needs if I am not effective at fundraising.
I would encourage academic leaders to find things their stakeholders are passionate about and build an effective case for getting that win. When you see the pride that faculty, staff, students and alumni have for new spaces or opportunities, it will make you as an academic leader more intentional and visionary about finding other fundraising wins.
2. Fundraisers should find out what the academic leader is passionate about – to have a healthier, more collaborative relationship, fundraisers should ask questions to find out what the academic leader is most passionate about. Whether that be student research opportunities, AI, endowed professorships or reducing the cost of college through scholarships, the academic leader will be best talking about the things they care most about.
By listening and learning, the fundraiser will have a better relationship with the academic leader and be much more prepared to put them in situations with donors where they will thrive.
3. Embrace the reality that your professional futures are linked – I have been very fortunate to work with some incredible Development Officers who were great at their jobs and also became good friends and I would encourage academic leaders to work to make this a reality with their fundraisers. Even if that is not possible, both the academic leader and the fundraiser are intertwined in that their success or failure together will significantly impact their respective futures.
There are no faster ways to rise as an academic leader than to be a great fundraiser, and fundraisers who can show track records of success will have much greater opportunities for promotion and increased earnings. You can say our personalities don’t click, we are not a great fit or any other excuse, but poor fundraising performance will hurt both your careers while at the same time keeping your students, faculty and staff from maximizing their professional opportunities.
Academic leaders who develop their passion for fundraising priorities and fundraisers who understand that passion will lead to a healthier, more collaborative relationship between them that will drive remarkable opportunities for the stakeholders at that institution.
