2. Once upon a time…
• OTC was approved by the voters in 1990
• College opened in 1991 with 1,198 students
• Now serve more than 15,000 students in five
locations
• Third largest community college in the state
• Recently named one of the fastest growing
community colleges in the nation by
Community College Week
3.
4. The OTC Foundation
• OTC Foundation established 1996
• Since 2007, the Foundation as seen a 700%
increase
• Scholarships, Student Support Programs,
Center for Health Education and Center for
Workforce Development
• Fast forward to 2012
5. Grants Development at OTC
• Began without a focus on attaining grants
• 2000-2004: First full-time director of grants
• 2006: Began a faculty-led grants office that
continues today
• 2008: Economic downturn; Obama elected
• FY 2012: Over $6 million in grant awards
• Strategic Plan: Annual goal of $2M in grants
6. Staff
• Two full-time staff members in the Foundation
• One full-time assistant
• One part-time director of grants
• Executive Director/Vice Chancellor
7. Collaboration is Key
Keep Your Story Simple
– Be a storyteller
– Use more than facts and figures, but answer
the questions directly.
8.
9. Collaboration is Key
Let Others Tell Your Story
– Let the experts “sell” your program
– Leadership Reception
– Educating the public about your mission
– Avenues to tell your story – Speaker Circuit
10. Interpersonal Relationships are Crucial
• Using events to make friends and not just
money
• Networking and positive relationships with
outside organizations
• Everyone deserves good customer service –
external and internal
• You should never have to make a cold call ask
11. Seven ways to say thank you
1. Thank you from your organization – make it personal
2. Thank you the person/people who benefited from
the gift
3. Call the donor and thank him/her. This can be a
good time to update him/her on the project
4. Recognition in Annual Report
5. Naming Opportunities
6. Recognition on social media, videos
7. Donor Reception
12.
13. The Results
• Set a goal of $10 million, raised $14.4 million
• Grant awards have grown from around $1
million annually to over $6 million in FY 2012.
14. Your Strategies
Collaboration: Briefly tell one story about how
your organization has helped your community.
(Remember, make it personal.) Who are two
contacts you could share this story with?
OTC grew quickly in a short amount; therefore, the focus was on other items rather than on fundraising.
The College grew quickly; however the foundation was not established until 1996. It handled just scholarships. We were kind-of jumping around and had no targeted approach. There weren't any events set in place and we just responded when someone made a gift. We weren’t actively seeking. If someone had an idea, we were thinking about it long term. Everything was sort-of pieced together
Importance of having others buy into your missionImportance of others understanding your missionInformationalFace of the programRoles overlap between foundation staff, other staff within your organization and board members
Importance of having others buy into your missionImportance of others understanding your missionInformationalFace of the programRoles overlap between foundation staff, other staff within your organization and board members
Golf tournament, leadership reception, naming events, open houseSharing story about our own successes with building relationshipsCredibility Don’t “nickel and dime” your donorsIt is important to note that our fundraising as evolved over time/
I once read that you should tell a donor thank you at least seven times for a gift. Here are some ways we thank our donors and use this as an opportunity to cultivate your donors. You build the relationship with the donor, but it never ends. You adapt. Some donors start with giving once and can become an annual donor
