Create a Strategic Development Committee Agenda for the Year

Your strategically focused Board of Trustees is key to making your development programs effective and sustainable. When your Board centers on decision-making that is future-focused and viability-motivated, your school not only prospers, but you can also inspire your donors and prospects to commit philanthropic dollars to your school.

The Board’s Development Committee is charged with supporting the Board’s strategic role in the school’s development efforts. In doing so, it:

• recommends and monitors the school’s development plan, which ties directly to the Board’s strategic plan and the strategic financial plan;
• provides input and feedback on the school’s Case for Giving;
• participates in the identification, engagement, evaluation, solicitation, recognition, and stewardship of donors and prospects; and
• involves other Trustees and appropriate members of the wider community in the committee’s work.

As Development Director, you want to work with the Chair of the Development Committee to set an agenda for the year as well as one for each meeting. Always aim to further the goals of the strategic plan, establish opportunities for members to share their knowledge of your donors and prospects, and tap the creative minds of the committee by asking them to generate ideas for the future.

Construct your monthly agenda with the following four categories in mind:

• Reports: When designing the committee agenda, avoid the common mistake of limiting items to reports of various kinds. Your gala and fundraising event committees should submit written reports to the committee so that committee time can be spent considering important strategic items. Fundraising reports that summarize progress with the annual fund, capital campaign, and other initiatives, while important, need not take more than a few minutes of review at the beginning of a meeting
• Strategic Discussion: Ask committee members to provide strategic input on questions relating to the progress of fundraising efforts, the effectiveness of the Case for Giving, the timing and purpose of fundraising initiatives, development-related goals in the strategic plan, development policies, and other important strategic items under consideration by the committee. Determine when specific discussions should take place within your annual cycle. For example, discussing the effectiveness of the annual fund Case for Giving is a good topic for the spring when much of the campaign is complete.
• Strategic Donor/Prospect Discussion: The Development Committee should review the progress being made with donors who are among the school's major prospects. Note each person's place in the Donor Cycle and discuss appropriate actions for each one. Members can also be asked to bring new names to the table to promote a dynamic and fresh major prospect list.
• Idea Generation: Reserve time on the agenda for the committee to look at the big picture of all the outside and inside forces affecting the culture of philanthropy at your school. The group can then devise ways to adjust to the strategic realities in your economic, demographic, political, and social environment. Allow these discussions to be open-ended and reserve decision-making for another time.

Develop a grid, like the one below, that charts each committee meeting and the agenda items that are reserved for each. Further, divide the grid to account for the item types that are on the meeting agenda. When complete, the grid becomes a guidepost throughout the year and assures the committee’s strategic and operational goals are met.

Sample Meeting Plan for the Development Committee

With a plan in place, your Development Committee will act more effectively throughout the year. Consider our recommendations and build a Committee that fulfills your school's needs and mission.