The Association of Fundraising Professionals recently released its tenth annual survey, the 2015 Fundraising Effectiveness Survey Report (FEP). While it’s not specifically geared toward private-independent schools, its findings—particularly those surrounding donor attrition and retention—offer some intriguing fundraising opportunities for organizations who care to pay attention.

Buyer personas are useful marketing tools for businesses, as they break down a typical customer's likes, dislikes, attitudes, and habits. Similarly, "donor personas" help the Development Office better identify and appeal to potential donors—but you have to craft them first. Take these four steps to write donor personas that help you craft effective, poignant communication with those who want to help your school grow.

Pictures spice up plain text and lead to greater audience attention. (There’s a reason why we publish Source articles with images!) They’re an important part of your communications strategy, and should be used, well, strategically. Images tell your school's story in ways that other mediums cannot. Pictures document moments and connect viewers to the spirit, energy, and excitement of your school's programming. So grab your camera and become a new-age bard by using these storytelling tips through the photos you select to attract interest and investment in your school.

It’s January, which means there’s a fresh crop of potential student applications piled on your desk, waiting to be evaluated. While you’re combing through these forms, you’ve got a second form of recruitment this spring to remember: Re-recruitment. Just because your students currently attend your school doesn’t mean that they’ll automatically plan to return this fall. Here, then, are two reasons why families may choose not to re-enroll at your school for the 2016-2017 academic year.

Q: We just got our renewal numbers for health insurance for the coming year, and they have us in the small group market. I thought that if you had 51 or more employees, you remained in the large group market. Did I receive the wrong quote?

While it’s only January, hiring season is quickly approaching. To prepare you for the onslaught of résumés and cover letters, we thought we’d offer you a humorous look at some other hiring managers’ “best of the worst” employment applications, collected from every corner of the World Wide Web. Are they true? We can’t say for sure, but they’re certainly entertaining.

Reviewing your employee handbook—that central document every school employee is expected to read and comply with—mid-year while you can see your school’s policies in action is always a smart idea. While you may already have some adjustments in mind for next year’s edition, we’d like to point out three policy pain points to keep in the back of your mind during your review.

With holiday celebrations behind us—including classroom parties, bake sales, and seasonal concerts that with festive intermission snacks—you might be taking some time over your break to think about refreshing your policies on food allergies. (Or, create one.) Allergy emergencies are intense, and, depending on the level of preparedness of your faculty and staff, they can be downright frightening. However, implementing too strict of policies can leave food-allergic students feeling isolated and outcast.

The holidays aren’t joyful times of the year for everyone. In fact, for some, the season triggers depression and lingering sadness. It can be a challenge to hold onto your positivity when those around you just want to rain on the parade. Staying positive is good for your health, though. Pessimistic people have a 20% higher risk of dying over a 30-year period than optimistic people. Smiling is healthy. Laughter is healing. And, even if you, are in a seasonal slump, these few tips can help you to keep focused and keep positive.

Successful educational programs require hard work and (occasionally) difficult changes. It can be daunting to keep and sustain the sort of drive needed to make them take hold and become permanent. But, that doesn’t mean you should allow excuses or circumstances to prevent you from trying new initiatives to improve your school. Here, then, are seven common excuses that shouldn’t stop you from starting difficult changes—along with the one reason you should halt any initiative before it gets off the ground.