Strategic plans focus on the viability-related issues implicit in school finance, governance, and management. To meet ISM’s criteria for strategic plans, the planning document items must (1) display cost estimates, (2) indicate projected revenue sources, (3) be sequenced by year of expected implementation, and (4) be charged to a responsible person or entity.

A donor-centered approach to development focuses on relationship management—the process by which schools identify, cultivate, solicit, recognize, and steward donors and prospects to establish and nurture relationships and to raise funds and other resources. This approach puts new responsibility on those who are most accountable for defining and selling the school’s vision and strategic direction.

In a previous article, ISM stated that the goal of a Parent Education Plan (PEP) is to move today’s parents from a "contract" mentality to a "sense of community" mentality. It is important to understand the precise meaning of the phrase “sense of community” before attempting to implement an effective PEP. Though possessing several programmatic elements, a strong PEP focuses on augmenting and facilitating a healthy parent culture. This culture (more than the various programmatic elements) will draw parents into a closer orbit around your school.

In today’s investment market, real estate is likely to be one of the most stable and highly appreciated assets in a donor’s portfolio. That’s because in almost every part of the country, land has consistently held or increased value through the ups and downs of the market and national crises. Savvy investment managers and donors include real estate in their investment plans. Schools should be aware of this fact and be prepared to ask for and accept gifts of real estate. The benefits can be enormous in terms of additional acreage for your campus or additional funds for your capital needs. The benefit for the donor can be equally as great

When donors decide to make gifts to your school, they want to know that you have a reasonable set of procedures in place for accepting the gifts and that you have a full understanding of the laws that govern the use and tax deductibility of the contributions. Donors trust you to be good stewards of their gifts, and to be conscientious counselors during the gift-giving process. Consequently, you must be prepared to answer questions from donors and to follow the IRS regulations governing the acceptance of gifts.

The Board of Trustees has the duty to ensure the multi-generational, long-term success of the school by establishing and maintaining a comprehensive development infrastructure to support the school’s strategic and long range plans. Whether your school is large or small, new or old, day or boarding, elementary or K-12, ISM has found that success is built on having six key development elements securely in place. Your enhancements and big dreams will achieve realization through the income-producing, donor-centered programs of the Comprehensive Development Model, while your day-to-day operations expenses should be covered with tuition and other hard income.

As Head of School, you understand the impact full enrollment and successful fund raising can have on the fiscal well being of the school. It is critical to the continued success of student recruitment and retention—as well as the annual, capital, and endowment campaigns—that you promote a collaborative relationship between the Admission Office and the Development Office. These two offices share a common goal: to further the institutional mission and to generate revenue in ways appropriate to that mission and the core values of your school. To fulfill this common goal, the approaches of the Development Office and the Admission Office should complement one another in these three ways.

In ISM theory, the development function, the constituent relations function (including marketing), and the admission function are all part of the school services termed "advancement." To assure efficient functioning among the advancement offices and effective execution of the tasks delegated to each team member, consider the following.

Endowment is an important element of the financial picture in private-independent schools. If your school has an endowment, the following six questions and answers are intended to help you clarify its focus and function. If not, the questions will help your school think about endowment in a meaningful way.

Borrowing originally from concepts advanced in the for-profit sector, ISM has for a decade taught a basic competitive-marketing truth: private-independent schools can compete on the basis of price, product or process, but not on the basis of all three at the same time. The implications of this truth for strategic planning would be hard to overstate. As you, the Board President, prepare for your next planning event, take responsibility for assisting your colleagues in working from a marketplace stance that fits your school’s actual competitive platform.