Private-independent schools rely on several specific financial strategies to ensure their long-term sustainability while fulfilling their educational missions. Among these, endowments, quasi-endowments, and reserves play distinct roles. Understanding these concepts can help school leaders and boards manage funds effectively and make informed decisions about the financial health of their institutions.
Beyond the Numbers: Leveraging Surveys for Strategic Success, Part 1
Surveys are more than just forms — conducting them over time allows you to spot trends, understand what your school is doing well, and uncover areas where there’s room to grow. When you work with a third party specializing in independent schools like ISM, you get expert-designed, research-backed questions, guaranteed anonymity for participants, and results your community can trust.
Building a Culture of Giving and Getting Involved
Private-independent schools thrive when their communities understand that voluntary support is essential to advancing their student-centered mission. But even with a well-managed development operation, schools may struggle to meet fundraising goals due to underlying cultural factors that shape philanthropic capacity but remain undefined.
Demystifying AI for Private-Independent School Marketing
School marketers are increasingly overwhelmed by rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). Many aren’t sure how to leverage its potential, misapplying the technology or worrying about losing the personal touch in their messaging. Concerns about AI’s practicality, ethics, and effectiveness often lead to hesitation, creating missed marketing opportunities.
Development and Admission Synergy: A Path to Success
As School Head, you understand the impact full enrollment and successful fundraising can have on the fiscal well-being of your 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 and development offices.
Determining Your School’s Wealth Profile
The wealth profile of a school refers to a comprehensive assessment of the financial capacity and philanthropic potential of its donor base. Through the process of wealth screening, the profile of your school helps you analyze the wealth, giving history, and capacity of current and potential donors.
Join Phil Higgison, ISM Consultant; Herb Soles, ISM Adjunct Consultant; and Jesse Roberts, Unbound Brand General Manager, for an overview of how you can better assess the wealth profile at your school using a combination of public record data, philanthropy databases, and algorithms.
Development Program Effectiveness: Analysis From a Broad Perspective
For nearly 20 years, ISM has taught that six key elements comprise the Comprehensive Development Model — the infrastructure that supports a school’s strategic plans. The six key elements are:
Donor Relationships: Giving Tuesday’s Superpower for Independent Schools
Did you know independent schools have a distinct advantage when it comes to Giving Tuesday fundraising? Discover how you can tap your biggest asset — your donor relationships.
Whether you’re just getting started or already planning your campaign, learn how to turn these personal connections into record-breaking donations. Join Holman Gao, Founder and CEO of Boost My School, as he demonstrates actionable strategies for unlocking your school’s Giving Tuesday superpower and addresses your specific questions about fine-tuning your campaign.
Winning Development Operations Through Effective Management
Whether you are part of a large development team, a “one-person show,” or a School Head working without a dedicated development director, your ability to efficiently manage data, process gifts, support volunteers, and direct the cultivation and solicitation of major gift prospects has a profound difference to your bottom line.
Join ISM’s expert development team — ISM Consultants Michael Christopher and Phil Higginson, and ISM Adjunct Consultant Herb Soles — as they discuss administrative and operational approaches to set you and your Board up for fundraising success.
Improving Your Coaching Skills to Foster Staff Growth
Managing staff is challenging — it requires determination and effective communication to address poor performance, resolve conflicts, and lead a team effectively. All too often, leaders confuse performance and evaluation conversations for coaching, because they prioritize immediate problems rather than long-term development. Coaching, however, encourages team members to reflect and improve on their goals — and can even lead to a futurist mindset of innovation.