Halladay Education Group Inner Circle eZine - March 6, 2007

Hi Inner Circle Member:

Well, I thought I’d be announcing the launch of my new and improved web site this week, but it looks like it will be another week...sigh. In the end, the wait will be worth it. The site will be more interactive, informative, and will have an Online Store, where you can invest in products that will help you start your own private or charter school, or develop your own strategic plan like the pros.

Right now I’m also working on a School Formation Toolkit with an additional 10-CD set that will help people start their own school...I’ll keep updated on when it will be available.

Right now, I'm helping out my daughter’s choir group, providing advice on how to put together their 2^nd Gala Dinner and Silent-Live Auction. Last year we put together the 1^st dinner/auction and raised over $20,000. That’s going from an organization with no history of fundraising to putting together an event and culture where people were thrilled to give and give even more. Well, this year our goal is to double that, while fine tuning what has already been done.

For any organization, be it a new or existing school, or non-profit, fundraising is the life blood of the organization. And it starts right from the top. The board of governors needs to demonstrate their belief in the organization by being good role models and giving at a level that reflects their excitement in what the school or non-profit is doing. Trust me, as someone whose led and participated in a lot of annual and capital campaigns, you need the board to lead the way. Without their financial endorsement others will look around and say, “If they won’t do it, why should I?” And it’s true, so don’t be cheap.

Well, today as you’ve probably guessed, I’m going to talk more about how to put together a Fundraising Plan to start a school. It’ll be a 2-part eZine story, with the 1^st installment today.

Now before you delete the email, there are a lot of commonalities in the mechanics of raising funds for a new school that can be directly applied to an existing school or non-profits.

So if you can spare about 3 minutes in your busy day, please read on.

Enjoy,

Doug Halladay
President

Halladay Education Group Inc.
4316 Arthur Drive, Ladner (Delta), BC, Canada, V4K 2W8
C: 604.868.0002 / F: 1.866.472.8737 / E: info@halladayeducationgroup.com
Skype (free Internet calling): dhalladay1
www.HalladayEducationGroup.com

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In This Issue

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1. Your Fundraising Plan for a New School

2. Inner Circle Jokes of the Week (come on, you like them!) ;>)

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1. Fundraising Plan For A New School

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INTRODUCTION

Fundraising for founders of new private schools is a vital role. Without adequate fundraising from the start, a new school will not be able to open. For a new school, startup costs will be an overwhelming focus. Founders will need to raise enough money to pay the:

• Initial administrative salaries during the planning phase
• Purchase or lease land and facilities, architect’s fees, renovations, permits, etc.
• Capital goods, equipment, computers, internet, library resources, and furniture
• Admissions and marketing expenses
• Advertising and recruiting faculty
• Fundraising expenses

COMMUNITY AWARENESS

It’s vital in your first step to educate your community about the fiscal necessity of fundraising. Parents need to understand early on in the process that they will be EXPECTED to contribute beyond tuition. If not there will be lower fundraising yields and increased parent resentment, and they will feel less compelled to give. And of course, there will be fewer resources in the classroom. It’s as simple as that.

Private school tuition can never cover all the costs of operations. And when you’re starting a new school, you’ll need to raise even more funds to cover the initial startup costs (marketing, salaries, etc), and a capital campaign to build your school. A school like Sage Hills School near L.A. raised $30,000,000 over 2 years to build their school. As the founding Head, Clint Wilkins pointed out, you need to know what you’re raising the money for, how much, and then get out there and raise the money. CULTIVATE – EDUCATE – SOLICIT.

IDENTIFY YOUR FUNDRAISING NEEDS

But before you start to develop a fundraising plan and case, you need to spend time figuring out how much money you think you will need. When putting together an estimate, you need to be realistic and conservative, not counting on promised goods or services until you have them. Unanticipated costs should also be budgeted as a necessary precaution. The estimate should be detailed as possible to ensure all expenses are determined. The fundraising campaign itself will cost money:

• Publications
• Staffing
• Events

A good rule of thumb is that expenses will consume 5% of the fund-raising goal.

FUNDRAISING CASE

The first maxim in fundraising is to “know yourself” -- your “Fundraising Case.”

To be able to present a plan for a new school convincingly and compellingly, you need to flesh out your ideas. You need to have clear “vision” and “mission” statements of what the school is to become.

Also, you need to have a strong sense of how much money it will take to make your school a reality.

Part of the process in developing your Fundraising Case is to initially develop a higher level strategic plan. The central purpose of the strategic planning is to develop, confirm, or modify the organization’s mission ‑‑ its purpose and values – and be in agreement with a vision of what the organization wants to be and do in the coming years. Without a vision of success, organizational members may not know enough to fulfill the mission.

MISSION: Your mission clarifies an organization’s purpose, or why it should be doing what it does

VISION: Your vision clarifies what it should look like and how it should behave as it fulfills it mission.

CORE VALUES: With the core values, they encompass an organization’s fundamental purpose, philosophy, and values.

The mission (what’s your business) and vision (what you’re committed to) statements summarize your organization’s purpose, direction, and values (what you believe). While they may be brief, the information compressed in the mission and vision statements is concentrated and crucial. They constitute the DNA of the organization – the master templates from which specific actions and programs evolved.

Once the “visioning” of the strategic plan is developed, founders should then develop their case statement to identify and justify the school’s needs for capital support. The case statement should be concise, clear, and compelling. It should capture the founders’ passion and image of the school they envision. It will delve into how much money is needed and how those funds will be spent. Ideally, it will break done the total amount into specific ways for donors to give and will present various opportunities for donor recognition. The case should answer who, what, why, when, and how – about the needs the campaign will meet.

Next week we’ll finish off with the 2^nd installment on fundraising for a new school, looking at the “Fundamentals of a Case for Support” and the “Phases of Fundraising.”

If you would like more information about STARTING YOUR OWN SCHOOL call me at 1-604-868-0002 or email me at info@halladayeducationgroup.com , or go to: http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/services.php?sub=school_formation#topheader

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2. Inner Circle Jokes of the Week

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GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mum is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:

1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fibre, not the toy.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD

1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:

1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.

SUCCESS:

At age 4 success is . . . not piddling in your pants.

At age 12 success is . . . having friends.

At age 17 success is . . having a drivers license.

At age 35 success is . . having money.

At age 50 success is . . . having money.

At age 70 success is . .. . having a drivers license.

At age 75 success is . . . having friends.

At age 80 success is . . . not piddling in your pants.

Smile and enjoy your day.

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To your success,

Douglas Halladay
President and Founder

4316 Arthur Drive, Ladner, BC, Canada, V4K 2W8
P: 604.868.0002/F: 868.472.8737/Email: info@halladayeducationgroup.com
www.HalladayEducationGroup.com

P.S. If you like these tips, please feel free to pass them on to your friends, clients and colleagues.

P.P.S. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE MY ECOURSE ON STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR PRIVATE SCHOOLS AND NON-PROFITS?

So far, more than +100 educators and non-profit leaders have signed up for my complimentary 10-part email mini-eCourse entitle, "Strategic Planning: The 10 Steps To Success." If you're not one of them, do it now. It provides a clear overview of the fundamentals needed to develop your own strategic plan and many secret short-cuts to ensure that you’re on track.

Sign up here by emailing the following address and putting in your subject, “Sign me up for the 10-part Strategic Planning mini-eCourse”:

info@halladayeducationgroup.com