Student Affairs Fundraising Part 4 - Guest Blogger CeCe Ridder

February 25 2009, 9:39am

So far, we’ve talked about benefits to a company, where to begin and who should be involved. There are a few other items that you might need. Gotta know the rules Before you get too far, know the rules on your campus. After you have secured a champion, talk to the others areas of campus and also include a question on any rules that you might need to know (even if they don’t want to work with you and you’re on your own). Sometimes the Dean of Students or the President’s Office will know if vendors are allowed on campus, if you can put logos on banners etc etc. Campuses can get tricky about that stuff sometimes.

Know the company cycle and who to talk to If you decide to approach companies, expect that they have a certain funding cycle and you’ll need to find out what it is. If they are a multinational company, they typically begin to set their budgets for the next fall in mid Spring (March or April). Remember that we speak in academic timelines, and they may have a different end of fiscal year date. If you’re going into this cold, you will need to find out who the right person is to send a proposal. Don’t expect the receptionist or the main company address to get to that person. Cold calling is really hard, but you may need to do it to find out who the campus relations or community relations person is - or maybe even marketing or PR. It’s great to find someone who knows someone who can hook you into a person with a name you can actually call and ask. Budget Do a budget. You can do a pie in the sky budget and a shoestring version so you have some room. Think of every possible item that you will need. Do your research. Next time, we’ll get into writing a proposal.

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