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| Path: Main Street : Resources & Library : Research Articles : Feature Article |
McGill University --- a case study in international fundraisingby Nicholas Offord
September 19, 1994; Canadian FundRaiserIn 1991, the McGill Development Office reviewed its operations and realized that we needed to address some dramatic realities.
Our base of support has shifted. McGill's traditional leadership base of gift support in Montreal has narrowed, mainly because English-speaking graduates have relocated beyond Quebec. While Americans are the largest group of foreigners at the university, more are coming from Asia and middle-Eastern countries.
Donors are encouraged about the University's future when they discover how much support it receives from very diverse sources. In Quebec, many regard McGill as a source of international prestige, while others recognize our crucial role as a cross-cultural laboratory for many academic disciplines. Today, McGill-trained graduates can be found around the globe. Our international fund-raising and alumni activities draw on a network of relationships created by McGill's teaching, scholarship and community service.
Traditionally, our relationship management with overseas prospects has been weak. However, we knew that some faculty and administrators, and particularly the alumni association, had many contacts and friends around the world whom the university could cultivate.
We believed that there was significant potential overseas. In 1992-93, more than 4300 graduates made an annual gift to McGill while they were living in a foreign country. At the same time, the percentage of total giving by overseas graduates was steadily increasing.
As a result, we decided that our current $200 Million capital campaign would have a major international focus. Our idea was that the resources provided by campaign activity could serve as a platform for ongoing international fundraising activities. We organized in areas that had good numbers of graduates. These included Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bermuda, London and Paris.
We are now thinking about strategies for reaching individual prospects in Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Argentina, Switzerland, Germany and Greece. Already, we have some major gift successes. These include an endowed chair in medicine from a Swiss pharmaceutical firm, an endowed chair in Modern Greek studies from a graduate, and major support for Islamic studies from the Aga Khan Foundation.
Between 1992-97, we hope to solicit gifts totalling $15-20 Million from these regional campaigns. I should point out that our task has been made easier already by two recent gifts from Hong Kong for $9.5 Million.
Let me reassure you that our success has not been due to an expensive, well-oiled, international fundraising machine. In fact, we have only one-half of a person, whose main responsibility is relationship=building for international fundraising.
Our strategy to date has been premised on minimum additional costs and staff specialization. Wherever possible, we have taken advantage of existing travel plans by university leaders and other kinds of free access provided by governments and sponsoring organizations.
While travel is an occupational necessity for the development professional, we have also gained valuable exposure by working, with the Principal, Vice-Principals, Deans and Board members. This has allowed us to avoid the major cultural problems one encounters when trying to explain what a fundraiser does to someone outside North America.
Nicholas Offord is Executive Director, McGill University Development Office.
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