President’s Report

I have been enormously bothered by the murder of George Floyd and the anger, frustration and violence that has exploded across America, along with protests in solidarity around the world. It is a long way from SA/NT, but in these troubled times, I wanted to remind you, that what we do in advancing education is critical. Only education can unlock the social, cultural, and economic progress that is necessary to reduce barriers between people, so we can move forward together. Michelle Obama put it far more eloquently:

“The ability to read, write, and analyse; the confidence to stand up and demand justice and equality; the qualifications and connections to get your foot in that door and take your seat at that table – all of that starts with education.” 

Sadly, intolerance and prejudice are not unique to the United States. Many nations, including India, where I was born, and Australia, where I have chosen to build my future, struggle with truth and reconciliation following generations of inattention, inequity, and racism. I too am reminded of the biblical command in the Gospel of Mathew, “to first remove the log from my own eye, to see clearly to then remove the speck of my brother’s eye”, and I am determined not to point fingers or cast stones. Instead, this is a timely reminder that what we do and the institutions we support, matter.

So, what can you and I do, at such a fraught time? I would suggest three things.

Firstly, we need to talk about it. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Secondly, we must call out transgressions. Dr. King also reminded us that “the time is always right to do what is right.”

Lastly, we must embrace our role in our educational institutions, on our campuses and in our communities, to support the role that education plays in advancing a more just and equitable society.

Speak up, stand up and keep going. It is that simple.

Abhra Bhattacharjee
President, SA/NT

Communications Overload Webinar

Don’t miss out the online webinar Communication Overload! which replaces our previously organised face to face workshop.

Parents are overloaded with information from so many sources across a school and if you have ever had parents miss an email or take too long to respond to what you think is the most important correspondence in the world, you need to attend Daniel Crago’s webinar!

• Date: Wednesday 24 June
• Time: 10:00am (SA), 10:30am (AEST), 12:30pm (NZ) Please check your local time.
• Where: Online Webinar
• Cost: FREE to members (log-in), $35 for non-members
• Resources: *All participants will receive access to slideshows PDFs and recordings.

Register here

This valuable opportunity has been organised by your SA/NT Chapter Committee specially for our SA/NT members, and has been made available to Educate Plus Chapters across Australia & New Zealand.

Thank you to our valued chapter partner Open Book Howden for sponsorship of this event.

Free Short Courses for our Members

As a result of our long standing relationship with Torrens University of Australia we are pleased to offer unlimited access to 50 short courses for FREE until December 2020. A great opportunity for those of you looking to build your knowledge and skills over the next few months. 
 
The courses cover a diverse range of subjects ranging from People and Culture, Marketing, Management and Leadership, Business & Finance, Project Management to Design and are 2 hours long. You can also gain a certificate issued by the university. 

You will find the course catalogue here.

To access the course for free you will need to sign up and use the code TUAEDUCATEPLUS2020 and follow the instructions.
Further information on signing up can be found here.

Yearbook trends and process tips

By Open Book Howden

This year there has been a shift towards a ‘less is more’ design trend, as schools have determined that the yearbook is first and foremost about moments in time and parents wanting to ‘see’ their children. The design focus has moved towards quality images, increased white space and less downloading of information. Extensive research has been undertaken within the readership cohort of school yearbooks, with parents and graduating year 12 students clear on what they want: “Great photos and clear layouts that make it easy for us to navigate and find what is relevant to us.” More student-driven content is also a popular and well-received trend.

Paper stocks are shifting, with growth in the use of uncoated stocks and responsibly sourced paper that guarantees the entire procurement, production and manufacturing process is ethical, sustainable and environmentally responsible.

With each school having a unique requirement and budget, the use of quality yet simple and value-driven templates has grown while there has also been a considerable rise in the bespoke high-end solutions.

The yearbook process begins with ‘thinking with the end in mind’ by defining a clear picture of what the yearbook will communicate, to whom and what the school’s primary goals are in producing the yearbook. It is best practice to start by determining a release date and then reverse-engineering the stages from there; think content, school events, persons responsible for the content, and the all-important collation and editing of material. Some schools will have the resources and capability to undertake all of this work themselves while others will need additional external support.

The creation of an archival quality yearbook which is worthy of being the reflection point of the year that was is simple – collaboration and consultation between designer, printer, and school are the cornerstones of success.

With quality images being the hero of the yearbook, ensuring photos are print suitable is critical. Modern smartphones have excellent cameras; however, the file transfer size is paramount. Avoid unnecessary and excessive word counts and try to minimize any information downloads. Use the yearbook as a printed celebration of the students’ journeys and the school’s values and accomplishments.

Create a responsibility matrix identifying who, what, and by when. This helps break the significant task of compiling an impactful yearbook down into clearly defined and manageable actions. Set controls around word counts, proofreading, image quality, and have a designated go-to person or ‘editor in chief’ wherever possible.

For further information Contact David Lock on 08 8124 0000 or davidl@openbookhowden.com.au openbookhowden.com.au

Welcome to new members

A very warm welcome to our new members! We look forward to meeting with you at one of our networking sessions or events later on the year. Please feel free to jump onto our website forum to ask a question, seek advice or listen to other hot topics.

Donor Relations – Your key to fundraising success

Last year, donor relations guru Lynne Wester (@DonorGuru) presented a series of Masterclasses entitled Keys to Amazing Communications to Australian Educate Plus Chapters. As one of the world’s most sought-after speakers and experienced fundraisers, Lynne believes that great donor relations is the key to fundraising success. A targeted and personalised communication strategy with the donor placed firmly centre-stage (not the institution) is essential to maintaining and building the donor relationship, hence building a successful fundraising program. 

Lynne’s practical advice and insights struck a chord with both experienced and new advancement practitioners from the not for profit sector. Her warmth, humour and vision were both refreshing and inspiring and provided invaluable resources to take back to our professional communities. 

Lynne challenged us to aim, not for a culture of philanthropy, but a culture of generosity. Philanthropy has been exclusively about money. However, generosity is more inclusive and about giving in many ways, including volunteering one’s time and talents. Generous people give to people, to a cause, not an institution. Donor relations isn’t about marketing your institution. It’s about demonstrating a need and a vulnerability in your cause, it’s about inspiring your donor to grasp the opportunity to make a difference. 

So what does the evolving face of today’s donor look like? 

• On average, 8 out of 10 donors give one gift to an organization and never return
• The average donor gives to between 5 and 9 causes. You will not be their only recipient. 
• You need to be in the top 3 to get a major gift
• Millennials on average support 12-15 causes and are the most generous group since WW2. However, they don’t have capacity yet. 
• Young people (Gen X and below) will not give to an institution, they give to a cause
• The average person will receive 17 messages a day asking for a donation
• 87% read their communications on a mobile phone
• Women are becoming more decisive and more involved as donors and are changing philanthropy 
• Women give collaboratively and collectively, many in a volunteering capacity 
• Men (the traditional philanthropists) give competitively and comparatively and for acknowledgement by others of the dollars given.

Are your communications communicating? 

As our donor base is changing, so too our fundraising strategies are evolving, however our communications may be stuck in the past. While communication is essential to many aspects of Advancement, Lynne’s focus was on donor relations. 

Many organisations try to package everything into one communication, we use a single entity such as a newsletter or magazine to target the whole community. But this is too broad and becomes of little value to anyone, especially the donor. Communicating in masse does not work, we need to segment. As a fundraiser, forget about marketing, forget about enrolments, forget about the week’s activities and sporting results. These messages belong to other members of the Advancement team and will only confuse the donor. Don’t try to sell the whole school or institution. Focus on a cause, a single message.

Tell a powerful story with just one message. Inspire your donor to fill a need, to change a life.

Know your donor!

Ask yourself, who am I talking to? Your donor (not the institution) is the centre of the relationship. Your donor needs to know that you know them, so personalisation is the key to your communications. Know them by their first name, listen to them, ask them how they would like to hear from you and how often. Most donors prefer once a month or every quarter. Money is not the only thing donors give, they may also give generously with the precious commodity of time! 

Most donors prefer digital communications with 87% reading communications on their mobile phone. Older donors, those over 65, also prefer digital including skype, however print is still important. Segment your audience and communicate appropriately. Know precisely what you are asking them to do and why you are asking. Is your message clear, brief and inspiring? 

Maintain your relationship, look after your donor. Keep them informed and thank them for their generosity many times. Personalise your thanks with a hand-written note which acknowledges their generosity. Assure them their gift is being used as intended and that the program is having the desired outcomes. 60% of donors value a personalised experience when donating or volunteering.

Suzanne Moorhead. F.Edplus
Writer: Education and Advancement

Educate Plus Resources

Due to many contributing factors, new technology, the move to working from home, the present threat of COVID-19, Educate Plus has looked at alternative options to provide our members with the information they need in a supportive environment – a flexible learning and sharing space. We are now offering some of our PD via webinar, which is also recorded for those members who cannot attend at that time and shared as an online resource.

The response to these has been nothing short of incredible, with around 2300 registrations for the various webinars and online training received to date. Not only have these provided a live opportunity for PD, but each has been recorded and uploaded into our Knowledge bank on the website.

“Thanks for the superb series of webinars. These have been most informative and have kept me feeling part of the advancement community.”
Sonia Brennan Wenona

If you would like to view any of these, simply click on one of the links below. Note: These recordings are only available to members and you must log in to our website to view. Read member testimonials here.

Webinars to date:

SIG’s to date:

All of these events are also offered as as audio recording/podcast if you would prefer to listen than watch a video through the podcast page.

Featured Member

Q & A with Janine Atkinson
Community Liaison Manager, Xavier College
Committee Member – Memberships

Meet one of your dedicated SA/NT Committee members – Janine Atkinson. Janine has been an Educate Plus member since 2010, a valuable member of the committee since 2018 and is the Community Liaison Manager at Xavier College. 

If you were to write a book about yourself, what would you call it?

What you see is what you get!

What do you like most about Educate Plus?

Networking with like-minded individuals who are very happy to share their wisdom with others. 

What is the most rewarding part of your role at Xavier College?

Working in a positive environment where I can build relationships between staff, students and the wider community.

Who would you like to be for a day?

A fairy godmother 

Favourite movie?

Ever after 

What’s one thing you couldn’t live without?

Chocolate Licorice 

Who has had the biggest impact on your career thus far and why?

A bank manager a long time ago who suggested I study Marketing  and encouraged me all of the way. 

Favourite travel spot?

New Zealand

What are your three most overused words/phrases?

Hello lovey, you are a darling, can you do me a favour?

Thank you Educate Plus

by Ross Scrymgeour

Over recent years I have come to appreciate that one’s effectiveness as a leader in Advancement is dependent on a number of things. The current industry knowledge, support networks and opportunities to up-skill available through Educate Plus at the local, national and international levels (through CASE also), have been a vital resource for me in fulfilling many of these. 

After recently finishing what I can only describe as an awesome opportunity, as Director of Advancement at Prince Alfred College (for which I will be forever grateful), I returned to New Zealand to prepare for the next chapter of my life, which is very exciting. I am nearly at the end of my first week of isolation in a hotel in Auckland and have had the opportunity to do lots of reflecting, reading and writing amongst other things (lots of food!). In the book I am reading presently, ‘Legacy – what the All Blacks can teach us about business life‘, I was struck by the following statement: 

“A culture of asking and re-asking fundamental questions cuts away unhelpful beliefs in order to achieve clarity of execution. Humility allows us to ask a simple question: how can we do better?” 

Quite simply Educate Plus gives us the resources and opportunities to keep asking ourselves these questions but not alone, with the support and in the presence of others (if you wish), to allow us and our organisation to continue to positively advance. As Charles Darwin writes, ‘It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.’ 

Thank you to my colleagues in the SA/NT Chapter for your kindness, sharing and dedication to supporting all Advancement professionals in the state and beyond. It has been a privilege to play my small part within a very talented committee. All the very best to Abhra and the team as you take on the challenge of continuing to support our Advancement leaders to add value to what they and their organisations do. Kia kaha (continue to be strong). 

Ross Scrymgeour
Retiring Vice-President SA/NT Chapter