Initiative Review Group X Final Report June 30, 2001
Develop an endowment and fund-raising program to help support collections, staffing, and capital resources.
Ellen Compton (chair), Anne Marie Candido, Steve Chism, Melissa Gatlin, Norma Johnson
1. Briefly describe the background, present setting/structure which applies to the initiative.
Currently, the library has a part-time development officer who devotes the rest of his time to his duties as Head of Special Collections. He has a secretary who devotes part of her time to office assistance in support of his development activities, which include:
- performing liaison work with the Development Office: one meeting a month with the Directors of Development; one meeting a month with the Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Development; and one monthly Project Strategy meeting
- coordinating the annual appeal
- identifying, cultivating, and tracking outside donors & potential donors, including creating a top 40 list of library donor prospects
- traveling frequently to maintain contacts
- attending Campaign for the 21st Century meetings
- serving as a contact with the University's Director of Planned Giving when arranging any endowments or other large gifts with donors
- coordinating any public donor recognition event or press release/media event
- attending tailgate parties and other special development events
- attending quarterly staff development meetings, and an annual University Advancement Retreat
- providing guidance to those in Development Office conducting phone-a-thons for the library
- serving as secretary for the Library Committee for the Campaign for the 21st Century
- participating in creating policies/procedures for gifts-in-kind and for sending acknowledgment letters to donors
2. Develop an inclusive list of issues that must be addressed/considered for that initiative, consulting non-group personnel as appropriate.
A. Identifying library needs which might be supported with money or gifts-in-kind (opportunities for giving). This might be in the form of a formal list of materials, equipment, projects, activities, etc. which would give donors ideas of how their gifts might be used.
For example:
-Subject-area collections, possibly in the form of endowed collections.
-Staffing for the library, possibly in the form of endowed positions/chairs.
-Technology/electronic resources and equipment
-Preservation program or individual projects
-Digitization and distance education
-Underwriting events, such as lecture series, film series, etc.
-Facilities expansion/space needs-additions to present building and other space on campus. Consult with IRG #5
-Non-computer equipment, i.e., scanners, copiers, audio-visual equipment, adaptive equipment for disabled persons.
B. Raising the profile of the Libraries to on-campus and off-campus communities. In conjunction with this might be developing methods of establishing a constituency (a certain group of alumni and/or faculty or other interested persons)
-Establish a Friends of the Library program
-Sponsor lectures, films, readings, receptions, art exhibits
-Book sales
-Solicit media coverage, such as newspaper, radio, and television features and announcements, University Daily Headlines, Arkansas Alumni magazine, and appropriate state and national library publications.
-Develop Web page for a library Gifts Program
-Library publications, i.e., Books & Letters, the Libraries' Annual Report, and other promotional brochures and handouts.
C. Staffing for a Gifts Program.
-Full-time development officer to: plan overall gift program, supervise Friends program, liaison with campus Development Office, travel, establish contacts. Refer to activities of current Development Officer in #1.
-Administrative support for: mailings, planning events, help with Friends group
-Involvement of current staff, particularly the Dean, but also all division heads, including the new head of collection development
-Professional development for Development staff, i.e., participation in ALADN
-Use Friends of the Library as volunteer group
D. Fund-raising
-Develop fund-raising protocols and schedule
-Maintain close and frequent liaison activities with Development Office
-Continue to make individual contacts
-Establish a Friends of the Library group
-Continue the Annual Appeal
-Books & Letters and other publications outlining giving opportunities
-Continue the structure already in place
E. Donor recognition
-Write thank-you letters and cards/postcards
-Offer bookplates
-Host recognition receptions/lectures/dinners etc. in honor of faithful/regular donors
-Solicit media coverage
-Provide library and univ. publication coverage and donors' lists
-Provide Annual Report recognition
-Provide opportunities for named rooms, named collections, named facilities, plaques, etc.
F. Budget to support gifts program-some financial support may come from campus Development Office.
-Payroll for development officer and support staff
-Professional development and training for development staff
-Travel to meet with donors and to attend professional meetings
-Publications, i.e., brochures, handouts, special appeals.
-Receptions to recognize donors and highlight library events.
G. Office or work space for gifts program and staff
H. Grant support
-Pursue grant funding for the library
-Ensure that grant monies for academic programs include a library component.
3. Briefly describe how the initiative fits into the long-term goals and/or fulfills the mission of the University Libraries.
It goes without saying that public institutions can no longer rely solely on public funds. In light of the University's goals of increasing enrollment by several thousand students and of increasing research across the curriculum, we must look more and more to the private sector to fulfill our mission of meeting these increasing expectations and of reaching our goal of becoming an ARL-like research library. Gifts make the difference between a possible inadequate response to the Libraries' mission and excellence in fulfilling the Libraries' mission.
4. Indicate other of the initiatives that should be considered in connection to, coordinated with, or that may overlap the initiative.
IRG #1-User needs
IRG #5-Evaluation of space
IRG #6-Collection development
There are also several other IRG's for which gift funds might be used to support activities in those areas, for example IRG#4 for a preservation program, or IRG's 8 & 9 which are investigating digitization projects, and IRG's 16 & 18 which deal with staff development and scholarly efforts, respectively.
5. Note any initiatives or considerations that are lacking from those delineated thus far which may be essential to the planning and redefining process.
None.
6. Recommend names of individuals who are essential (i.e., add to, delete from, or leave intact the list of the IRG) to the Initiative Planning Team that works on developing and implementing the initiative in the subsequent phase.
Carolyn Allen
Michael Dabrishus
Head of Collection Development
Other Division Heads
Appropriate persons from the campus Development Office
Campus faculty and other appropriate campus staff
7. Recommend, based on best educated guess, the amount of time that will be required to effectively develop the plan for implementing the initiative.
The library is, of course, already active in development activities headed by Michael Dabrishus. While there are some activities listed above which might be acted upon fairly quickly, such as the web page for the gifts program or the list of library needs, the implementation of a full gifts program could take 2-5 years.
8. Recommend the priority level to be assigned to this initiative in the three-to-five year planning phase: first (1)= mission-critical: places this initiative among the top few to be engaged in as soon as possible; may also be required to be completed before other initiatives may be worked on; second(2)=a very important initiative, deserves attention as soon as possible; third(3)=important but not essential to be developed in the first year of planning; fourth(4)=important but can be deferred till later in the planning process; has less impact on overall revision of services.
We feel the priority level should be (1) as far as placing this initiative among those to be engaged in as soon as possible. However, we do not necessarily feel that it needs to be completed before other initiatives.
