Given the documented economic benefit to students, institutions, and communities, donors are well-served to invest in higher education. Where they invest, however, is crucial to student success and institutional viability.
Top 5 places today’s donors should invest in higher education for highest institutional ROI (return on investment)
1. Dedicated professional development support fund for Faculty and Staff
Higher education is a labor-driven industry and, in the current landscape, is constantly changing. Faculty and staff must access strong and continual professional development to ensure institutional success. Yet, this is a place that is easy for colleges to cut in uncertain and difficult financial times. A dedicated and robust professional development support fund for faculty and staff is an investment in employee human growth and effectiveness in support of student and institutional success. Once a fund is established, robust employee engagement practices must be fostered to bring an organization to the next level of performance.
2. Student scholarships with a clear focus on retention
For many colleges and universities, student retention is a challenge — for student success and the bottom line. With retention focused targeted scholarships that help students stay in school (emergency scholarships that offer short-term aid as a student moves forward and completion scholarships to help students graduate are two favorites) donors can make a significant difference in support of changing lives and encouraging an institutional culture of student success and retention.
3. Senior-level administrator focused on strategic partnerships
While appearing expensive on the front-end, these positions can pay huge dividends in college revenue and foster the roadway for an institution to make significant contributions to the community. A donor who chooses to endow a partnership/growth focused college administrative position will make a legacy mark on the long-term health of an institution. Crafting a position that focuses on strategic partnerships that grow and support enrollment/giving and help address community labor — coupled with educational access gaps — will result in measured revenue returns. A win-win for students and the institution.
4. Funding short-term consultants to accelerate revenue generation
Consultants with a clear focus and timeline (i.e. capital or enrollment campaigns), aligned with the college executive team and institutional goals, are immensely helpful to train employees, encourage risk-taking and best practices, and move large changes forward. Donors interested in innovative gifts related to helping institutions launch big new initiatives, or to dramatically improve current practices, will want to consider this category of giving. Talk with college leaders about the most transformational change that must happen in support of student/institutional success and then partner with a proven consultant to start moving.
5. Ombudsman service focused on change management
Change is a constant in today’s higher education landscape and can feel very threatening to stakeholders across the campus community. Having a skilled Ombudsman to serve as a “safety valve” for concerns, a sounding board for executives, and an office to manage complaints can gain efficiencies in work-load in other parts of the college and maintain an employee focus on students and institutional goals. Donors who endow an Ombudsman office are making a long-term commitment to an institution’s stability and well-being in these turbulent times of higher education.
To exchange more ideas on donor giving related to college student success and institutional ROI — find Julie Murray-Jensen on LinkedIn.