Case studies.

The University of Alberta

Each year the University of Alberta serves over 35,000 students in more than 200 undergraduate programs and 170 graduate programs. To do this successfully, a university must have the necessary fundraising resources and a talented development team in place. The University of Alberta came to KCI in the Spring of 2004 to make sure that they had both properly trained professional development staff and Deans as well as the right type of organizational structure to help them achieve their fundraising goals.

Focus on your organization's health

KCI's focus on organizational health and Advancing your Team, placed us in the unique position of working with the University of Alberta to look at their skills development and leadership programs and put together a clear plan of action.

Advancing the University's Team

Objectives

As a third party, KCI was able to bring together both central development and faculty development professionals to prepare all faculties for an extensive analysis of their organization. One of the objectives was to gain feedback from Deans and professional development staff about their willingness and interest in participating in fundraising skills development sessions, as well as the subjects and frequency of these sessions.

Methodology

KCI prepared as series of questions to be asked during individual interviews with Deans, and offered an electronic survey for development professionals across campus. We received overwhelming support with 100% dean participation and a large number of development professionals taking part. In total, about 65 people participated. In particular, Deans were enthusiastic about the exercise, realizing the opportunity it gave them to think about the University's organizational development and eventually implement change that would enable the University to achieve its fundraising goals.

Key Findings

KCI's findings proved that there was an overwhelming interesting and willingness to participate in skills development sessions on a variety of topics. It also provided us with key areas of interest, suggestions on a structure for the sessions, and provided feedback on the role of the central development office.

Recommendations

We were then able to provide pointed recommendations for establishing an ongoing series of professional development activities for staff and Deans. KCI also suggested ways to motivate staff to participate, and pointed out ways of incorporating the expertise and knowledge of their senior staff on campus to ensure the relevancy of the programs for the University.

Implementation

When the University of Alberta is ready to implement these recommendations, KCI is available to run an ongoing skills development program with specifically designed training programs for three tiers of their professional development team.

How KCI Can Help

KCI recently expanded its suite of services to include these organizational health issues. This type of in-depth study is something that KCI builds in partnership with an organization because we realize that each organization, in each sector has very detailed and personal questions that need to be asked and answered before they can launch a successful fundraising initiative.