UVic's campus fund-raising program is a vital program for raising funds for priorities that fit the direction outlined in the University's strategic plan. Faculty members may submit funding proposals to their dean for review. Deans then pass them on to the fund-raising review committee. If projects are approved, the University's development office works with project originators and the department's fund-raising team to develop the project.
"It's a system that encourages and promotes good planning," says Allan Berezny who manages the program. "The proposals alert the president and senior administration to what people in the University community need. They can then ensure that University funding initiatives relate directly to our strategic plan. Deans and faculty work within their unit to align their priorities to the plan-it's a real team-building exercise."
The program began last year as the University was winding down from a successful UVic Challenge Capital Campaign that brought in more than $40 million from private and corporate donors. Like many other Canadian universities that complete a capital campaign, the University wanted to continue seeking funding sources by broadening campus involvement in the fund-raising process and put in place a plan to ensure that it did not duplicate its approaches to donors.
The first round of proposals were reviewed last May by the committee that includes the president, the vice presidents and two members of the board of governors. Seven projects were approved (see sidebar) and funding is now being sought for these projects. The latest deadline for submissions was Sept. 30 and the committee is now reviewing an additional four requests. A final decision on approval will be made by late November.
It's actually quite simple. Take your idea for a funding proposal to your dean for preliminary approval. He or she will review it in light of the information required on the project approval form, then discuss the requests with Allan Berezny of the development office to determine the feasibility of the project. Based on the office's knowledge of what financial support is available and what projects donors are most likely to support, Allan will help you pen a proposal to submit to the campus fund-raising committee. The earlier he is brought into the loop, the better, as he can assess the project and let you know if it is likely to succeed.
You then submit the proposal to the fund-raising review committee for review. The committee considers the project and receives input from the development office regarding funding possibilities. Once a project is approved, it is submitted to the board of governors for ratification and the search begins by your unit and the development office to find suitable donors.
Ideally, projects are supported by funding sources the unit has already established on its own. Added to that list will be selected prospective donors from the University's central pool of donors. The development office tries to match projects and donors.
What projects are most attractive to donors? According to Berezny, named scholarships or bursaries are the most popular, followed by projects to fund specific equipment needs.
Donors are shying away from establishing large endowments, he says. "With interest rates so low right now, donors prefer to see their gifts designated to funding initiatives that help address our immedate priorities and funding needs."
"If you want to do serious fund-raising, you have to invest human resources," says Meg Beckel, executive director of the division of external relations. The faculties of business, law and engineering, and the athletic department agree and have recently hired their own development officers.
The first was Jeanette Allan in the faculty of business. Allan came to the faculty a year ago, bringing a fund-raising background with the United Way and in the health care field. Her challenge was to move the fledgling faculty forward in the development area in the absence of alumni, traditionally one of the strongest bases of support for development.
"Our faculty is so young that we don't have that strong base to tap," says Allan.
Instead, the faculty has looked to the corporate community for support, most recently for the $250,000 needed to equip the new Business and Economics building with computer and other technological equipment-a project that was approved by the fund-raising review committee last May. According to Allan, the corporate community has supported the faculty's fund-raising efforts as well as its new degree program in hotel and restaurant management with scholarships and mentoring opportunities for students. The faculties of law and engineering and the athletic department have also gone the route of decentralized fund-raising by hiring their own development officers. Jeff Sims, the athletic department's first development officer, joined the department in late October. He has ambitious plans to increase the profile of UVic teams within the community, to make the department more self-sufficient through events, sponsorships and telemarketing and to plug UVic sports to the University's 40,000-plus alumni base. No stranger to sport or marketing, Sims played with the B.C. Lions then coached the French national American football team in Grenoble, France. He comes to UVic from the University of Ottawa where he was manager of commercial development. He holds a master's degree in sport administration which he combined with a number of business administration courses.
Dree Thomson is the inaugural development officer for the faculties of law and engineering. The faculties joined forces to deal with the cuts to programs and research most analysts predict are imminent. A successful fund-raiser with her own firm in Calgary, the Victoria-native is certified by the National Society of Fund-Raising Executives and will work to establish new development programs and expand existing ones in collaboration with other development units on campus.
The move to decentralized fund-raising is welcomed by the University's development office. While development officers will continue to advise and support departments on fund-raising issues, Kayla Stevenson, director of development and gift planning, sees a real value in having professionals working in the faculties, helping identify priorities and guiding the fund-raising process.
"In the long-term, the more people we get involved in the fund-raising process, the more success we will see," she predicts.
To be considered for approval by the fund-raising review committee, projects must come with a stamp of approval by the dean or administrative head.
"They must be the absolute highest priority for the unit," says Allan Berezny of UVic's development officer.
This means the unit must make a financial commitment from its existing operating budget as well as a financial and human resource commitment to finding additional money for the project.
"If the dean doesn't think the project is important enough to commit people and funds to, the committee won't either," he says.
Projects must fit the priorities the University community outlined in the strategic plan.
Other criteria for getting a project approved are:
For information about funding your project call Allan Berezny at 721-7690.
Seven projects were approved by the board of governors last May.
Funding is now being sought for them: