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There’s an art to cultivating donors.
Sarasota’s Ringling College of Art and Design has been honored for just that, recently receiving a fundraising award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
The 2019 Educational Fundraising Award for Overall Performance for a Private Professional or Specialized Institution was awarded to Ringling after an analysis of three years of the college’s fundraising data.
Stacey Corley, vice president for advancement for Ringling College, tells Coffee Talk the award recognized growth across the board in fundraising, donor relations and alumni relations.
“I’m really proud of the advancement team that we have here,” she says. “We’ve spent a lot of time getting great people together.” The team of 16 people includes development officers as well as special events staff, support staff and database and research staff. “I always say it takes every single person on our team because every detail matters to donors,” Corley says.
Corley credits the college’s success — and its graduates’ success — as another reason why her team is able to attract donors. “They’re investing in a proven concept,” she says. “We are becoming the preeminent art and design college.”
The private, nonprofit college declines to disclose specific dollar figures raised, but Corley says the award recognized the college for the breadth in the base of support it has, including the variety of ways donors can give, from cash and cash equivalents to estate giving and art donations.
The advancement team’s success is also due to treating every donation seriously, regardless of the amount. “We’re very donor-centric,” she says. “We meet the donor where they are. We find out what they’re passionate about.” That’s key — linking those passions to the college’s needs so donors can donate in a way that’s meaningful to them.
When interacting with donors, everything is important, Corley says, from donors being recognized when they walk into a gallery to spelling their names right on a name badge. “All these things make a difference,” she says. “They know we take great care to steward them and cultivate them.”
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