Friday, March 6, 1998
Campaign UCLA applies different techniques to raise $1.2
billion
FUND RAISING: Donor perks and telemarketing enable running of
school
By Lawrence Ferchaw
Daily Bruin Contributor
UCLA’s fund-raising process involves more than collecting
registration fees – it also involves massive research,
telemarketing and guaranteed tickets to Pauley Pavilion.
This fund-raising process is organized under the umbrella of
Campaign UCLA, the seven-year program with the goal of raising $1.2
billion.
One cog in the fund-raising machine is the Annual Fund. This
organization solicits parents of students, alumni and members of
the community who have given before. Each year, telemarketers call
back donors to ask them to renew their contribution.
Last year, the annual fund raised $5 million, and from July 1997
through the end of January, the fund has raised $3 million, with an
average contribution of $160.
These contributions often pale in comparison to the high-profile
gifts made by Michael Ovitz ($25 million) and most recently, Lew
Wasserman ($10 million).
"The goal for the annual fund is to increase the amount the
Annual Fund takes in from $5 million to $10 million by the end of
the campaign," said Annual Fund Director Tracie Christensen.
Last fiscal year, $231 million was raised by the entire campaign
in 68,872 donations. Thirty-four of those gifts were over $1
million, representing about 35 percent of total gifts The average
donation for the year was $3,365.
Donors to the campaign are often identified through some
relationship with UCLA. This could include students, patients at
the hospital, people who have used the library or those who support
the athletic program.
Fund-raisers attempt to capitalize on these relationships, and a
positive experience with the university is often the best selling
point.
"We hope to build upon this relationship and develop it into a
charitable donation," said Eicher.
Once these individuals are identified, fund-raisers make
assumptions. Based upon what the fund-raisers know about the
individual, they determine how much that person can give. With a
group of potential donors, fund-raisers can set a goal on how much
they can raise using these same assumptions.
This is where research comes in. The campaign does research on
individuals to determine their capability to donate. All this
information is public, and includes rankings of businesses and
their owners that give fund-raisers an idea of the donors’
financial standing. Knowing the people’s occupations or the areas
where they live can help the fund-raisers determine their ability
to donate to the campaign.
Once a person donates, the fund-raisers can make further
assumptions about how people in similar positions will respond to
fund-raising attempts.
Fund raising does have a cost because of the many employees
involved in solicitation and research.
"Our goal is to keep the cost of a contribution to 10.8 cents
per dollar of donation," said Eicher.
The Annual Fund, for example, has a staff of 100 student
telemarketers and 24 professional staff members who supervise and
run direct mail activities, according to Christensen. This pushes
their cost per donation to 40 to 45 cents per dollar.
Donors are not always just giving out of generosity, though.
"We can offer something in return to recognize their donation,"
said Eicher.
This recognition can take the form of buildings, scholarships or
endowed chairs named in honor of the donor.
To recognize donors to the Annual Fund, a special category –
known as the Chancellor’s Associates – exists for donors who give
in excess of $1,500 per year. These individuals get special
recognition along with some benefits.
One benefit is the opportunity to purchase priority seating at
football and basketball games. The priority is assigned based upon
the level of the donation and is similar to the benefit offered to
those who donate to the athletic department, said Christensen.
Once money is collected, it can go to any number of places.
Money donated to the Annual Fund is unrestricted and goes to the
UCLA Foundation. The board of directors and the chancellor then
determine priorities and where the money should go.
"Much of the money goes to support programs and projects that
the chancellor can’t find other sources for," said Christensen.
Money not donated to the Annual Fund, which includes many of the
large gifts, is most often given with restrictions that the money
goes to a certain area, like the medical center or for an endowed
chair.
This outside funding has become crucial in recent years as state
funding as a percentage of the budget has steadily decreased.
"Support from the private sector has become absolutely critical
to the university’s future," said Chancellor Albert Carnesale.