Faculty of Education - Theses

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Author: McDiarmid, Pamela Joyce × Start date: 1964 × Type: Masters Research thesis × Subject: Education × Subject: School management and organization × Subject: Victoria ×

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    Fundraising in seven independent schools in Victoria : a pilot study
    McDiarmid, Pamela Joyce ( 1996)
    Structured fundraising is being formalised in independent schools through the establishment of development offices. Money raised through development aims to fill the gap between incoming money from fees and government grants and programs and resources considered necessary to provide exemplary education. However, development in schools is not only concerned with monetary gain. To achieve financial success, development officers must identify their supporters. To this end, friend raising is assuming greater importance in schools. Alumni and parents are nurtured to form a solid donor base within the school community. This study was designed to look at the development work being undertaken in seven independent schools in Victoria. The various fundraising strategies of these schools are described in the contexts of each of the selected schools' histories. Much of the development work being undertaken is influenced by the American experience. Australian independent schools can learn from the American experience. A model of the events and stages that appear from this pilot study is proposed as a contribution to ideas and concepts to offer interesting points for further study. The question of who constitutes the donor base and how development officers can identify this group is investigated. The types of programs to which donors give are also explored. Libraries are one area of schools which are likely to require substantial injection of funds, particularly as the use of new information technology is adopted in schools. Librarians need to be aware of the fundraising process within their school and any likely budgetary implications for their department. They can advise on aspects of fundraising where they have special expertise. The logistics of fundraising in schools frequently involves the use of volunteers. The study investigates the attitudes of development officers to this unpaid workforce, and if and how it can be used most effectively to assist development in schools. Librarians can be useful in this aspect because they have a long history of effective volunteer use in library programs. This is a descriptive study of development and fundraising practices in seven independent schools in Victoria. The study examined how fundraising is conducted by means of structured interviews with development officers responsible for implementation of development tasks and questionnaires to librarians in the same schools to expose specific aspects of the fundraising process in a school situation. Findings from this purposive sample of the population are not representative of all independent schools and refer only to the schools concerned. The data sheds light on aspects of fundraising and development practices and may be useful as reference for other independent schools. The study contributes to a better understanding of some of the factors that would be useful to explore further in a larger study of development and fundraising in schools. The issue of philanthropy in Australian schools is one which is currently of great importance given that an increasing number of independent schools are considering getting involved in development offices and fundraising activities.