Project Plan Elmira College Spring Day of Giving Alexis Lake Created: 11/30/17 Last Revised: 12/6/17 Version: 1
Table of Contents ¡ Introduction - 3
¡ Assumptions - 19
¡ Charter - 4
¡ Constraints - 20
¡ Background Information - 5
¡ Project Management Approach - 23
¡ Goals & Objectives - 8 ¡ Scope - 10 ¡ Budget - 12 ¡ Risk Assessment - 13 ¡ Measures for Success - 15 ¡ Milestones - 16
¡ Issue Management - 30 ¡ Communications Plan - 31 ¡ Evaluation Methods - 34 ¡ Approvals - 37 ¡ References - 38 ¡ Appendix - 39
Introduction This project is intended to raise funds for student scholarships at Elmira College. These scholarships add value by bringing talented, qualified students to Elmira College, who otherwise might not be able to afford the costs of private tuition. In terms of alignment, this project aids the College’s overall strategic goals in terms of supporting student scholarships, increasing the enrollment through various financial aid sources, while also engaging alumni and the community to connect with and donate to the organization. The results are expected to rise between $25,000 - $50,000 for scholarships through donations from all generations of alumni, faculty, parents, current students, and friends of the College. The deliverables include promotional content (imagery, messaging, stories, email blasts, videos, social media posts) for increasing awareness before, during, and after the Spring Day of Giving. Benefits will be to raise funds for student scholarships, but also to engage with younger alumni, the community, and current students in a meaningful way. All gifts, large or small, are deeply appreciated and needed.
Project Charter ¡ Please see Appendix A for the Project Charter submitted on November 27, 2017.
Background Information ¡ Elmira College has a number of fundraising avenues including monthly pledges, annual gifts, and gifts from various class years. ¡ One of the other fundraising means is a national day of giving that Elmira College participates in called, #GivingTuesday. This day of giving is always the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and is intended for people to donate or give to charitable organizations before the holiday season. ¡ Elmira College has participated in #GivingTuesday for five years. The global giving holiday has proven to be a successful event for the College, helping to raise more than $227,066 in #GivingTuesday funds since 2013 (See Appendix B for #GivingTuesday). ¡ During #GivingTuesday, if 120 gifts are reached, Members of the Alumni Board, or Board of Trustees, pledged additional gifts between $10,000 to $20,000. ¡ All the gifts, large and small, combine to allow Elmira College to continue delivering to students a top-tier collegiate experience at one of the most beautiful small private colleges in the country. ¡ This new, Spring Day of Giving, is intended to increase funds for student scholarships and take advantage of the excitement of Commencement and the summer alumni Reunion.
Project Approach ¡ Employing an agile approach, specifically flowing the foundational principles of CCPM, or the critical chain project management approach. ¡ At a high-level, the critical chain project management (CCPM) focuses on: ¡ Overall project progress with tasks starting as soon as predecessor tasks are done; ¡ Minimizing multi-tasking and focusing on setting priorities; ¡ And works best for a project with a limited timeline, a flexible schedule, and a smaller team.
Research Supporting Project Approach ¡ On average, using the CCPM approach shortens total project duration “by at least 10%, to as much as 50%,” (Process Quality Associates, Inc., 2006). Additionally, by focusing on clear resource planning and ensuring “critical and limited resources are not plugged up with non-critical tasks which block and slow critical tasks,” (Process Quality Associates, Inc., 2006). ¡ This type of planning in a CCPM approach would benefit a smaller team with limited resources that need to be more thoughtfully utilized (like Elmira College). ¡ Also, the project should have a flexible, nimble schedule as tasks are completed more like a relay race with a baton being handed off, versus a strict timeline of a traditional project management approach. ¡ In summary, a faster-paced project, with less resources and a fluid focus on task completion, would be best to utilize the CCPM approach. This approach fits the small team, fluid culture and nimble scheduling practices at Elmira College.
Goals & Objectives: Elmira College ¡ Elmira College Mission Statement (Purpose): ¡ Grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, Elmira College provides a collaborative and supportive environment that enables students to become active learners, effective leaders, responsible community members, and globally engaged citizens. Proud of its history and tradition, the College is committed to the ideals of community service and intellectual and personal growth. ¡ Elmira College’s Strategic Goals: ¡ Provide a student-centered academic program that guides, develops, and graduates broadly-educated, community-minded and career-ready global citizens. ¡ Empower and engage students throughout the co-curricular experiences to develop into responsible leaders, ambassadors of service, and global citizens. ¡ Provide a broad-based, student centered athletic program that supports academic success, amateurism, sportsmanship, teamwork, leadership development and community service. ¡ Achieve financial sustainability within a mission-drive culture.* ¡ Identify, recruit, enroll, and graduate students who exemplify the characteristics and ideals consistent with our mission and develop and articulate a consistent marketing and branding message.* ¡ Improve financial support of the College through cultivation, stewardship, and solicitation of its stakeholders, in particular, alumni, students, parents, foundations, corporations, and other community members.* ¡ Steward and strengthen the physical space of the college working towards resiliency and sustainability.
*Bolded objectives directly support this Spring Day of Giving project.
Goals & Objectives: Spring Day of Giving ¡ Spring Day of Giving Overall Goal: ¡ Engage the boarder campus community (students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents, friends of the College, and community members) to donate and participate in a dedicated Spring Day of Giving on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 intended to raise funds for student scholarships at Elmira College. ¡ Spring Day of Giving Strategic Objectives: ¡ Generate $25,000 - $50,000 in monetary donations from students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents, friends of the College, and community members on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. ¡ Challenge 1,200 current students and more than 3,000 alumni to donate their class year (for example, Class of 1991 may give $1,991 or $19.91) as a challenge to see which class can raise the most money on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. ¡ Generate 25% of total gifts through the “Class-Year Challenge,” on April 25, 2018. ¡ Earn at least ten gifts from younger alumni in classes 1990-2016 on April, 25, 2018. ¡ Increase web traffic by 25% from the Fall #GivingTuesday. This would mean earning at least152 link clicks through email blasts, social media, and other online sources on April 25, 2018. ¡ Use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media channels as well as the Elmira College website and email blasts to promote the Spring Day of Giving to more than 3,000 alumni and 8,000 social media followers. Encourage them to donate, but also share campaign imagery and content.
Scope ¡ This project is focused on a Spring Day of Giving (tentative date: April 25, 2018). These efforts are outside of the #GivingTuesday efforts conducted after Thanksgiving. ¡ This project is intended strictly for raising funds for student scholarships provided by Elmira College. These efforts will not include external scholarships, or scholarships from organizations outside Elmira College. ¡ The focus will be on current students and younger alumni (Classes 1990-2016) giving through asking them to donate their class year (for example, Class of 1991 may give $1,991 or $19.91) as a challenge to see which class can raise the most money. ¡ However, older generations of alumni, parents, faculty, and friends of the College are still part of the scope. ¡ The messaging is focused just on student scholarships. In the past, we have campaigned around community service efforts of our students and how your donations help students help the community. That is not the focus here. We will only be messaging around scholarships through sharing the stories of current students and alumni who were scholarship recipients. Focus on what this scholarship means to them.
Scope - Continued ¡ We cannot except or promote any donations for facilities updates, planned giving gifts, or athletic scholarships. ¡ This campaign will only focus on promoting current students who are scholarship recipients as well as alumni who received scholarships during their time at Elmira College. Focus on the messaging on what their scholarship meant to them. ¡ Only gifts given during this Spring Day of Giving, or designated to the Spring day of giving will be counted in the fundraising total. ¡ Other pledges or planned giving amounts given that day will not count toward the Spring Day of Giving. ¡ This effort will not cover any military scholarships or benefits.
Budget ¡ There is no budget to create and launch this campaign. The goal of the project is focused on raising not money without spending any or pulling financial resources. ¡ Our marketing communications team will be responsible for creation of all the promotional items from messaging, communications plans, and other collateral at no cost. ¡ The Office of Alumni Relations will also need to be engaged to help with identifying and reaching out to alumni to spotlight with the campaign. ¡ The Office of Advancement will help with establishing a digital portal for submitting online gifts, generating and sending email blasts to the target audiences, tracking the gifts, and running an evening “Phonathon,” or over the phone fundraising effort. Student workers staff the evening “Phonathon” and their salaries are covered in the department’s annual budget. ¡ We have to rely heavily on internal resources and employees across departments to capture photography, assist with any video creation and editing.
Risk Assessment ¡ Initial Project Risk Assessment – SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Weaknesses
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• • •
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Dedicated Day of Giving, not competing with other nonprofit organizations like we would be with #GivingTuesday We have the technology, experienced staff and infrastructure to launch this campaign. End of year timing with Commencement and Reunion approaching brings students, alumni closer to the College; easier to engage
Opportunities
• New avenue for raising funds for student scholarships • New way to engage students and alumni through the “Class-Year Challenge” • Baseline year to determine whether we should continue this effort, and how to improve for the future.
• •
No budget for this project Small internal team (doing more with less) We have never had a dedicated day of giving like this before at Elmira College We have the technology, experienced staff and infrastructure to launch this campaign Relies heavily on spotlighting current students and alumni who have received scholarships
Threats
• Competing for the attention of potential donors with events like Commencement and Reunion being the focus at the end of the year. • Not receiving any participation or donations
Risk Assessment ¡ Contingency Planning – TWOS Analysis Weaknesses • No budget for this project • Small internal team (doing more with less) • We have never had a dedicated day of giving like this before at Elmira College • We have the technology, experienced staff and infrastructure to launch this campaign • Relies heavily on spotlighting current students and alumni who have received scholarships
Strengths • Dedicated Day of Giving, not competing with other nonprofit organizations like we would be with #GivingTuesday • We have the technology, experienced staff and infrastructure to launch this campaign. • End of year timing with Commencement and Reunion approaching brings students, alumni closer to the College; easier to engage
Threats • Competing for the attention of potential donors with events like Commencement and Reunion being the focus at the end of the year. • Not receiving any participation or donations
WT: • Schedule time in advance with current students and alumni to create meaningful content that commands attention. • Use this special, first Day of Giving to increase the excitement and anticipation of donors to participate.
ST: • Take advantage of the end-of-year excitement to engage donors and alumni in the spirit of the event. Takes advantage of the nostalgia of Reunion and Commencement. • Use our existing technology to gain donations online and via social media to encourage participation.
Opportunities • New avenue for raising funds for student scholarships • New way to engage students and alumni through the “Class-Year Challenge” • Baseline year to determine whether we should continue this effort, and how to improve for the future.
OW: • Use the “Class-Year Challenge” as an easy and cost-effective way to boost the campaign participation. • Use this year as the baseline to determine future success. Just because we haven’t done it before does not mean we should not try to succeed and meet objectives.
SO: • With this being a new avenue for fundraising we will not be competing with other campaigns or national events like #GivingTuesday • Utilize the Razor’s Edge and iModules technologies to track gifts and generate even more competition for the “Class-Year Challenge.”
Measures for Success ¡ Generate at least $25,000 - $50,000 in monetary donations from students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents, friends of the College, and community members on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. ¡ Challenge 1,200 current students and more than 3,000 alumni to donate their class year (for example, Class of 1991 may give $1,991 or $19.91) as a challenge to see which class can raise the most money on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. ¡ Generate 25% of total gifts through the “Class-Year Challenge,” on April 25, 2018. ¡ Increase web traffic by 25% from the Fall #GivingTuesday. This would mean earning at least152 link clicks through email blasts, social media, and other online sources on April 25, 2018. ¡ Earn at least ten gifts from younger alumni in classes 1990-2016 on April, 25, 2018. ¡ Use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media channels as well as the Elmira College website and email blasts to promote the Spring Day of Giving to more than 3,000 alumni and 8,000 social media followers. Encourage them to donate, but also share campaign imagery and content.
Milestones Students and Alumni Selected • Commitment from students and alumni to participate and be featured in the campaign • Date: 2/5/18
Promotional Materials • All materials drafted and approved • Date: 3/15/18
Donation Center • Website created to accept donations • Date: 3/20/18
Milestones - Continued Campaign Pre-Launch • Start drafting and pushing out email blasts and social media posts to alumni, students, parents, etc. about upcoming campaign • Date: 3/25/18
Day of Giving • Actual campaign launches, use student and alumni spotlights throughout the day. Gifts are tracked and donors are mentioned on social media throughout the day. • Date: 4/25/18
Evening “Phonathon” • Students start calling alumni and friends of the College to solicit gifts for this day of giving. • Date:4/25/17
Milestones - Continued Thank You • Calculate the gift totals and report on the amount to the entire college community. Focus on thanking the donors, students and alumni who participated. • Date: 4/27/18
Review • Review the results, identify opportunities for improvement, elevate whether there should be another Spring Day of Giving • Date: 4/30/18
Assumptions ¡ This will be the first dedicated Day of Giving for Elmira College. As such, there will not be any goals for a certain amount of gifts, or matching gifts from Alumni Board Members or Board of Trustees. ¡ This is outside of the #GivingTuesday campaign which happens every year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. The #GivingTuesday effort is part of a national day of giving campaign for people to give donations to their favorite scholarship, charity or cause during the holiday season. ¡ This project assumes that it is not connected to any national campaign or other Day of Giving efforts. This is an independent, Elmira College only Spring Day of Giving. ¡ This project will take place in the Spring. This separates the campaign from the #GivingTuesday effort, while connecting it to the end-of-year Commencement and Reunion activities. For example, we can report on the fundraiser at Commencement and Reunion. ¡ The project also assumes that current students and alumni, who have received scholarships, will be willing to participate in the campaign and be spotlighted for what their scholarship means to them. ¡ Most importantly, this project assume that current students, alumni, friends of the College, faculty and staff will donate during this Spring Day of Giving.
Constraints Budget
Students & Alumni
IT Support
Communications & Marketing
Constraints - Continued ¡ BUDGET: There is budget for this project. We need to maximize our internal employees resources to create and launch this campaign at no cost. ¡ STUDENTS & ALUMNI: We will need the stories, imagery and content from current students and alumni. Their time and effort are constrained. We need to make it easy for them to contribute to this project. ¡ COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING: Our marketing communications team is very small (2 full-time, one part-time) – we need to be able to thoroughly plan and utilize time to avoid any crunch time or resources being pulled away for other projects. ¡ IT SUPPORT: We will need support from IT, especially with creating video assets. Their time is limited and the team is small.
Constraints - Continued ¡ Critical Project Barriers ¡ Student and alumni spotlights will create meaningful content for donors to engage with and serve as a motivation to donate. ¡ Engaging with students and alumni can be challenging because their time is limited. ¡ Solutions: ¡ Be willing to meet students on campus, not just at the office. Make time for them. ¡ Reach out to alumni in advance and take advantage of when they are on campus for sporting events, Alumni Board Meetings, etc. ¡ Make time for them, and make it easier for them. Don’t force them to make time for us.
Project Management Approach: Work Breakdown Structure
Project Management Approach: Gantt Chart
Project Management Approach: Roles and Responsibilities ¡ Overall organizational structure at Elmira College ¡ Highlighted department would be leading this Spring Day of Giving campaign. 2017-18 Elmira College Organizational Chart Board of Trustees
Mary Barrett Executive Assistant
John Adams VP for Finance & Administration
Chris Coons VP for Enrollment Management
Bookstore Buildings & Grounds Bursar
Admissions
Business Operations
Financial Aid
Dining Services* Human Resources Information Technology
Retention & Advocacy Student Life
Karen Johnson Charles Lindsay President
Charlie Mitchell Provost
VP for Inst’l Research, Assessment & Planning
Mike Rogers VP for External Relations
Pat Thompson ‘75 VP for Athletics
Center for Mark Twain Studies
Alumni Relations
Intercollegiate Athletics
Continuing Education & Graduate Studies
Annual Giving Communications & Marketing
Intramurals & Recreation
Faculty
Grants
Murray Athletic Center
Freshman Writing
Leadership Giving
Physical Education
Gannett-Tripp Library
Planned Giving
Sports Information
Registrar
Research & Donor Relations
Sports Medicine
Project Management Approach: Roles and Responsibilities Cont. Sponsor • Ellen Burke • Assistant to the Vice President of Advancement
Project Manager • Alexis Lake • Communications and Marketing Assistant
Team Members • Jennifer Swain • Director of Communications and Marketing • Kiersten Tarkett • Creative Director • Sarah Reese • Annual Giving Specialist • Harley Carter • Annual Giving Assistant
Project Management Approach: Roles and Responsibilities Cont. Customer
End Benefectors
• Mike Rogers • Vice President ofAdvancement
• Students and Prospective Students • Funding the scholarships they need
Subject Matter Experts • Jennifer Swain • Social media, web • Sarah Reese • Razor’s Edge, iModules • Harley Carter • Razor’s Edge
Project Management Approach: Measures for Success ¡ Please see slide 15 for the Measures for Success. ¡ Additionally, please see slides 34-36 for the specific evaluation methods, performance indicators, and responsible team members based on the Measures for Success.
Project Management Approach: Change Control Plan ¡ Identify issues or changes ¡ Discuss and develop possible solutions as a team including: ¡ Alexis Lake ¡ Jennifer Swain ¡ Sarah Reese ¡ Harley Carter ¡ Bring solution ideas to the project sponsor (Ellen Burke) and customer (Mike Rogers) for approval ¡ Refer to the TOWS Analysis for further mitigation and control ideas
Issues Management ¡ In engaging with alumni, current students, faculty, staff, parents, or friends of the College we try to be mindful of the specific needs and issues for each stakeholder group, such as: ¡ Parents: May be unwilling to donate due to tuition costs. ¡ Current Students: May be unwilling to donate due to student loans. ¡ Faculty & Staff: May be unwilling to donate given the financial status of the College. ¡ Friends of the College: May be unwilling to donate because their funds are committed elsewhere. ¡ Alumni: May have already given and feel donor fatigue.
¡ Solution Moving Forward: ¡ To mitigate the issues and hesitations around giving or donating to the College, it is essential that all of our messaging not only showcase the benefits of student scholarships, but drive home that any amount helps, big or small. All gifts make a direct impact. ¡ This messaging should lessen the financial burden and encourage more participation. ¡ Also, the friendly competition through the “Class-Year Challenge” will hopefully underscore the messaging of big and small gifts.
Communications Plan ¡
Overall Communications Plan for the Spring Day of Giving Campaign: ¡
¡
March 26, 2018 - First general web story announcing the Spring Day of Giving ¡
Create Bit.lys links
¡
Create Giving Form
¡
Share story and links on social media and via email blasts to alumni, parents, employees, current students, past donors, etc.
April 4, 2018 - Reminder posts on social media and the EC website ¡
Another Email to alumni, friends, employees (including President’s Council)
¡
April 17, 2018 - Reminder posts on social media and the EC website, announce the “Class-Year Challenge”
¡
April 23, 2018 – Reminder posts on social media and EC website – Spring Day of Giving is this week ¡
¡
¡
Launch Giving Form
April 25, 2018 – Actual Day of Giving ¡
Email to alumni & friends first thing in the a.m.
¡
Post story to web site
¡
Challenge Updates and donor shout-outs on social media throughout the day
¡
Use and post student and alumni scholarship stories throughout the day
¡
Evening Email reminder
Thank you email blast and results on Class Year winner, total amount raised ¡
Thank you posts to Facebook & Twitter
¡
Thank you story on website
Communications Plan ¡ Meeting Schedule: ¡ November 30, 2017 – Initial planning meeting following #GivingTuesday - COMPLETED ¡ January 1, 2018 – Meeting to discuss students and alumni to spotlight ¡ February 6, 2018 – Alumni Board Meeting – Use time to meet with alumni and gather spotlights ¡ February 10-12, 2018 – Athletic Alumni Weekend – Use time to meet with alumni for spotlights ¡ Week of February 12, 2018 – Schedule on campus meetings with current students for spotlights ¡ Week of March 25, 2018 – Meet to review all spotlight content and begin collateral creation, discuss donation/giving online form as well ¡ Week of April 2, 2018 – Finalize and meet to review all collateral. The online form should be launched ¡ Week of April 9, 2018 – Touch base / status meeting ¡ Week of April 16 – 2018 – Touch base / status meeting ¡ Monday, April 23, 2018 - Touch base / status meeting ¡ Wednesday, April 25, 2018 – Morning and afternoon meetings for status check on gifts ¡ Thursday, April 26, 2018 – Meet to discuss totals, generate thank you content ¡ May 7, 2018 – Evaluation meeting, review results and improvements for the future
Results ¡ The results for this Spring Day of Giving cannot be determined until after April 25, 2018. ¡ The campaign performance will be measured against objectives outlined in the following evaluation slides.
Evaluation Methods ¡ Objective: Generate at least $25,000 - $50,000 in monetary donations from students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents, friends of the College, and community members on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. ¡ Evaluation Method: Use the Razor’s Edge software program to track and total out the number of gifts given that day. ¡ Responsible Team Members: Sarah Reese & Harley Carter
¡ Objective: challenge 1,200 current students and more than 3,000 alumni to donate their class year (for example, Class of 1991 may give $1,991 or $19.91) as a challenge to see which class can raise the most money on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. ¡ Evaluation Method: Ensure the donation form includes the Class Year and utilize the Razor’s Edge software program to track and total out the number of gifts give from a specific class or classes. ¡ Responsible Team Members: Sarah Reese & Harley Carter
Evaluation Methods - Continued ¡ Objective: Generate 25% of total gifts through the “Class-Year Challenge,” on April 25, 2018. ¡ Evaluation Method: Use the Razor’s Edge software program to track and total out the number of gifts given that day as well as the amount of gifts given through the “ClassYear Challenge.” Calculate the percentage of challenge gifts against total gifts. ¡ Responsible Team Member: Sarah Reese ¡ Objective: Increase web traffic by 25% from the Fall #GivingTuesday. This would mean earning at least152 link clicks through email blasts, social media, and other online sources on April 25, 2018. ¡ Evaluation Method: Use Bit.ly links to track the number of clicks. Consistently use the same Bit.ly link for all campaign posts and messages. ¡ Responsible Team Member: Jennifer Swain
Evaluation Methods - Continued ¡ Objective: Earn at least ten gifts from younger alumni in classes 1990-2016 on April, 25, 2018. ¡ Evaluation Method: Use social media to engage younger alumni while tracking gifts through Razor’s Edge software. ¡ Responsible Team Members: Sarah Reese, Harley Carter, Jennifer Swain ¡ Objective: Use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media channels as well as the Elmira College website and email blasts to promote the Spring Day of Giving to more than 3,000 alumni and 8,000 social media followers. Encourage them to donate, but also share campaign imagery and content. ¡ Evaluation Method: Use the Elmira College social media channels, as well as iModules software, to send out messages to alumni, current students, faculty members, and staff in the overall campaign. Use metrics and data analytics available through Facebook and Twitter to track the numbers of shares and engagement through social media. ¡ Responsible Team Members: Jennifer Swain and Alexis Lake
Approvals ¡ This project is in clear alignment with the overall strategic goals of Elmira College, and has been approved for launch by members of the Elmira College Office of Advancement as well as the Office of Communications and Marketing, including: ¡ Jennifer Swain ¡ Mike Rogers ¡ Ellen Burke ¡ Sarah Reese ¡ Harley Carter
¡ The charter was also approved by Professor Howell on November 25, 2017.
References ¡ A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: PMBOK® Guide. (2013). Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute. ¡ Process Quality Associates, Inc. (2006). Differences Between Critical Chain (CCPM) & Traditional Project Management. Retrieved November 10, 2017, from http://www.pqa.net/ProdServices/ccpm/W05002003.html ¡ Schermerhorn, J. R. (2012). Organizational Behavior (13th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. ¡ Wysocki, R. K. (2009). Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme (5th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Technology Pub.
Appendix
Appendix A ¡ Project Charter ¡ Six Pages
Appendix B ¡ A sampling of #GivingTuesday materials: ¡ Social Media Imagery ¡ Email Blasts ¡ Website Stories
Social Media Imagery
Email Blasts
Website Stories