Leslie Hutchens is director of annual funds and major gifts at the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., which serves nearly 1,100 K-12 students. Previously, she served as assistant, associate and finally director of annual giving at the University of Richmond in Virginia. Before that experience, Hutchens ran the annual giving program at the Haverford School in Haverford, Pa. She started her career in alumnae relations at her alma mater, Hollins College, in Roanoke, Va. She can be reached at 202-537-8147 or hutchensl@sidwell.edu. Hutchens will co-present (with Robert Burdenski) "Opportunity or Oxymoron: Volunteers and the Annual Fund" at the CASE-NAIS Conference in Denver, Colo., on Monday, Jan. 12.

Your experience includes work at independent schools as well as higher education institutions. How has this blend influenced your professional growth?
I have been very fortunate to work in both environments and believe that this experience has given me a broad perspective on how development works. For each type of institution, the similarities are many and the goals are the same: to meet the annual fund dollar goals, which help to offset operating expenses, and to increase participation among alumni and parents.

The primary differences are the size of both the development office staff and the constituent base. In a smaller office, you learn to roll up your sleeves and do more tasks yourself-from processing gifts to running mail files to making major gift solicitations.

When I moved to a larger office, this varied experience helped me understand roles and expectations. In a larger office, you also have more resources. You have the opportunity to use outside vendors for direct mail, phonathons and data mining.

As for constituents, independent schools usually have a smaller base, which can be an advantage. Sidwell Friends School has 5,000 alumni; the University of Richmond has 40,000. With a smaller number of alumni, we can build more personal relationships with a larger percentage of alumni. And with an independent school, parents make up a very active part of our community. They are committed to helping us make the school the best it can be.

What were the key factors that helped your office raise more than US$2 million a year for the Sidwell Friends School annual fund?
Three factors helped push the annual fund over $2 million. The first was asking donors for their input. In 2006, I sent an online survey to all our alumni and parents. I wanted to find out why people gave as well as why they didn't give-what appeals really made an impact? Was it a call from a peer, a personalized letter or a generic brochure? This gave us great information on how to focus our message and where we should concentrate our efforts and resources.

Next, we applied what we learned from the survey. We found that we needed to do more segmenting and make more personal appeals. We also discovered that our audience responded more strongly to letters versus brochures, and they wanted the option to donate online.

The third factor that helped ensure the success of our annual fund campaign was our approach to our current comprehensive campaign, Call Us Friends. The Office of Institutional Advancement made it clear from the beginning of this campaign that the annual fund was a priority for the school. Extra care was given to be sure that dual asks, including both capital and annual, were part of every solicitation.

These factors have helped us increase financial support for the institution as well as alumni and parent participation. Alumni support has grown from 31 percent to 37 percent, and parent participation has grown from 89 percent to 95 percent.

How have volunteers played an important role in your success?
Volunteers play a huge role in our annual fund campaign. Having a peer reach out to a peer is a far more powerful and effective appeal than a generic letter or brochure. The personal contact makes all the difference.

For example, with alumni, each class has its own personality, and only classmates can communicate in a voice that resonates with their peers. In the same way, parents of current students have a different set of concerns than alumni-concerns to which other parents can relate.

Volunteers can reach more people individually, and they can engage in a true conversation about the annual fund. Potential donors get immediate answers to their questions. They come away from the conversation feeling that their gifts are truly making a difference, which makes them feel more appreciated and strengthens their sense of loyalty to the school.

You have presented at two CASE conferences, and Sidwell Friends has won two Circle of Excellence Awards during your tenure. How have these experiences shaped you professionally?
Presenting at conferences provides a great opportunity to give back to a community that means so much to me.

I have been a member since 1995. At each stage of my career, CASE has offered great resources to guide me through new territory. The networking opportunities at CASE really stand out: I still maintain relationships with people I met at conferences years ago. When challenges come up, it's nice to have peers to turn to for advice.

I love that members share ideas so freely. Some of the best program improvements that I've tried have been adaptations of things I've learned from my CASE peers.

This article is from the December 2008 issue of BriefCASE.
Please share your questions and comments with Pam Russell via e-mail at russell@case.org or by telephone at +1-202-478-5680.