Broadening Our Donor Base

Posted by admin on Oct 29, 2005 in Featured Articles | 0 comments

They are in Northwest, the caf, Neufeld building—take an observant walk and you’ll find plaques recognising those who have donated to Trinity Western University in all corners of our campus.

Who are the faces behind these unfamiliar names and how does their money end up in projects like the media and fine arts building that the university is planning to build?

Brad Bartsch, Director of Development, estimates that 5000 donors contribute to TWU annually. He works with the rest of the External Relations department, including Ron Kuehl who took over as Vice President last week, to make this university an attractive investment for people of means.

“Donors identify first and foremost with the Christian mission of Trinity Western,” says Bartsch. “People who donate to the university want their life to be invested in something bigger than themselves.”

Not surprisingly, surveys have demonstrated that the “sweet-spot” for TWU supporter lies among evangelical Christians. More specifically, people who donate to TWU value the integration of certified university degrees and biblical teaching that can be found in few other places in Canada.

Bartsch sees his role as an opportunity to partner with people who want to invest in the kind of product TWU has to offer. And that product is the students who graduate from TWU and go on to become the lawyers, doctors, politicians, and professors of the next generation.

“You as students are the product we showcase. What if there was a buzz in the marketplace about Trinity Western students?” asks Bartsch. If TWU students were known and respected by donors, employers, and grad schools, Bartsch believes that not only would donations increase, but a TWU degree would be worth more to the student because people would want to hire and accept them.

In many ways, TWU should have the advantage in the fundraising department.
First, this is an organization filled with 18-24 year olds, an age group that represents “hope and promise for most Canadians,” says Bartsch. “Making sure that this generation has access to better learning and better funding is something that really resonates well with donors.”

Second, Canadians wanting to support Christian university education have few other options besides TWU. Finally, private support has been key to the economic equation at TWU since its inception, so the mentality of soliciting funds is in place.
Nevertheless, $12 million price tags on new buildings are not easy to swallow; professors’ salaries are not competitive; and while the price of tuition is right for 3500 students this year, the question remains if students and their parents can bear the financial burden that increases each year.

So what is the university doing to bring the resources of generous people to our doorstep? Long-term partnerships with donors, validating the support of donors, and communicating with the niche of people who donate to TWU.
Last year the Advancement Division began a brand-strengthening project to increase the positive exposure the university received, with the aim of boosting the value of a TWU degree in the marketplace.

This fall External Relations acquired a new VP, new development officers, a name change (formerly the Advancement Division), and a new focus to develop a unified plan for external relations that is more comprehensive than just fundraising.
Bartsch sees the next few years as a time to build up a broader core of donors who believe in the mission of TWU and can be counted on to donate regularly to the annual fund, not just special projects. It is necessary to recognise and appreciate their contribution, no matter what their level of participation.

According to Bartsch, TWU as a philanthropic option “appeals to a niche, but we have to inform that niche.” The TWU magazine is delivered quarterly to alumni to maintain connections, and hopefully solicit donations from those who have studied here.

However, Bartsch believes the magazine could also be sent to churches, high schools and junior colleges to tap into a broader market of donors and students.

Bartsch believes that TWU’s relevance in the marketplace also depends on the fact that the university is non-doctrinaire.
“We do look a little WASP-y,” says Bartsch, but he likes to point out that there are people of many Christian denominations, and of other religions studying at TWU.

“We are a privately funded public university,” said Bartsch, “you don’t have to be a Christian to attend here.”

In the end everyone asks “Is Trinity Western University worth it?” Donors want to invest, but they want to see a spiritual and social return on their money. And you as a student must ask “Is the value of my education at Trinity Western worth the price?”