The Independent School Podcast with Juliet Corbett

In this episode, I continue to build a Strategy Toolkit by examining how best to involve staff, pupils, alumni and parents in strategy development. I look at how this can be a balance between involving people enough for them to feel committed, but not so much that the strategy becomes diluted. To this end, I outline two things you may need to consider to ensure that you get the balance right for y...

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, it has never been more important to develop strategies that are agile enough to weather the crisis. In this episode, the second in my 'Strategy Toolkit' series, I explore the four essential building blocks of strategy. These can either be used as a step-by-step process when you are creating a strategy for your school or team, or as a way of r...

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for all organisations to review their strategy. Everything that had been assumed or planned before the pandemic, and decisions taken in the early stages of the crisis, should now be reconsidered and potentially reshaped. In this, the first of five episodes looking at a strategic response to COVID-19, I talk about three themes that I've identified...

Major gifts activity should be a central component of any independent school's fundraising strategy. One of the key findings from the 2018 benchmarking report by The Institute of Development Professionals in Education (IDPE) and Graham-Pelton stated that: "for offices spending the majority of their time on major gift fundraising, average income is nearly 60% higher than what the average...

Resilience is “a set of characteristics, abilities and resources that enable the achievement of positive outcomes despite exposure to significant threat or adversity”, as defined by the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The COVID-19 pandemic has created just such an environment of extreme uncertainty and challenge that highlights why building personal resilience for sch...

The types of projects independent schools fundraise for and the messages they use when communicating with donors have shifted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With an accelerated move away from buildings and facilities fundraising and the growth of bursaries fundraising, it’s important to understand how to reimagine your school’s case for support. This episode explores why schools should connect thei...

All independent schools have accelerated their use of technology in delivering education since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This presents private school marketers with opportunities to showcase creative uses of technology. However, it also presents challenges for schools seeking to differentiate themselves from competitors. Sherborne Girls had started fully integrating technology into their...

School fundraisers are facing three big challenges at the moment: How can we get the school’s Head on board with our plans? Should we be fundraising at the moment? How can we strategically innovate in virtual engagement and fundraising? This week’s episode explores these three challenges, which emerged as key themes from last week’s IDPE Live virtual conference. Listen in for three simple steps yo...

Fundraising for schools and universities can be quite a different experience, with contrasting scale, affinity and fundraising projects. Simon Lerwill, Foundation Director at Marlborough College, joins me this week to discuss the lessons schools can learn from university fundraising. Simon and I also discuss the impact of furloughing development staff, what this may signal about school leaders’ un...

School fundraisers will be making a lot of critical decisions over the next six months. These might include deciding which fundraising projects to prioritise, adjusting the case for support or determining the right time to re-activate each fundraising stream. Given the high levels of uncertainty we’re experiencing, these decisions become easier with a flow of real-time information from your indepe...

Despite these challenging times there is cause for optimism around the commercial income independent schools can generate by hiring out their facilities as we come through the COVID-19 crisis. In particular, schools may find that a strong brand and more flexible booking terms give them an advantage over other venues. For this episode I’m delighted to be joined by Andrew Cook, Chief Development and...

How much might school fundraising income fall over the coming months and years? And what can private schools do to minimise this? These are two questions I’ve been asked frequently in recent months. In this episode I review philanthropic data from the US, UK and Australia for the 2008 recession and consider why falls in giving weren’t as significant as some predicted. The episode also explores two...

Independent schools have been increasingly diversifying their income streams, with more schools embarking on fundraising, hiring out facilities and setting up international franchises to supplement fee income. With all of these income streams now affected by the COVID-19 pandemic it’s important to have a structure for auditing each activity and assessing whether you have the right balance of diver...

Bursary fundraising is becoming a central plank of independent school fundraising in the UK, with many schools moving from capital campaigns to seeking support for transformational bursaries. However, just as more independent schools seek to widen access to excellent education, the COVID-19 crisis threatens to reduce philanthropic income for bursaries. In this episode I share thoughts on the past...