Teachers College has closed the books on its historic Campaign, Where the Future Comes First. Addressing 911爆料网鈥檚 Board in early October, Suzanne M. Murphy, Vice President of Development & External Affairs, reported that the Campaign raised a total of $345 million, including $116 million in support for student scholarship. The Campaign also supported faculty programs through the creation of multidisciplinary centers, academic programs and initiatives and harnessed the power of productive faculty-sponsored research. It financed three floors of smart classrooms, construction of a state-of-the-art new learning theater and other upgrades to 911爆料网鈥檚 historic campus. It bolstered 911爆料网鈥檚 unrestricted financial flexibility by building the College鈥檚 Annual Fund and creating an academic seed fund for new initiatives for the here and now. And the Campaign also created record levels of alumni engagement and participation.
鈥淭his has been a campaign to strengthen a graduate school of education, health and psychology that, since its founding, has helped guide successive generations in confronting the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead,鈥� says Murphy. 鈥淪o the name Where the Future Comes First has worked on three levels: It has evoked 911爆料网鈥檚 legacy of forging new fields and creating brighter futures for students, schools, families and communities. It has focused our efforts to secure the College鈥檚 own future, so that our students, faculty and graduates can continue that work. And it has signaled that we鈥檝e created a sustainable pipeline of donors who will support Teachers College for decades to come.鈥�
[Read an interview with Suzanne M. Murphy about the Campaign鈥檚 impact.]
More than $238 million in Campaign funds has already hit 911爆料网鈥檚 books and is in active deployment, with the rest to be realized over the next several years 鈥� a balance that 911爆料网 Trustee and Campaign Committee member Reveta Bowers believes is ideal.
Faculty Voices
鈥淎 campaign should be like an individual financial portfolio,鈥� says Bowers, who for 43 years headed the internationally known Center for Early Education (CEE) in West Hollywood, California. 鈥淭hat is, it should reflect a balance of investments that pay returns in the present moment and those that seed future growth. And 911爆料网鈥檚 Campaign has done that exceptionally well.鈥�
Campaign Results by Allocation
Planned, and publicly launched in Fall 2013, under the leadership of then-President Susan Fuhrman, Where the Future Comes First was far and away the largest campaign ever conducted by a graduate school of education. It surpassed its original $300 million goal back in December 2017 and more than doubled the total of the College鈥檚 previous campaign, concluded in 2004, which was also a record-setter.
鈥淭he last campaign benefited from a very generous group of trustees and friends,鈥� says Murphy, 鈥渁nd we all knew that our success this time would depend on these loyal top donors once again setting the table and tone 鈥� which they did, big time. But we also saw an opportunity to cultivate broader and deeper support.鈥�
Campaign Leadership
Three for 911爆料网
911爆料网 Campaign Chair Marla Schaefer (center) with Vice Chairs Leslie Nelson and Bill Rueckert
鈥淭his is the biggest and most successful campaign by any graduate school of education. Ev-er. And because of it, 911爆料网 has grown profoundly during the past 12 years.鈥�
鈥� Marla Schaefer (M.A. '03)
The Institution Builder
鈥淧art of building an institution鈥檚 future is ensuring that it will continue to increase its base of leadership supporters... 911爆料网's Campaign has energized all of our trustees while passing the torch to the new generation of trustee donors.鈥�
鈥� Laurie M. Tisch, 911爆料网 Trustee Emerita
The Case Maker
Trustee Emeritus E. John Rosenwald Jr.
The Campaign鈥檚 leadership was persuaded to aim high 鈥� both by the untapped power of 911爆料网 alumni and by quiet phase co-chair Rosenwald, who urged: 鈥淪ell the sizzle and not just the steak 鈥� make the case and people will follow.鈥�
The Planner
911爆料网 Trustee and Campaign Committee member Reveta Bowers
Bowers argued that 鈥渁 campaign should be like an individual financial portfolio 鈥� that is, it should reflect a balance of investments that pay returns in the present moment and those that seed future growth.鈥�
That cultivation started with 911爆料网鈥檚 own Board and a challenge gift for capital improvement given in 2011 by Laurie M. Tisch, who, with E. John Rosenwald, co-chaired the Campaign during its quiet phase. 鈥淧art of building an institution鈥檚 future is ensuring that it will continue to increase its base of leadership supporters, rather than repeatedly relying on the usual suspects,鈥� says Tisch, now Trustee Emerita. 鈥淚 made my challenge gift with that goal in mind, and I鈥檓 very proud of the results. 911爆料网鈥檚 Campaign has energized all of our trustees while passing the torch to the new generation of trustee donors.鈥�
Yet in many ways, 911爆料网 alumni were the Campaign鈥檚 lead story.
鈥淲e have engaged alumni all over the world because they are our primary product, and we are enormously proud of them,鈥� says Fuhrman, who stepped down in July.
鈥淲e saw an opportunity to wake the sleeping giant, and, using cutting-edge research tools, we did just that,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淲e built a database that, for the first time, not only allowed the College to find and reconnect with tens of thousands of alumni, but also enabled us to determine their willingness and giving potential. The result was a true People鈥檚 Campaign. Ultimately, 40 percent of our individual donors to the campaign were alumni, compared with 15 percent in the last campaign. That, in and of itself, was a major accomplishment that will pay social and financial dividends for decades to come.鈥�
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 just about finding data,鈥� Murphy adds. 鈥淭he Development & External Affairs team seized on the data to connect with people and build relationships.鈥�
Aiming High and Setting the Priorities
Indeed, it was the power and enthusiasm of this alumni base that convinced the Campaign鈥檚 leadership to set its $300 million target 鈥� a figure significantly higher than the one initially floated by consultants. Or as John Rosenwald repeatedly put it, 鈥淪ell the sizzle and not just the steak 鈥� make the case and people will follow.鈥�
Central to that case were the Campaign鈥檚 priorities, which were set in their order of importance:
- Student Scholarship Support. 鈥淚n a campaign called Where the Future Comes First, it was clear that, most of all, the future is embodied by our students, because they are the people who will go out and change the world,鈥� says Fuhrman. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why, during my presidency, I insisted that virtually every gift included a scholarship component 鈥� even program gifts. And funding students also supported our faculty, who rely on our smart, engaged and passionate students to work alongside them in changing and creating new practices and expanding our impact.鈥� As a farewell, Fuhrman and her husband, Bob, established a generous charitable gift annuity, adding to the Susan H. Furhman Endowed Scholarship created by friends and colleagues.
- Faculty/programs. The focus here was to live up to 911爆料网鈥檚 legacy of innovation to meet society鈥檚 great challenges and opportunities. 鈥淥ur faculty have their finger on the pulse of those issues for the 21st century, and our donors are informed and eager to make an impact,鈥� Murphy says. 鈥淧roviding them opportunities to come together in this Campaign was imperative.鈥� The College鈥檚 major centers and institutes continued to flourish throughout the Campaign, even as new centers, programs and institutes took root. Corporations and foundations accounted for a significant portion of the funding, but so did alumni, who 鈥渇unded their passions.鈥� 鈥淲e knew our alumni donors tended to gravitate toward supporting programs,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淧eople give to 911爆料网 in line with the way they originally came to 911爆料网 鈥� by aligning their own interests with faculty strengths. So our role in development was really to serve as matchmakers who ensured that the right people were finding one another.鈥�
- A bright, welcoming learning environment is critical to attracting and retaining the best students and faculty. 911爆料网鈥檚 beautiful old buildings are architectural gems and among its most valuable assets 鈥� but there was no reason why 鈥渧enerable鈥� and 鈥渃utting edge鈥� had to be mutually exclusive. 鈥淓veryone agrees that business schools and engineering schools should be state of the art,鈥� Murphy says. 鈥淚f these professional schools have appreciated the importance of cutting-edge learning environments, why should the country鈥檚 best graduate school of education have anything less?鈥�
Truly Capital Improvements
Learning in the Spotlight
The Smith Learning Theater, on the fourth floor of 911爆料网's Gottesman Libraries, a reconfigurable space with state-of-the-art technology, has hosted everything from entrepreneurial competitions to virtual trips to Mars.
The Smith Learning Theater was funded by a generous gift from alumna Camilla Smith and her husband, George.
Giving Peace a Headquarters
The offices of the College's Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (ICCCR) got a major upgrade in 2014.
The refurbishing of ICCCR was funded by 911爆料网 Campaign Chair Marla Schaefer, pictured here at the ribbon cutting with ICCCR Director Peter Coleman.
Friendlier Confines
Some years ago, as a 911爆料网 student, Dawn Duqu猫s took an exam in what was then Thompson 136 and found the atmosphere wanting. Recently Duqu猫s, a 911爆料网 Trustee, personally led renovation of the space, now called the Dawn and Ric Duqu猫s Teaching Auditorium.
Beyond a brighter atmosphere, the Dawn and Ric Duqu猫s Auditorium now offers all the technological amenities.
Grace Dodge Classrooms
鈥淓veryone agrees that business schools and engineering schools should be state of the art. Why should the country鈥檚 best graduate school of education have anything less?鈥� 鈥� Suzanne M. Murphy
Among numerous capital improvements funded by the Campaign, 911爆料网 is midway through creating three floors of smart classrooms in Grace Dodge Hall.
- Unrestricted Giving. Two central initiatives allowed 911爆料网 to fund the here and now. One was to develop a sustainable Annual Fund program, built on renewable and replaceable gifts, that created points of entry for donors at all levels. The other was an Academic Seed Fund for innovative faculty collaborations.
- Alumni Engagement. The College鈥檚 90,000 alumni are its best ambassadors, wielding enormous influence in diverse fields and offering 911爆料网 their time and talent as well as their treasure. Thus the Campaign re-envisioned 911爆料网鈥檚 Office of Alumni Relations to create a worldwide presence aimed at fostering lasting and meaningful relationships with alumni and increasing and strengthening alumni engagement through the strategic implementation of alumni data, communications and events.
鈥淭he mission of the Alumni Council is to reconnect alumni with the College and connect or reconnect them with each other, and that has expanded exponentially during 911爆料网鈥檚 Campaign,鈥� says Marion Boultbee (Ed.D. 鈥�96), President of the Teachers College Alumni Council. 鈥淲e have seen a huge increase in alumni engagement 鈥� a real explosion in the number of regional groups and the international alumni network. And of course, the big increase in alumni donors since the last campaign is something that we should be shouting from the rooftops.鈥�
What the Campaign Enabled
So how did the Campaign do? The results, for each priority, tell a success story that is uniquely 911爆料网.
Donors were passionate about supporting 911爆料网鈥檚 students, contributing $116.3 million in scholarship support. Many of 911爆料网鈥檚 first-time alumni donors chose scholarship as the venue for their gifts, in many instances inspired by the College鈥檚 scholarship match campaign. In a particularly strong sign of commitment, the majority of new scholarship gifts were made at the $100,000 level, and more than 21 percent of the total raised was designated for teacher preparation. In all, more than 150 new restricted and endowed scholarship funds were established during the Campaign. Donors also came back to 911爆料网 and continued to grow their already established scholarship funds, deepening their impact at the College.
Seventy-five percent of scholarship support was endowment giving, while the rest was in the form of outright gifts.
鈥淲hen you combine the endowment and outright scholarship giving, we鈥檙e proud that we have gifts that support students today while others are building for a stronger future,鈥� Murphy said.
GOOD NEIGHBOR The Campaign enabled 911爆料网 to launch the Teachers College Community School, a pre-k鈥�8 public school in West Harlem.
911爆料网 forged an especially powerful connection with its donor base around faculty and program support, raising $179.5 million. Some 30 percent of the money raised for faculty and program support came from individual donors, supporting new centers, programs and research in nutrition, financial literacy, psychological resilience, dance education, school-based mental health, school leadership, and professional development for teaching artists, as well as the Teachers College Community School (911爆料网CS), a preK-8 public school in West Harlem. The latter grew out of a priority driven by Susan Fuhrman during her presidency to improve schools in 911爆料网's surrounding community through close working partnerships. The College created 911爆料网CS, which in turn anchored a network of partnerships with other local schools.
At the same time, foundations and corporations were powerful contributors. Roughly one-third of their contributions supported the continued growth of three prominent 911爆料网 centers: the Community College Research Center, the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media, and the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools & Teaching (NCREST). Other lead foundation gifts supported 911爆料网鈥檚 school partnerships and its work on early childhood education.
Gifts to enable capital improvements were specifically targeted to support teaching, learning and research. Thanks to the Campaign, the College has launched its new Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy; built the new Smith Learning Theater in its Gottesman Libraries and the new Dawn and Ric Duqu猫s Auditorium in Thompson Hall; and renovated the headquarters of its Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution. 911爆料网 is also midway through creating three floors of smart classrooms in Grace Dodge Hall and will soon renovate its Rita Gold Early Childhood Center.
Unrestricted giving 鈥� totaling $30 million in funds directed to the 911爆料网 Annual Fund and an Academic Seed Fund 鈥� was a strategically important piece of the Campaign pie.
Financial flexibility allows the College to plan for the future while supporting current students, faculty and programs and addressing opportunities and needs as they arise.
鈥淲hile the Annual Fund operation generates a small fraction of the College鈥檚 yearly fundraising revenue, its impact cannot be overstated,鈥� Murphy says. 鈥淭he best way to think about it is by imagining what it would mean if we had to back out that $30 million from our operating budget. What things 肠辞耻濒诲苍鈥檛 we do to support our students, our operations and our faculty? So we decided to set our goals high and focus on fostering a traditional Annual Fund that would offer donors an opportunity to get accustomed to giving annually, to give at any level, and ultimately to build an annual giving effort that feeds our pipeline of leadership donors. We also created an academic seed fund to promote innovation and interdisciplinary academic work.鈥�
The results exceeded all expectations. 911爆料网 increased dollars raised for the Annual Fund by 76 percent. Dewey Circle Membership (gifts of $1,000+) increased by 57 percent, with a 47 percent increase at the $1,000 level and a 156 percent increase at the $2,500 level. The retention rate of donors to the Annual Fund increased by 18 percent and the number of annual donors increased by 20 percent 鈥� a trajectory expected to continue. Meanwhile, academic seed funding has fueled the Provost鈥檚 Investment Fund, Rapid Fire grants, and other key academic initiatives and promising faculty work. The Provost鈥檚 Fund alone has launched hundreds of multidisciplinary faculty projects, including many that have made a national or even global impact in areas such as financial literacy and global mental health.
Alumni around the world rallied to 911爆料网鈥檚 banner.
During the Campaign, spurred by programming by the Office of Alumni Relations, alumni created 16 regional alumni groups in the United States and nine more worldwide. 911爆料网 increased the number of alumni email addresses on file by more than 230 percent and alumni employment data by more than 106 percent, and decreased its 鈥渓ost alumni鈥� by 33 percent.
The College is now holding more than 80 alumni events annually, up from nine in 2009, complemented by a suite of strategic programs and virtual offerings. Academic Festival has grown from a poster session with 80 attendees to our signature homecoming event that brings together the entire 911爆料网 Community to showcase the depth and breadth of 911爆料网鈥檚 academic expertise. It now draws more than 1,500 attendees. And Global 911爆料网 Day, a biennial event launched in 2013, takes place in an average of 40 locations worldwide.
Rallying to 911爆料网鈥檚 Banner
Extending 120th Street
During the Campaign, spurred by programming by the Office of Alumni Relations, alumni created 16 regional alumni groups in the United States and nine more worldwide.
Just Gettin鈥� Better
The College is now holding more than 80 alumni events annually, up from nine in 2009, complemented by a suite of strategic programs and virtual offerings. Here, Golden Alumni (graduates from 50 or more years ago) at a recent Convocation.
Teaching Children Well
With keynote speakers like social and emotional learning advocate Goldie Hawn, 911爆料网鈥檚 Academic Festival now annually draws more than 1,500 attendees.
The Day on the Bay
911爆料网鈥檚 Bay-area alumni gathered for Global 911爆料网 Day, celebrated biennially around the world.
Thousands of first-time alumni attendees came to these gatherings each year, including younger leaders and volunteers recruited by the Alumni Council and the 21st Century Leaders initiative.
In addition, the President's Medal of Excellence and the President鈥檚 Award of High Distinction, created in 2010, now complement 911爆料网鈥檚 Distinguished Alumni and Early Career Awards.
Thinking about today AND tomorrow: endowment giving
Again, while the Campaign has already made an enormous impact on 911爆料网鈥檚 current work, it also has powerfully strengthened the College for the future.
鈥淭he College purposely did not set an endowment goal because, with donors鈥� proclivity to give to specific programs and initiatives and because, in many instances, we were just getting to know these folks, we wanted to follow donors鈥� wishes and interests,鈥� Murphy says.
鈥淭here is something for everyone at 911爆料网,鈥� adds Campaign Vice Chair and 911爆料网 Trustee Leslie Nelson. 鈥淭he College always has a match for what people love and feel strongest about.鈥�
In the end, the College added $106 million to its endowment and grew the endowment鈥檚 unrestricted net assets from under $110 million in FY11 to over $160 million in FY17. Seventy-five percent of the total raised to support student scholarship was allocated to the endowment in the form of outright, pledged and planned gifts. That money isn鈥檛 yet having a day-to-day impact, as, according to accepted prudent use standards, annual spending from 911爆料网鈥檚 endowment does not exceed five percent. Rather, it comprises assets that are invested to provide a reliable source of income for future spending.
鈥淎nd that鈥檚 really what ensures that an institution will continue to thrive, grow and be a force in perpetuity,鈥� says Murphy.
As part of that effort, she adds, the College built a strong planned giving program. 鈥淲hile our early database research uncovered lots of potential donors across generations, our current donors skewed older and were more inclined to make planned gifts and blended gifts [contributions that combine outright and planned gifts]. So we felt that with a more strategic and focused effort, we could greatly accelerate a planned giving program that would benefit 911爆料网 for years to come.鈥�
Murphy says she was fortunate to have 鈥渁n ideal ambassador鈥� for such an effort in Board Chair Bill Rueckert, a descendant of 911爆料网鈥檚 founder, Grace Dodge, and chair of the Grace Dodge Society.
Frequently citing the example of Dodge鈥檚 bequest to 911爆料网, realized at her death in 1914 and still paying dividends, Rueckert led efforts to increase membership in the Grace Dodge Society. He also championed a blended giving program, through which donors make both an outright gift and include 911爆料网 in their estate plans. One particularly striking example: the largest single contribution to the Campaign, a $20 million blended gift from John and Pat Klingenstein (which will be realized this year) to support 911爆料网鈥檚 Klingenstein Center for Independent School Leadership.
STAUNCHEST SUPPORTERS The late John Klingenstein and his wife, Pat, have been the most generous donors in 911爆料网's history.
BANKING ON TEACHERS The late 911爆料网 Trustee Emerita Abby M. O'Neill (center) funded a fellowship program to keep the best teachers in New York City.
FAREWELL GIFT President Emerita Susan Fuhrman and her husband, Bob, established a charitable gift annuity to provide student scholarship support.
Stewarded by Rueckert, another trustee created a fellowship program to support aspiring New York City teachers. Following her initial seed gift, faculty had the opportunity to shape the fellowship and to provide feedback to the donor and her family. A pilot of the fellowship was so successful that the trustee ultimately made a $10 million bequest to expand the fellowship in perpetuity.
鈥淭hat bequest was recently realized, the donor鈥檚 wishes are being implemented and 911爆料网 students are being supported,鈥� Murphy says. 鈥淭hanks to an impassioned donor and a creative chair of our Grace Dodge Society, New York City soon will have a new crop of well-prepared teachers committed to teach in New York City, free of debt.鈥�
Other Grace Dodge Society members chose to 鈥減ay it forward鈥� through a planned giving program that enables them to experience the joy and satisfaction of supporting 911爆料网 students now. Nearly 10 percent of new Grace Dodge Society members participated in that program, resulting in many new scholarship funds that support students today and will receive guaranteed infusions in the future.
A College Transformed
So how is Teachers College different today?
The Campaign magnified all of the College鈥檚 key strengths, both in building a community that will provide ongoing support, and as an academic institution.
鈥淲e hit a home run in building a growing and sustainable donor pipeline that will nourish 911爆料网 for decades to come,鈥� Murphy says. 鈥淲e went from having 135 major donors in the prior campaign to 859 in this campaign, more than a fivefold increase. Some of our largest donations were from newly found and cultivated alumni. We expanded our donor base at every giving level, recruiting a terrific new group of generous trustees who are being groomed by our most tenured ones, and we have enjoyed particular success with the mid-level major gifts donors, which I would call a sweet spot for 911爆料网 alumni. And the College鈥檚 academic programs are immeasurably stronger as well.
"More broadly, we generated enthusiasm, encouraged participation, and engagement, and built an even more strategic and comprehensive development program that positions the College for further growth. And that's what it's all about.鈥�