The Lesson of the Fig Tree

In the Gospel for the Third Sunday of Lent this year (Lk 13:1-9, proclaimed on March 7, 2010), Jesus tells us that tragedies will happen.  But the second part of the reading is the parable of the fig tree.  The landowner talks to his groundskeeper and says that for three years, he has found no fruit on a fig tree, and orders the groundskeeper to cut it down.  The groundskeeper, however, proposes that he cares for the tree, cultivates the land, manures around it, and then, if it still doesn't bear fruit, then he will cut it down.

Now how does that relate to your school?

If you are a development director, or have a development director at your school, the usual "lifespan" (that is, the time from when they start to the time they start to experience significant burnout) is 18 months.  Leaders and boards see that development isn't generating revenues and decide to try a new development director to get the income they need.

Which is precisely the wrong thing to do.

Why - because development is not about raising funds (that's fundraising).  Development is about developing relationships.  Development professionals need to involve and engage members of the larger school community, and from that engagement, revenues will develop.

It's just like marketing.  Some leaders think that the measurement of effective marketing is an increase in enrollment...which is also wrong.

The measurement of effective marketing is an increase in the number of inquiries to the school.  First, however, the research needs to be done to determine that there is a "market" of potential students for the continued growth of the school.

When a development director experiences burnout (which usually happens a few times within three years), the tendency is to either quit or leaders make a change in personnel.  In reality, it's like changing horses midstream since most of the time, the "results" of the new development director could be worse in the same period of time.  The reason: The development director develops relationships, and when they leave (for whatever reason), the relationship goes with them, and the new development director is left to start from scratch - which may mean going in a whole new direction than the previous development director had set.

The Parable of the Fig Tree acknowledges that after three years, there may not be the "fruit" of revenue.  Yet, also realize that the tree will be kept if it bears fruit - but it doesn't say "an abundance of fruit."  Development is long-term (usually considered 3 to 5 years), and the fruit is really the relationships that are developed.  The sweetness and abundance of that fruit will come, but it must be nurtured, and the ground around it cultivated.  It cannot become a dumping ground with other material that will not contribute to its growth.

© Michael V. Ziemski, SchoolAdvancement, 2010  (Original publication date: 20100308)

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