November seems to be a milestone month for me.  This November, my wife and I will mark the end of our eighth season of marching band competitions as band parents.  Our youngest is a senior this year, and the four years of watching, cheering for and supporting our son followed by four years of doing the same for our daughter is about to come to an end.

Four Novembers ago, that same band parents organization was on the verge of bankruptcy, with about $10,000 of cash in the bank - not enough to sustain cash flow through the rest of the school year.  That was the time I suggested we implement an advancement strategy, rather than continuing to rely on fundraiser after fundraiser after fundraiser.  Step one was a new Web site - since we had to begin to spread the word about the band and its achievements, as well as promote its performances and competitions.  Cost?  $40 for a template, $40 for an editing program, $10 for a Web site address/URL, and $10 a month for Web space.  We had to get it going, and had to get it going fast.  It took two months.  Almost four years later, the site is the repository for all information about the band, development is in full swing, assets are managed wisely, current students encourage those in middle school to join the band when they're in high school, and the experience is so overwhelmingly powerful almost all band members choose to continue the experience throughout their four years of high school.  Where's our bank balance?  Depends on the month - it's now between $80,000 to $100,000.  Proof that advancement works.

Six Novembers ago, I started writing weekly marketing tips to schools I worked with at the time.  It's ironic, too.  In the above paragraph, I think you would agree that jumping from $10,000 in the bank to between eight to ten times that amount in less than four years is pretty remarkable.  Yet, the "Marketing Tip of the Week" (the precursors to Marketing Matters ^TM) five years ago included a link to an article from FAST COMPANY Magazine that spoke of the need to prepare our children for the workplace that they'll be entering - NOT for the workplace that we've historically prepared them for.  If you'd like to read it, here's the link: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/96/szuboff.html.

What's the irony?  Five years later, we're still not where we need to be to prepare students for the workplace they will be entering.  Yet, advancement strategies are having great initial results in four years in our little non-profit organization (since advancement results take from three to five years to gather enough steam to demonstrate a significant impact).  So, when you hear that it will be difficult to keep your school on a firm financial foundation in difficult economic times, and more attention is paid to curriculum, grading and classroom cooperation than is paid to the five elements comprise Advancement, you can take comfort in the fact that persistent efforts on your part can begin to pay off in less time than it will take to restructure the school's curriculum so that today's students will be able to compete and achieve in tomorrow's global market place.

Then again, that's probably something that should make us uncomfortable.  Here's something else to make us uncomfortable (and the reason for this article's title): Public school districts have realized that they are non-profit organizations and are creating educational endowment funds, beginning alumni organizations, hiring marketing and development directors and seeking outside sources for funds.  Some Catholic and other faith-based schools are raising concerns about those Development actions and activities, but remember - Development is confrontational.  Successful Development efforts are predicated on the strength of the engagement of individuals with the organization.

The message - if you're still stuck in "fundraising mode," it's now more important than ever to at least start to develop and implement Development strategies to support your school.  If what was stated in the previous paragraph makes you uncomfortable, that's a good thing - because there is no impetus for change unless you become uncomfortable.