The Michigan Tech Fund (MTF) strives to provide fundraising assistance to Michigan Technological University as a partner in the common goal of sustaining, promoting and developing MTU. Fundraising at Michigan Tech falls into three main categories, annual giving, major gifts and planned giving. The Michigan Tech Fund does not view these as mutually exclusive (i.e., if a donor makes an annual gift, they are still a candidate for a major gift). In addition, the Michigan Tech Fund believes that donors are most likely to start their philanthropic relationship with Michigan Tech through an annual gift. Therefore, our goal is twofold:
- To significantly increase the number of donors making annual gifts.
- To continually steward donors up through the giving ladder with the goal of maximizing donor lifetime gifts through major gifts and/or planned gifts.
GENERAL
The expertise and information available constitute a fundraising "toolbox" the Michigan Tech Fund can offer to assist colleges, schools, and departments in their fundraising efforts. The MTF can assist in the overall planning, development, coordination and implementation of action oriented fundraising plans aimed at achieving individual departmental fundraising needs. We will meet with departments to review fundraising needs and to fully understand key programs. This information will be used to develop an overall fundraising plan. Key elements of this plan will include the following:
- A review of the department constituency to identify key "suspects."
- Development of plans to increase annual giving.
- Development of plans to steward past major gift and planned gift donors.
- Development of plans to move key "suspects" to actual "prospects."
- Development of plans to steward key prospects to maximize gifts (both major gifts and planned gifts).
PROSPECT RESEARCH
The Prospect Research office can assist you in the following areas:
Research
- Identify major gift prospects by using electronic database screening, constituent list segmentation, data mining, and constituency screening and rating.
- Research for capacity using wealth indicators and public information sources - find links to create ties between the prospect and Michigan Tech.
- Coordinate research for the offices of planned giving, alumni/ae affairs, and campus departments - can include identifying potential candidates for academies, advisory boards, and university/departmental awards.
- Identify prospects for departmental campaigns.
- Prioritize the gift capacities of prospects as well as their philanthropic inclinations.
Prospect Management
- Strategic assignment of targeted major prospects to the development staff and academic professionals for cultivation - finding the right fundraiser to make the right ask of the right person
- Develop and manage a proactive strategic plan that will meet the evolving needs of the development officers and their department chairs to utilize their time efficiently.
- Track the prospect's cultivation and strategy process by updating and maintaining contacts and moves in Banner.
- Create strategy plans to move the prospect through the pipeline in the shortest amount of time while utilizing well thought-out moves to generate a good return on investment.
Contact: Sandy Lewin, Director, Prospect Research
sandy@mtu.edu, 487-1870
ANNUAL GIVING
The Annual Giving office can assist you in the following areas:
Direct Mail:
- Assistance can be provided for any department wishing to contact their alums through mail.
- The Fund can provide general pledge/gift cards as well as return envelopes. We can also provide mail lists and/or labels.
- In addition, we can help with any wording/text for a solicitation letter.
Telemarketing:
- The Annual Giving department oversees an automated call center which is used for solicitation calling from September to May.
- Telefunds can be conducted for specific departments/programs utilizing any information provided by the department. The Telefund operation will generate scripts, solicit gifts, and provide follow up for any pledges received.
E-Mail Solicitations: We can provide assistance on putting together an e-mail solicitation piece to alumni. This includes layout, wording, pictures, etc. Any e-mail solicitation will include a direct link to the Tech Fund's on-line gift form.
Departmental Newsletters: The Annual Giving office is happy to review any wording contained in departmental newsletters regarding an ask for the department, i.e., how checks should be completed, where gifts should be mailed, etc.
Contact: Paula Nutini, Director, Annual Giving
pjnutini@mtu.edu, 487-3609
PLANNED GIVING
The Planned Giving office can assist you in the following areas:
- Transfer of appreciated securities.
- Life income gifts including charitable remainder trusts, charitable gift annuities, and pooled income fund.
- Other planned giving options including bequests in a will or a trust, charitable lead trusts, and retirement plan assets.
- Charitable giving tax law.
- Promotion of planned gifts through direct mail, Michigan Tech Magazine (formerly Alumnus), the MTF Annual Report, estate planning immersion seminars, Foresight Newsletters, departmental newsletters, and the McNair Society.
- Solicitation and cultivation of prospects/donors.
Contact: Eric Halonen, Executive Director of Gift Planning
ehalonen@mtu.edu, 487-3604
MAJOR GIFTS
The Michigan Tech Fund can assist you in the following areas:
- Cultivation strategies
- Stewardship strategies
- All aspects of major and planned giving proposals, including:
- Writing proposals
- Determining the proper amount for your proposals
- Strategies for combining major outright gift proposals with planned gift proposals
- Dealing with objections to proposals
- Getting appointments
Contact: Shea McGrew, President of the Michigan Tech Fund
smcgrew@mtu.edu, 487-3447
INFORMATION SERVICES
Information Services provides these tools and appropriate training in their use:
- Mailing lists: You may request mailing lists by department, fraternity, athletics, club membership, academies, advisory groups, etc. If you would like us to track an organization in your department, let us know, and we will keep track of your members and produce current mailing lists for you. Any time a mailing list is requested, we require a copy of the piece that is being mailed. We need these copies to coordinate mailings so that multiple mailings are not going out simultaneously and so that we can assist with identifying information necessary for solicitation requests.
- Ad Hoc Reporting: For example, who is the oldest living alum, where did our graduates find jobs in the last five years, how much money have our grads donated outside of our department.
- Oracle Reports (you must have Banner access to use these reports):
- Fund Revenue and Expense Detail - AY-ADVF_FM_REV_AND_EXP
- Fund Balance Report - AY-ADVF_FUND_BALANCES
- Basic Gift Report (provides gift information by designation/fund) - AY-ADV_GIFT_REPORT
- Details on Employ by Co w/o $ (lists Tech alum employees by company) - AY-ADVMG_CO_EMPL_WO_MONEY
- Web Tools: You must have Banner access to use these tools. To get Banner access, click here. Print and fill out the form with proper signatures.
- Standard Profile and Profile Plus: These are profiles of alums/prospects and corporations. They provide a history of interaction with a constituent or corporation and personal biographical information. Corporate and foundation profiles contain direct links to any alums employed there. Also, you can expand and collapse any sections for printing.
- General Inquiry: Similar to Profile Plus, but with less detail, and some think it is easier to read. Good for quick information and gift histories.
- Contact Report Entry: You can enter your contact reports and set up follow-up steps (ticklers) by clicking here. On the bottom right of the page is a link for Internal Query Tool. Click on that, type in your Banner id and password and then select Contact Reports from the menu.
- Gift and Pledge Reporting by Department: You can run any dates and departments for gifts and/or pledge activity.
- Sample Proposals: Sample proposals can be found here.
- Review Contact Reports by Contactor: You can check to see what contact reports have been entered into Banner by staff.
- Database: Information Services maintains the alumni/friend/corporation/foundation database.
Contact: Mary Jane Lowney, Director Admin Information Services
mjlowney@mtu.edu, 487-2312
FINANCE & ACCOUNTING
The Accounting department provides the following services in support of fundraising:
- Provide information on MTF investments.
- Process gifts and send official tax receipts to donors.
- Invest gifts and allocate monthly income to funds.
- Process disbursement requests and monitor expenditures of restricted gifts.
- Provide fund revenue and expense statements.
- Develop guidelines for scholarships and for endowed funds.
Contacts: Gail Mroz, Director of Donor Stewardship and Development Events
gamroz@mtu.edu, 487-1972
Suzanne Morin, Accounting Manager
smmorin@mtu.edu, 487-1931