University Fundraising
Create fundraising systems for grants, alumni, corporate partnerships and long-term capital.
Why this matters now
University fundraising is too often siloed — alumni in one office, research grants in another, corporate partnerships in a third, the foundation as a fourth. We help universities build a fundraising function that consolidates the architecture, professionalises the major-gift programme, and turns research and partnership capital into one defensible operating line.
What this includes
Audit
What has been raised, what was refused, what was over-promised; the segmentation of the existing donor base.
Capital map
Majors, alumni annual giving, corporate partnerships, foundations, government and EU grants — sequenced and resourced.
Major-gift programme
The pipeline, the moves-management discipline, the engagement events, the case for support.
Operating cadence
Weekly major-gift review, monthly board update, quarterly recalibration.
What you receive
Fundraising strategy
One document — order of capital sources, major-gift architecture, alumni programme, corporate strategy.
Donor pipeline
Real working pipeline, sized to the team's capacity.
Case for support
Investor-grade case, scrubbed for the questions that always come up first.
Capability handover
Trained team, written method, supervised practice for six months.
How we work
Audit
Four to six weeks. Existing function, donor base, programme, materials.
Strategy
Four weeks. Capital map, programme design, sign-off.
Build
Eight to twelve weeks. Major-gift architecture, alumni programme, materials, first events.
Operate
Continuing. Either we run the function on retainer, or your team does and we supervise.
Indicators of success
Closes
Major-gift closes against plan; alumni participation rate up; corporate partnerships consolidated.
Pipeline
Real, audited pipeline of named opportunities.
Cost-to-raise
Falls as the function matures.
Team
Capable fundraising lead inside the university at end of year one.
Common questions
Do you do alumni programme work?
Yes — but only as part of an integrated function, not as a stand-alone project.
Can you raise from outside our region?
Yes. International fundraising — diaspora, EU, US — is part of the practice.
Is this for public or private universities?
Both. The mechanics differ, the architecture is the same.
Discuss the next step
Describe the task, deadline and context. We will suggest the first practical route.