ISM recommends that your Development Office publish an annual Guide to Giving and Getting Involved to help your constituents understand the case for voluntary support and the myriad ways that they can be involved in your school community. It is critical to remind parents who are not regularly on campus that the school must be sustained through the commitment of time and money from its friends.

ISM Consultants have worked with many school Admission and Marketing Directors who enjoyed surprising spikes in their inquiries and applications during the late summer months. And, while this may seem like encouraging news, we caution against premature excitement.

The impact of COVID-19 feels relentless. Whether your school returned to campus this fall, is conducting learning online, or is using a combination of the two, stress is imminent. Teachers can especially suffer from this stress as they balance new methodologies for instruction with their own family concerns. You must be able to recognize when a teacher may be reaching a level of burnout.

Part of your “return to school” plan probably involved speaking with faculty and staff about how they could return to work fairly and safely, regardless of whether or not your campus would re-open for in-person instruction. Now is the time to reflect on those conversations.

The relationships between your school and your students do not begin and end with admission and graduation. Recruiting, retaining, and engaging students and alumni is only successful when time and effort is put toward lasting, ongoing relationships. When it comes to building relationships with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students, you must lead with intentionality and genuine drive to see these students thrive. Your school must develop a framework for enrollment management, marketing, and development that effectively engages your BIPOC community.

As an Admission or Development Director, it would be nearly impossible to do your job without the help and support of volunteers. The quality of your volunteers’ experiences with your school makes a profound difference in their ability to accomplish their given tasks and their willingness to volunteer again. Follow these “do’s and don’ts” when supporting your volunteers.

Once the dust settles, you’ll begin to plan for the 2021–22 school year—and it won’t be business as usual. The lingering pandemic will continue to impact the new admission season. Here are some things to consider.

We explore the potential impact of both distance learning and returning to campus amid a global pandemic on student well-being. As an organization, we predict the potential high frequency of the stops and starts of in-person learning may ultimately have a greater negative impact on educational continuity and student health and safety than a full distance learning program. While every school is ultimately responsible for its individual choices, consider the following as you evaluate your options for education delivery this fall.

Your strategically focused Board of Trustees is key to making your development programs effective and sustainable. When your Board centers on decision-making that is future-focused and viability-motivated, your school not only prospers, but you can also inspire your donors and prospects to commit philanthropic dollars to your school.

Blog content remains an important element of your content marketing strategy. Promoting that content through social media and placing strategic ads only succeeds if the content your target audience lands on aligns with their needs and values.