Development (Fundraising) Activity

The development (fundraising) role of colleges and major campus units, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement (formerly Office of Campus Development), and the University of Illinois Foundation were defined in policy statements issued in 1986 (“In Support of Excellence”) and 1987 (“Coordination of Fund-Raising Activities”). These policies defined a college/unit-based approach to fundraising which is coordinated in a central campus office to ensure that adequate communication and coordination occurrs at all levels. Responsibility for the management of campus-wide development activities is assigned to the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement. This policy guides all development efforts for the campus.

  1. The Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement (VCIA) also serves as Senior Vice President of the University of Illinois Foundation and reports jointly to the Chancellor and to the President of the Foundation.
  2. The VCIA is responsible for articulating the fundraising priorities of the campus and for developing and implementing policies and procedures to ensure that development efforts are coordinated and objectives are achieved.
    1. Managing all aspects of a comprehensive development program for the campus
    2. Approving all college/unit fundraising campaigns, including all facility projects
    3. Articulating the fundraising priorities for the campus
    4. Consulting with the Chancellor and Provost to define the fundraising priorities for the campus
    5. Developing and implementing policies and procedures to ensure that development efforts are coordinated and objectives are achieved
    6. Communicating unit needs, plans and priorities to the University of Illinois Foundation
    7. Keeping campus units informed about policies, procedures, services and fundraising efforts of the Foundation
    8. Approving the creation of development/advancement offices on campus and in locations outside Urbana/Champaign
    9. Managing the central campus annual giving, foundation relations, development recruitment/training and the principal gift programs
  3. When the University is engaged in a comprehensive campaign, the VCIA will serve as the Director of the Campaign for the campus and will be responsible for:
    1. Reviewing and approving all college/unit fundraising goals and forwarding them to the Provost and Chancellor for final approval
    2. Developing and implementing the overall campus campaign plan
  4. Each College/Unit Dean/Director/Vice Chancellor and the VCIA share responsibility for:
    1. Hiring and termination of the chief advancement/development officer
    2. Conducting annual performance reviews of the chief advancement/development officer
    3. Appointing other professional development staff members including but not limited to those who work in the areas of annual funds, foundation relations and stewardship when the salaries are provided in part or full by the OVCIA
    4. Hiring outside consultants
  5. The chief advancement/development officers for all campus units report jointly to the Deans/Directors/Vice Chancellors of the units and the VCIA. They are responsible for:
    1. Hiring of all professional staff in his/her office through the Centralized Search process for advancement which is managed by the Office of theVCIA
    2. Hiring all support staff members through the Civil Service System
    3. Consulting with the VCIA, or his/her designee, on all issues related to promotion, non-performance or termination of staff
    4. Conducting annual performance review of all advancement staff, both academic professionals and support staff members
    5. Preparing an annual plan
    6. Executing a comprehensive development program for the unit
    7. Managing other advancement operations in the office including but not limited to alumni affairs, communications and special events
  6. The University and Foundation uses the Prospect Management System which tracks and coordinates all solicitations of $25,000 or more. The VCIA or his/her designee is responsible for approving all campus prospect management (PM), leadership management (LM) and staff assignments for all individuals and foundations.
  7. The Vice Chancellor for Public Engagement (VCPE) or his/her designee is responsible for approving the following:
    1. Urbana Corporate (UC) manager for corporations managed in the Office of Corporate Relations
    2. Urbana Unit (UU) manager for corporations managed in campus units
    3. All staff assignments
  8. The VCIA or his/her designee must:
    1. Pre-approve major solicitations of $1 million or more to individuals
    2. Pre-approve all proposals of $100,000 or more to prospect managed private foundations (list contained on the Foundation Relations page of the OVCIA website) and be notified of all proposals of $100,000 or more to other private foundations
    3. All annual fund solicitations
  9. The Vice Chancellor for Public Engagement (VCPE) or his/her designee must pre-approve all proposals of $100,000 or more to private corporations. In addition, prior approval will be required for all proposals, irrespective of the amount, to corporations that have an “Urbana Corporate” assignment. No prior approval is required for sponsored research proposals submitted through the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Administration (OSPRA).
  10. The Foundation Alumni Constituency Tracking System (FACTS) will be the official repository for all alumni/donor/prospect computer records including private foundations and corporations
    1. All individuals who have access to FACTS must sign acknowledging the confidential nature of all records maintained in the system
    2. Units should not duplicate alumni/donor/prospect information in shadow data bases nor maintain shadow data bases
  11. The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement has adopted the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Donor Bill of Rights as the ethical platform for development on campus. Copied from AFP Website:The Donor Bill of Rights was created by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Non-Profits. It has been endorsed by numerous organizations.The Donor Bill of RightsPhilanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To ensure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:
    1. To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
    2. To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
    3. To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.
    4. To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
    5. To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.
    6. To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
    7. To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
    8. To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
    9. To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.
    10. To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.