Magdalen College

Magdalen College came to American Philanthropic seeking help in establishing an all-around well-functioning development program to support future enrollment growth.

In particular, Magdalen College needed help securing new major individual donors and upgrading current donors to higher levels of giving. American Philanthropic helped Magdalen College establish a major donor recognition club which allowed the College to increase its number of $1,000+ donors by 45% in less than a year.

In the opening months of the engagement, American Philanthropic constructed a strategic development plan that would guide the College’s growth over the next two fiscal years. American Philanthropic then got to work helping the college to implement the major aspects of the plan: A foundation solicitation program, a major donor cultivation and solicitation program, and a direct mail operation. American Philanthropic also helped Magdalen College with a personnel search to hire a full-time director of development.

Once the initial pieces were put into place, American Philanthropic helped Magdalen College establish a donor club, the Magdalen College John Paul II Society, which would recognize all donors whose annual contributions to the college equal or exceed $1,000.

The purpose of a donor club is to recognize major donors for their commitment and bring donors deeper into the life of an organization, offering them exclusive benefits such as invitations to events and personalized consultations with leadership.

After less than a year, Magdalen College:

  • Increased its number of $1,000+ donors by 45%
  • Converted 15% of its $200+ donors to $1,000+ donors
  • Has utilized the donor club not only as a way to invite mid-level donors to increase their commitment, but as a way to invite new donors to give a first gift at a high level.

The Magdalen College John Paul II Society has allowed Magdalen College to increase its number of major donors, offer its biggest donors more specialized attention, and boost its annual revenue substantially.

American Philanthropic is registered as “fundraising counsel,” “fundraising consultants,” or other similar designations in all states requiring this kind of registration. We did not act as a “professional fundraiser” in the case cited above, meaning, among other things, that we did not at any time solicit funds, assets, or property on our client’s behalf.