Philanthropy

Running a world-class research university like McGill requires funding beyond government support. In order to attract top academic talent, provide competitive levels of funding for our outstanding students, maintain high-quality facilities and support innovative programs, we rely on the generosity of our alumni, friends and supporters. Philanthropy helps McGill stay at the top of the international university rankings year after year, standing side by side with some of the finest (and wealthiest) universities in the world.

Looking to the future, McGill’s vision and goals are only getting more ambitious. Thanks to Campaign McGill, we have increased our average yearly fundraising revenue by almost 103% since 2003. But to meet McGill’s future needs, we need to find ways to make our philanthropic efforts even more successful.

To address this growing challenge, SRI’s Philanthropy team has been reviewing organizational structures, resources and processes of top peer universities to help realign McGill’s fundraising operations and develop a strategic plan to increase our annual cash revenues from philanthropy by 30 to 35% over the next five years. A key element of this strategy, particularly when it comes to securing gifts at the highest levels, involves creating a deeper role for the Principal, the Provost, the Deans and other senior university leaders in the philanthropic process. Developing a deep-rooted institutional culture of philanthropy at McGill couldn’t be more important than it is today.

A second critical success factor in bringing in more and higher-value gifts is making sure we have the right people in the right positions, and that they are well supported both by the Office of Development and Alumni Relations and by faculties and departments across the university. The team is developing new measures to optimize the potential and productivity of existing fundraising talent, and to increase the number of frontline fundraisers. As volunteers are also a critical resource in any successful advancement operation, we are developing systems to recruit and support top volunteers who can assist in our efforts.

Finally, successful fundraising relies on aggressive and strategic engagement and outreach to cultivate meaningful relationships between the university and its alumni, parents, students and other supporters. In order to ensure that our outreach is as efficient and effective as possible, the team will explore innovative new avenues of engaging new and existing donors.

Growing and building deeper, more active partnerships with the university’s donor base is a win-win for all. Increasing McGill’s philanthropic revenues will provide budget relief and additional funds to support our faculty and students, modernize our facilities, implement new programs and enhance existing ones. What’s more, well-engaged and stewarded donors and volunteers will become strong advocates for the University, acting as powerful role models to encourage others to make a major gift to McGill.