Building strong partnerships with your faculty: A collaborative approach to effective fundraising

External university partnerships rely on the internal faculties’ innovative thinking to deliver on their research programmes and ideas supported by the external partner’s funding. Likewise, development officers (DOs) often say their most important relationship is with the faculty members at their institution. Yet when asked privately, faculty and DOs are often candid about the hurdles they face in their relationships with one another. Unsurprisingly, this tension can be counterproductive when both parties are trying to work towards one goal of fundraising for the faculty member’s work. As a counter measure, UC Davis Foundation and Corporate Giving team, of which this paper’s two authors are a part have developed tools for the DO to help them build strong long-term partnerships with their faculty that are based on professional expertise, trust and respect. These tools illustrate the value proposition that a DO brings to the relationship, which sets the foundation for a mutually respectful, productive and successful dynamic between academic stakeholders. The specific guide, while tailored to university DOs who specialise in corporate and foundation fundraising, can readily be adjusted to suit the work of fundraising professionals in other settings. The outcomes of integrating our tools and approaches are better relationships with faculty for the DO, which likely translates into increased private funding for the faculty member.