Division Planning
The continued success of The Beach's advancement efforts depends on our ongoing evolution as an organization. A planning workgroup is identifying emerging engagement and giving trends among Beach alumni and friends, and assessing them in a national context and in comparison to peer institutions. The workgroup will also identify and assess best practices from across higher education and the nonprofit sector — as well as create our own evidence-based, data-driven approaches — for responding to salient challenges and opportunities in the work of the division.
Within the context of the university's Beach 2030 strategic plan, these are among the questions being examined by the workgroup:
What are the emerging evidence-based trends in optimizing stakeholder engagement?
Consistent with our institutional values, does our donor base reflect the full diversity of Beach alumni and friends? If not, how can we earn broadened participation at all levels of philanthropy, from annual giving to major gifts to planned giving? For example, are we confident that our communications, events and other engagement opportunities, and giving programs effectively embrace all stakeholders across the dimensions of race and ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, personal expression and ability?
How can we best ensure that current students avoid viewing their Beach experience as a transactional relationship? How can we more effectively culture-build, beginning with newly enrolled students, so that future alumni see themselves as belonging to something bigger than themselves, and better understand and appreciate the role of philanthropy and volunteer engagement?
In our hiring practices, interpersonal relationships and all aspects of divisional work, are divisional employees empowered to understand unconscious bias and feel comfortable in discussing issues related to enhancing diversity and inclusivity?
Does the volunteer leadership of our councils and boards adequately reflect a "needs matrix" inclusive of diversity in gender; race; age; hard skills such as backgrounds in law, financial management, or fundraising; philanthropic interest (e.g., the arts, business, STEM); necessary spheres of influence; and the ability to invest meaningfully in The Beach as role models and influencers?
While donors are and should be empowered to philanthropically support programs and projects of interest to them, have we ensured that information about investment opportunities in efforts that advance equity at the institution are readily available and proactively offered?
How can this workgroup and others in the division partner with other campus efforts and organizations, such as Beach 2030 action zone workgroups, the President’s Commission on Equity and Change, the Campus Climate Committee, departments, and employee groups, to align efforts and identify synergies?
How can we ensure that our external partnerships, while continuing to align with the strategic needs of the university, take a long view of how the university remains a valued and relevant steward of place in the community?
