Hitting your targets

Many independent schools are introducing or increasing their numbers of bursaries to demonstrate public benefit. Mark Jefferies reviews the types of bursaries and shows how to raise the funding for them

The ending of the assisted places scheme has been a worrying development, not least for the schoolsthemselves. However, just as there are two essential elements for successful fundraising when looking at donors – means and inclination – so there are two essential requirements for increasing the number of pupils on bursaries. They are, firstly, finance, and secondly, the ability to attract potential bursary pupils who meet the academic and financial requirements.

Getting access right
The first does not pose a huge problem. However, the second is far more challenging than it may first appear. It can be particularly difficult where the focus is on children from low income families – access for whom the Charity Commission considers essential in the context of public benefit. One has to find children who will meet the criteria and who are also likely to benefit – not necessarily the same thing. Then one has to persuade the primary school heads and parents that a bursary will be in the best interests of the child. Often there is a considerable amount of prejudice to overcome. This is not to doubt the value of the process, but to point out that it can require a huge amount of research, effort and thought.

If your focus is entirely on pupils from low income families, then you would be well advised to start with very low target numbers. You must have in place the pastoral and extra-curricular assets and mechanisms to ensure that these pupils will be able swiftly and comfortably to acclimatise to what will almost certainly be a new, probably intimidating, academic and social environment.

Schools should think in terms of a fairly broad bursary entry, on the basis of needs-blind. Your focus should be on identifying, regardless of financial background, all prospective pupils who meet the academic or other criteria for bursaries. Then, based on family income, you decide the amount of support to which they are entitled.

Raising the money
Only when you have established these ground rules are you in a position to consider fundraising. You will need to think about resources, methodology and target supporters.
Where there is an existing fundraising or development operation, it can take on the task itself, provided it is actively supported and assisted by the head and members of the governing body. If there is no existing resource, then one will need to be created. At the outset, it does not need to be either extensive or expensive, provided that the concept of influential voluntary leadership is fully embraced. Incremental growth allows a reasonable balance between expenditure and income.

As far as methodology is concerned, there are essentially three options: specific periodic major fundraising to raise capital for bursaries; ongoing fundraising, usually to provide revenue funding for bursaries; and legacy fundraising, to build up a permanent bursary endowment over time. A combination of one and three is advisable, since option two encourages a piecemeal and unsustainable approach.

Where is the support?
The conventional wisdom says that while former pupils will support bursary campaigns, parents will be more inclined to support capital projects. This is not always the case. There is no doubt that former pupils who, say, benefited from an assisted place will be inclined to support bursaries. That is not to say that they will be uninterested in supporting development of facilities. Equally, parents can be generous supporters of bursaries, especially if they see them as a way of maintaining diversity and high academic standards.

A case in point is the Girls’ Public Day School Trust (now the Girls’ Day School Trust) bursaries campaign in the 1990s, which raised more than £6 million, principally from parents. The most important factor is the presentation of a thoroughly persuasive and attractive case for support, which satisfies prospective donors of your motives for seeking bursary funding and demonstrates that this will benefit not only candidates for bursaries, but also the school as a whole.

Mark Jefferies is managing director of Craigmyle and Co. Mark can be contacted on 01582 762441

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