Corporate Relations from the

College Perspective

Kurt R. Moore, CFRE Director of Foundation Relations

Elon University

Corporate Relations Strategies for Undergraduate Liberal Arts Colleges Conference

at Lafayette College June 15, 2012

Old Paradigm

• Traditional philanthropy • The college is the main beneficiary • Community partner • Right thing to do • Local business and local college “grew up

together”

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New Paradigm

• Corporate philanthropy is now “enlightened self-interest”

• Based on mutual benefit • Business partner • Strategic thing to do • Local business got bought by Fortune 500

company and HQ moved away, or someone new came to town

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Relationships! • “We all got ‘em, we all want ‘em. What do we

do with ‘em?” – Jimmy Buffett, Fruitcakes (1994) • The new paradigm is still based on

relationships – College to company – Senior admin to C-level suite – Faculty to technical staff – College staff to company staff – CFR staff to “giving” staff

• It’s the dynamics that have changed • Reflects current economic reality

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Best Practices - NACRO Paper Five Essential Elements • Institutional Support • Mutual Benefits • One-stop Shopping • Integrated Approach to Research

Development • Campus Coordination http://www.nacroonline.org/assets/docs/nacro%

20white%20paper%205%20elements.pdf

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Comprehensive Corporate Relations • The NACRO model also applies to smaller

Liberal Arts Colleges – Not the exclusive property of R-1 Universities

• The mix and emphasis of relationships will be different

• LACs may offer a superior product – Elon - #1 part-time MBA program (Bloomberg

Businessweek) • Depends on the unique characteristics of

each institution

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One-Stop Shopping • Get VP for Advancement on board!

– Hardest sell – Others will follow

• Coordinate with Internal Stakeholders – Offer to take leadership role – Get institutional blessing

• Represent the entire college – Single POC for industry

• Website – Corporate resource page

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CRO Activities Representing your college • Join business development groups • Public speaking • Understand your internal and external

stakeholders’ perspectives • Consulting • Don’t get stuck in a time-warp as your

career advances

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External Relationships • Student Recruiting • Community Resource • Event Sponsorships • Facilities Access • Employer/Economic Development • Executive/Continuing Education • Research • Licensing/technology commercialization

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Internal Relationships Internal stakeholders need to work with Advancement • Recruiting = Career Services • Community Resource = College Relations, Outreach programs, Library • Event sponsorships =

Athletics, Advancement, Arts, Academic Programs, etc. • Facilities Access = Facilities Management • Employer/Econ Development =

HR, B-school, College Relations, Sponsored Research • Executive/Continuing Education = Continuing Ed • Research = Faculty/Sponsored Research • Licensing = Athletics, Sponsored Research, Tech Transfer,

Auxiliary Services 10

Student Recruiting • What we offer

– Our “#1 Product” • What we need

– Scholarships and program support – Internship & placement opportunities – Corporate advisors and guest lecturers

• Corporate benefit – Educated workforce – New employee pipeline

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Community Resource • What we offer

– We are part of the community, too, enhancing the local quality of life

– Can supplement local educational and cultural resources: K-12 outreach, library, ESL

– Service learning supplements local non-profits – Adult continuing ed/life long learning

• What we need – Program support

• Corporate benefit – Indirect, such as helping with recruiting/ retaining

management – Perceived as good community citizen

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Event Sponsorship • What we offer

– Athletics – Arts, cultural and entertainment events – Speakers series

• What we need – Financial and in-kind support – Participation

• Corporate benefits – Advertising and visibility – Marketing partner

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Economic Development • What we offer

– College might be a major employer – Can work with Chambers, EDCs, and other

business development groups – B-school resources

• What we need – Seed funding for new initiatives – Curriculum support – Partners in entrepreneurship studies

• Corporate benefit – Help grow and retain local companies – Help define new markets

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Continuing Education • What we offer

– Professional, graduate & executive education – Customized curriculum development

• What we need – Your employees as students – Curriculum support – Adjunct instructors from industry

• Corporate benefits – Worker (re)training

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Research • What we offer

– Technical and scientific expertise – Market studies

• What we need – Capital, curriculum and faculty support – Sponsored programs contracts (non-

philanthropic) • Corporate benefits

– Low-cost research

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Facilities Access • What we offer

– Unique facilities – Conference space – Galleries

• What we need – Capital support – Joint projects

• Corporate benefit – Access to facilities that are close and may be

too expensive for a company to fund – Skilled technicians

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Licensing • What we offer

– Access to new technology • What we need

– Product and service development partner – Knowledge transfer – Philanthropy can come later

• Corporate benefits – New products and services

More on this topic in the afternoon Session III:

Best Practices in Intellectual Property

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How to Define Relationships • Map current relationships

– Top 25 employers (where your alumni are now) – Top 25 recruiters (who is recruiting now) – Top 25 corporate donors – Top 25 sponsored programs sponsors – Advisory Boards

• Potential Relationships - Map program strengths to local/regional/state priorities – Academic – Business/economic – Social – Recreational – Educational

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Targeting Industries • Strengthening existing relationships

– Create new levels of relationships – Move recruiters to donors – Shouldn’t your sponsored programs funders also

be philanthropic partners?

• Build new relationships – What did your “mapping” tell you? – Use your alumni network – What resources can you promote? – Host business events on your campus: Chamber, conferences, economic forecasts, career fairs, tours

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Elon Score Card Student Recruiting • 194 career fair attendees • 103 campus interviews • 593 jobs posted Community Resource • K-12 outreach • Lifelong Learning (250+) • ESL • 100,000+ student volunteer

hours Events • NCAA Div. I sports • 200+ cultural events • Chamber visits

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Facilities Access: rarely Employer/Economic Development • #5 Employer in County • $350MM+ economic impact Executive/Continuing Education • Nation’s #1 part-time

MBA program • Law School Research: product testing Licensing/technology commercialization: N/A

Industry Collaboration • Industry is your partner

– Seek participation as well as money – Work collaboratively – Communicate mutual benefits – Share & communicate success

• Become part of the business community – Chamber, EDC, other business development

groups • Remember, this is about relationship

building

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Metrics for Success: Internal • Advancement metrics • Recognition for non-monetary

achievements – Projects – Promoting the college to industry

• Some money needs to go thru Sponsored Programs – Work with faculty & sponsored programs – Keep track and communicate your efforts up

the food chain 23

Metrics for Success: External • Reputation in the business community

– Based on successful projects – Rankings

• Returning customers – Recruiters – Continuing/executive education – Donors – Sponsored programs

• New business partners seek you 24

Conclusions • Liberal Arts Colleges can have successful

corporate relations programs • Internal stakeholders have to be on board • The mix will be unique to each institution

– Past history – Present resources – Future plans

• Treat industry as a partner, not just a funder

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Questions & Answers

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Q A ?

Contact

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Kurt Moore, CFRE Director of Foundation Relations Elon University 112 Belk Pavilion Elon, NC 27244 336-279-5657 kmoore28@elon.edu www.elon.edu