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About > Year in Review > Institutional Advancement
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The Division of Institutional Advancement set challenging, yet realistic goals for Fiscal Year 2011, based on the knowledge that donors remained cautious due to the economy, WRHS remained an institution in transition working toward reestablishing donor trust, social media is a growing player in marketing, and earned income through admissions, rentals and sales is our area of greatest potential growth. Indeed, the results were that earned income grew beyond expectations – making up for the slight drop experienced in unearned income through gifts and grants. The other area of extraordinary growth was in endowment – with major new gifts to support the Crawford Auto Aviation Collection and the Jewish Archives program.
The Division itself was in transition during this period. Key hires were made late in calendar year 2010 in the two positions directly responsible for unearned income through gifts and grants. The new Director of Individual Giving, Peter Grossetti, and Associate Director of Development for Grants and Foundations, Matt Carter, brought much-needed professionalism and experience to WRHS and faced their new jobs with immediate enthusiasm and results.
Goals for Annual Fund and other unrestricted gifts were kept flat with Fiscal Year 2010 while establishing a new Major Gifts Campaign to entice larger, unrestricted gifts to WRHS. The economy and shrinking donor base in the region presented a very real obstacle to the Major Gifts Campaign. We found that donors were already committed elsewhere and trying to pay pledges to other institutions that were made prior to the 2008 economic collapse. Those who did contribute to the Major Gifts Campaign were, essentially, shifting gifts that would have otherwise been made to the Annual Fund. The final tally for all unrestricted giving was about $242,000 – a 3% drop from FY10.
Grant income is more difficult to assess as a comparison to Fiscal Year 2010, due to adjustments in how that income is calculated and distributed within the budget. Going forward, these adjustments will allow for much more accurate reporting of grant income and ability to draw comparisons year to year. Grant income was in alignment with expectations for FY11, with little or no loss of longstanding foundation support to WRHS and establishment of some new or returning grants.
Highly significant was the approval of the two-year government grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture – accounting for nearly $280,000 in operating support per year. Retaining this grant was crucial for the operating budget and a vote of confidence from the professional peers on the grant-review committee.
Membership continues to be a struggle for WRHS as we try to retain our older membership base while enticing new, younger members. Various discounts were offered for new members in FY11, but best practices within the industry question the wisdom of that approach. Our task is to create these new members’ allegiance to the institution (as opposed to allegiance to “the deal”) through exciting programs, exhibits and events, so they will renew their memberships for many years to come. With the temporary closure of the Crawford exhibit galleries due to construction, we will be focusing on the new Kidzibits Family Education Center to draw new, young family members. In addition, a WRHS Young Professional Group made up of individuals age 25-45, and already numbering nearly two dozen members, provides an avenue to a younger constituency.
WRHS continued its focused effort on establishing two signature special events to support education operations, one at the History Center in University Circle and one at Hale Farm & Village. Both events grew significantly and surpassed goals. Somewhere In Time, a party with a historic decade theme, celebrated its second year with a trip to the 1970s. Attendance and net income almost doubled over the inaugural event in 2010. Further growth is expected for the 2012 event and the long-range goal remains making Somewhere In Time a “must attend” Cleveland event. The Hale Farm & Village Legacy Award Benefit in May honored former WRHS Board Chair and President, Patrick Reymann, and also almost doubled in net income over 2010.
Smaller, specialized and highly successful “White Glove” events were also held in FY11. These were a combination of a recognition event for our higher-end donors, a celebration for achieving a $2 million endowment at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland to support the WRHS Jewish Archives program, and a fundraising event sponsored by the Northern Ohio Italian American Foundation to support the Italian American History Collection of WRHS. We expect to continue all of these highly successful “White Glove” events.
Earned revenue, in the form of museum admissions, store sales, group tours and space rentals also fall under the purview of IA. We set increased goals in almost every category and, in total, surpassed those goals with rental income being the driving factor at the History Center and admission and group sales showing great growth at Hale.
Rental income over all sites totaled more than $150,000, a 48% increase over FY10. This was achieved with minimal investment, indicating that space rental is clearly an area of potential income growth. This also proved that staff made a wise decision at the beginning of the fiscal year to discontinue an exclusive catering contract and provide rental clients with a list of preferred caterers.
General admissions grew in FY11 to more than $230,000, a slight increase over FY10 and exceeding goal due to great success at Hale. Similarly, group sales of nearly $48,000 exceeded goals and the drop in sales at the History Center were more than compensated for by a significant increase at Hale. The History Center museum store slightly exceeded its income goal while Hale Farm & Village fell slightly short. A current effort is underway to develop products for sale based on WRHS collections and is expected to yield increased store sales in the future.
The IA Department coordinates all aspects of public relations and marketing for WRHS. Thoughtful, organized campaigns were launched to announce the receipt of the $12 million endowment, held at the Cleveland Foundation, to support the WRHS Crawford Auto Aviation Collection; the $2 million Jewish Archives endowment; and the $2.8 million State of Ohio grant for a major renovation project at the History Center to be completed in the fall of 2012, and explaining its connection to the Euclid Beach Carousel project.
We continued efforts to standardize the WRHS “look” between all venues and departments. This included a new newsletter format and improved and redesigned promotional materials such as membership brochures and exhibit and event literature.
We have increased our time and efforts on electronic communication with our donors, recognizing this is vital in order to remain current. Regular “eblasts” are sent to a distribution list of more than 6,000 addresses, keeping recipients advised of activities and news at WRHS.   Social networking efforts have increased dramatically, with regular postings on the WRHS Facebook pages and use of Twitter. The result: nearly 1,800 friends on Facebook (almost all new this year) and 140 followers on Twitter since launching that effort in April 2011.
WRHS will also launch a new website in the Fall of 2011, and use the following year to assess and refine it. The new site, funded by The George Gund Foundation, will enhance our online presence and interaction with visitors.
Another function of IA is coordinating the WRHS volunteer corps – which numbered 160 individuals at the end of FY2011 in addition to 500 corporate volunteers who volunteer for one day. All told, these generous donors contributed more than 15,000 hours of valuable work.
The recent program reorganization resulted in new volunteer energy and interest. All volunteers have the opportunity to evaluate their experience, suggest changes to the program, and determine whether to renew their service to WRHS. Internally, staff has taken a leadership role in coordinating and managing the volunteer program and recruiting volunteers for specific needs and projects. We are already seeing positive results with increased volunteer retention and open lines of communication between volunteers and their supervisors.
The internship program is also growing and improving. The Summer Internship in Public History welcomed 24 students to work and learn throughout WRHS during 2011, compared to just seven students participating when the program launched six years ago.
The Division of Institutional Advancement, essentially, promotes and supports the other divisions of WRHS. We serve all areas of the institution, our donors, and the public at large. Our efforts going forward will remain focused on this important function.
Shari Kochman
Vice President for Institutional Advancement
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