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Institutional investment or air miles?
July 11, 1995; Canadian FundRaiser

Canadian Universities are beginning to look offshore for large chunks of financial support. Increasingly, their focus is on building international relationships. According to Jon S. Dellandrea, Vice President and Chief Development Officer, University of Toronto, his university is building partnerships outside Canada because it can't afford not to.
The University of Toronto aspires to international leadership in teaching and research, and a significant number of its students are from outside Canada. Further, he points out, Canada is a global trading nation, and according to the UN, Toronto is the world's most multicultural city.
Canadian governments can no longer afford to meet university funding requirements, and research and scholarships are global. As a result, the size of your prospect pool must be increased to meet the university's funding needs, expand its base of support, and build a solid base for the future. International partnerships help bridge the gap between Canadian ethnic communities and the world. Taking multiculturalism abroad is the next logical step.
Why Hong Kong?
About 10 years ago, U of T made a strategic decision to strengthen its institutional presence in Hong Kong. The arguments supporting this move were powerful:

About 30% of its students are of Asian origin.

Toronto is a key destination point for Hong Kong immigrants.

Southern Ontario is a powerful magnet for Hong Kong investment.

Many of the university's Canadian corporate friends are building their Hong Kong profile.

According to Dellandrea, the University of Toronto took a long term view toward 1997 and beyond. It moved carefully and deliberately to build and sustain strategic relationships, and focused on cultivation and stewardship - not on immediate results. It began by building a solid alumni chapter and an active student recruitment program. It facilitated the application process for students who met academic requirements, took the time to meet and cultivate community leaders, and helped introduce Hong Kong business leaders to Canadian corporate and government leaders. Finally, it built and sustained a close relationship with the Hong Kong Bank, helped establish Hong Kong ties for a prominent Canadian financial services firm, and encouraged Toronto social ties for Hong Kong investors moving to Toronto.
The university's estimated total institutional investment in Hong Kong advancement to date is over $1 million. For the past three years, it has had a staff person in Hong Kong on a full-time basis since January '95.
Hong Kong case study - Anatomy of an investment
Top-level commitment is important. For the first five years, Hong Kong had at least one annual visit by a university leader from University of Toronto, and for the past five years, at least two annual visits.
The return on University of Toronto's investment over the last decade is approaching $5 million. In addition, it has built long-term relationships with a wide circle of financial and opinion leaders in Hong Kong. Solid relationships are in place with about 250 Canadians with strong Hong Kong links. The university is now recruiting more than 700 visa students per year from Hong Kong, and its alumni chapter in Hong Kong has 2,000 active participants. University of Toronto has not yet solicited gifts from most of its top prospects, but has raised their sights in preparation for its upcoming major campaign. This November, its Hong Kong alumni are organizing a prestigious fund raising event, and are establishing the University of Toronto Foundation of Hong Kong. It has learned to see itself through the eyes of students and financial leaders who come from a vastly different perspective. The university has in partnership with UBC and McGill, leveraged its Hong Kong ties by building research and teaching partnerships with universities in the People's Republic of China. The University of Toronto's experience in Hong Kong has provided important lessons for its activities in other areas, particularly in Southeast Asia. In the end, says Dellandrea, the critical ingredients for success are:

Time (willingness to invest for the long term)

Resources (significant)

Strong commitment by the president and others

Commitment by domestic high-level volunteers

Close ties with local the Chinese community.

Improving efficiency of international advancement
According to Ray Satterthwaite, Associate Director, Programs, Graduates Society of McGill University, there are a variety of ways to improve the efficiency of your international advancement programs. Among them:
Capitalize on office budgets and save costs on administration travel, research trips, conferences; development travel; alumni travel programs; specific events and sponsorship opportunities. Coordinate with other offices on international exchanges, admissions, and faculty/staff.
Michel Kiefer, Vice Principal Advancement, McGill University, told the delegates of four lessons McGill has learned from experience:

Our job is building total, life long relationships that exist in a continuum ... nowhere is this more important than in international development. These relationships are maturing and hopefully, creating a feeling of belonging, which can result in gifts and annual giving.

Focus on where we are active and where we are not active, on where your alumni are and what they're doing. Be articulate and flexible (ensure that your institution is able to accept donations via credit cards which will greatly simplify exchange rate problems) and be authoritative and knowledgeable about the entire university. Build a stable program, with the same people being involved over the long term, projecting an institutionally seamless presence.

Build a network of local "sherpa" guides and commit yourself to them; make them insiders; give them all the information they need; empower and deputize them.

Be flexible and engage in active listening; flow with local customs; don't over organize your trips; rely on your guides. Allow room for flexibility and creative responses on the spot. Remember: why and how people give is at least as important as how much they give. You have to be actively present in these societies over the long term. "Learning" is more important than "cultivation"; 'meaning" is more important than "management".