Maximizing revenue through cross-organizational collaboration.
Barker & Scott worked with Development leaders across the organization to create a Major Gifts Playbook to support an aggressive fundraising strategy.
“We are grateful to Barker & Scott for skillfully bringing out the best in all of us.”
The Details
City Year successfully grew to 24 sites in the United States and 2 international affiliates as a result of a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Historically, each site raised money just for its own operations, with events as the primary engine for individual major gifts.
But for City Year to achieve scaled impact in a sustainable manner, it needed to significantly increase support from individuals on an annual basis. A One City Year Fundraising Enterprise was adopted to support the aggressive fundraising strategy, with Salesforce as the supporting technology platform.
As part of the One City Year Fundraising Enterprise, management engaged Barker & Scott to create a “playbook” of standardized, best-practice driven, business processes and protocols for how the organization does major gifts fundraising. 
The playbook employed a a collaborative, donor-centered approach, which allows staff throughout the organization – all sites and national – to work in support of one another to “grow the pie.” It lays out everything from foundational principles of major gifts fundraising to a detailed moves management framework to common goals and performance measures.
The Client
City Year
About
City Year is wholly focused on fighting the national dropout crisis by leveraging the talent and energy of tutors, mentors and role models in schools to help students stay on track – and get back on track – to graduate.
The Challenge
In order to support a very aggressive fundraising strategy designed to take the organization’s program delivery to scale, City Year needed to build a fundraising community of practice with standardized, best-practice driven, business processes and protocols for how the organization does major gifts fundraising.
Client Feedback
“This playbook marries the best-in-class science of fundraising with City Year’s successful art of fundraising in a comprehensive guide. We are grateful to Barker & Scott for skillfully bringing out the best in all of us.”
–Itai Dinour
Chief Organizational Advancement and Alumni Officer
