Financially Sustainable Schools

NAIS believes that schools need to work toward financial sustainability by becoming more efficient and strategic financially to ensure long-term viability. As part of NAIS's Sustainability Initiative, we have assembled below articles, presentations, and reports on admission-marketing, development, leadership, communications, and finance topics, all related to financial sustainability. Please contact the NAIS Financial Sustainability Team if you have ideas for additional resources.

LEADERSHIP TEAM
Resources designated with an "M" are for NAIS member schools only.

SOLUTION KITS

• Summer Melt: Is This a Challenge for Your School? M 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• NAIS Demographic Center

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ADMISSION AND MARKETING
Resources designated with an "M" are for NAIS member schools only.

PODCASTS

• Managing Value M
• Data-Driven Enrollment Strategies M
• Parents Views on Independent Schools under the Current Economic Situation M 
  
• Demography and the Economy M  
• AdmissionQuest's podcast: Exploring School Sustainability Directions and Ideas with Patrick Bassett M  
• Admission Trends, Families, and the School Search M  
  
• Enrollment Dilemmas, Part I and Part II M  
  
• Sticky Messages M 
  

 ADVISORIES

• NEW Keeping the Students You Have: Strategies for Preventing Student Attrition, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M
• Heard on the Street: Back to Basics in Research and Marketing (Article 2009) M
• Net Tuition Revenue Management: The Why, When, and How, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M
• Enrollment and Marketing Considerations in a Tight Financial Market, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• NEW Pat Bassett Addresses Prospective Parents on the Benefits of Independent Schools (FLV Movie) M
• The Importance of a Value Proposition (Article) M
• Parent Views on Independent Schools, Given the Current Economic Situation (Report) M
• The NAIS Pulse Surveys M
• Managing Value: The Marketing Perspective on Affordability and Demand (free chapter to download from the NAIS book Affordability and Demand: Financial Sustainability for Independent Schools (2009).)  M
• Demonstrating the Value of an Independent School Education (Presentation slides) M
• Do We Do What We Say We Do? Articulating Our Value-Added Proposition (Presentation slides) M
• Using Demographic Tools to Enhance Your Admission Strategy (Presentation slides) M
• Marketing Independent Schools to Generation X and Minority Parents, 2006 M
• National Public Opinion Poll: Awareness and Perceptions of Independent Schools, 2006 M

PUBLICATIONS IN THE NAIS BOOKSTORE

• Marketing Independent Schools in the 21st Century 
• Independent Schools Parent Admission Brochure

COMMUNICATIONS
Resources designated with an "M" are for NAIS member schools only.

PODCASTS  

• Web Strategies M
• Social Media: More than a Twitter Here, a Flickr There M
• Twitter, Meet Facebook (the Podcast Edition) M
• Knock, Knock, Knocking on My School Door M 

ADVISORIES

• Talking Points: Independent Schools and the Economy (Article 2009) M
• Twitter, Meet Facebook, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M
• Communicating with Your Community during Economic Uncertainty, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• NAIS Overview of Use of Social Networking M
• Communications Handbook (PDF, free to members to download) M

PUBLICATIONS IN THE NAIS BOOKSTORE

• School Leadership

DEVELOPMENT
Resources designated with an "M" are for NAIS member schools only.

PODCASTS  

• Making the Case for Planned Giving... Even When Times Are Tough M
• Building a Culture of Philanthropy M
• Fund Raising in the 21st Century: Trends and Consequences M
• Raising Money During an Economic Downturn M

ADVISORIES

• Stewardship Matters, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M
• Annual Giving, Now More than Ever. NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M
• Development Strategies in a Weak Economy, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M
• Development Tips for Tough Times NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Vital Signs. NAIS Independent School magazine, Summer 2009

PUBLICATIONS IN THE NAIS BOOKSTORE

• Gifts that Give Back (Independent School Parent Series) 
• Philanthropy at Independent Schools

FINANCE AND OPERATIONS
Resources designated with an "M" are for NAIS member schools only.

PODCASTS  

• Cost Containment and Revenue Growth Strategies M
• Expanding School Revenue Streams M
• Go Green, Save Green M

ADVISORIES

• NEW 21st Century Professional Development on a Budget, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M
• NEW Cost Containment Strategies, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M
• Go Green, Save Green (Article 2009) M
• Expanding School Revenue Streams with Innovative Programs, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M
• Managing School Debt when Credit Markets Tighten, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M
• Budget Considerations in Uncertain Economic Times, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009)  M

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• NEW The New Normal: A Game-Changing Model for Financially Sustainable Schools (Independent School article, spring 2010) M
• NEW Tuition Makeover (CASE CURRENTS article, January 2010)
• UPMIFA and UMIFA: Endowment Laws and Independent Schools (Debra Wilson article, May 2009) M
• Net Tuition Discounting: Sacred Cows and Unsupportable Assumptions (Pat Bassett Blog, May 2009)
• What Happens to Financial Aid During a Recession? (Mark Mitchell SSS Blog, April 2009)
• Coping through Stressful Times in Financial Aid (blog on the SSS website).
• Financially Sustainable Schools: Six Steps to Re-engineering Your School's Financial Future (Presentation slides) M
• The Perfect Storm, with Patrick Bassett (Videocast). Also see his related presentations, Financial Survivability and Financial Sustainability: Six Steps to Re-engineering Your School's Financial Future M
• Bassett's Blog (blog)
• NAIS Nov. 2008 Town Meeting on Financial Sustainability (Videocast) M 
• Financial Sustainability for Independent Schools (Presentation slides) M 
• Listserves: Financing Sustainable Schools Listserve (open to all NAIS members) and School Leaders Listserve (open to NAIS member heads of school only). M

PUBLICATIONS IN THE NAIS BOOKSTORE

• Access and Affordability: Strategic Financial Planning Perspectives for Independent Schools
• Affordability and Demand: Financial Sustainability for Independent Schools
• Financing Sustainable Schools Workbook
• Reducing Tuition Reliance through Alternative Sources of Income (Members can download free PDF)
• The Strategic Process: 10 Steps for Planning Your Independent School's Future
• Penny-Wise: Paying for Your Child's Independent School Education (Independent School Parent Series)

GOVERNANCE
Resources designated with an "M" are for NAIS member schools only.

PODCASTS  

• Bassett on: Strategic Questions for Tough Times M
• Being Strategic in Times of Crisis Part I M
• Being Strategic in Times of Crisis Part II M 
• Building Your Dream Board Team M
• Bassett on: Strategic Questions for Boards (Vol. 1) M

 ADVISORIES

• NEW A Trustee's Guide to the Annual Operating Budget Process M
• Being Strategic in Times of Crisis, NAIS Leadership Series M
• Building the Dream Team M
• Strategic Planning Marketing, NAIS Leadership Series M
• Strategic Communication in Times of Leadership Change M

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• NEW Pat Bassett Addresses Board of Trustees on the Game Changing Economic Climate (Quicktime Movie) M
• Fiduciary Responsibilities of the Board of Trustees
• Key Board Roles
• Ensuring Financial Sustainability

PUBLICATIONS IN THE NAIS BOOKSTORE

• Doing More with Less, How Committees and Task Forces Can Strengthen Your Board by Mary Hundley DeKuyper. 
• Trustee Handbook: A Guide to Effective Governance for Independent School Boards (Ninth Edition)

LEADERSHIP AND INNOVATION
Resources designated with an "M" are for NAIS member schools only.

PODCASTS  

• Tips for School Heads and Boards: Staying Strong M
• Learning from Small Schools: How They Use Their Inherent Attributes to Successfully Weather Tough Economic Times M
• The Affordability Conundrum M
• Insights on School Leadership during a Recession, Part I and Part II M
• The Economist on the Economy M
• Innovation in Tough Times  M 
• Don't Let a Good Financial Crisis Go to Waste,  Part I and Part II  M

ADVISORIES

• NEW Moving Ahead with Confidence: Four Strategies for Fall 2010 and Beyond, (Article 2009) M
• Alive and Well: What It Takes To Thrive in Hard Times, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M 
• The Whys and Hows of Independent School - Public School Partnerships, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M
• Management 911, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M
• Knowing When It's Time: Closing an Independent School, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M
• Sustainability: What It Is and Why It Matters More Than Ever, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M
• Embracing Values: The Sixth Sustainability, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009) M
• Innovate or Wither: The Case for School Change, NAIS Leadership Series (Article 2009)  M

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Strategic Communication in Times of Change (Article 2009) M
• The Art of a Reduction in Force (NAIS legal advisory) (Article 2009). Also see Early and Phased Retirement Options for Schools and Minimizing Legal Risks in Reductions in Force. M
• Surviving and Thriving in Hard Times (Article 2009) M
• See Built to Last: Surivival Lessons from Small Schools in the Summer 2009 issue of Independent School magazine

PUBLICATIONS IN THE NAIS BOOKSTORE

• The Strategic Process: 10 Steps for Planning Your Independent School's Future 
• A Trustee's Primer on the Strategic Process: A 10-Step Framework
  

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