TAGS:<\/strong> Pine Mountain Settlement School governance, corporate components, development, administration, education, environmental education, alumni and friends volunteers, fund raising, foundations, historical preservation<\/p>\n\n\n\n [NOTE: **Source unknown. The text has been slightly edited.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Page 1<\/strong><\/p>\n ESTABLISHING A GOVERNMENT AND CORPORATE RELATIONS COMPONENT In 1983, Pine Mountain Settlement School celebrated seventy years of service to the community and the educational system of Eastern Kentucky. From its beginnings as a boarding school in 1913 to the present Environmental Center<\/a>, it continues to offer programs in community education, facilities for school and community-sponsored recreation, medical clinics, and religious services. Additionally, Pine Mountain perpetuates mountain culture through the sale of local crafts in the gift shop and offers children a chance to study their environment as a supplement to their regular school curriculum.<\/p>\n With the establishment of the Charter of Pine Mountain School Alumni and Friends<\/a> in 1976, there has been more active involvement and support for Pine Mountain’s programs. Volunteers from this association have also donated their time and money to renovate and maintain the school buildings.\u00a0<\/p>\n During 1982 and 1983, roof and structural repairs were made to Zande House.<\/a> Laurel House<\/a>, Draper Building,<\/a> the school Office<\/a>, the Chapel<\/a>, and Far House<\/a> were rewired. Installation of a new campus water system and solar heating system in the Chapel was begun. Laurel House was redecorated. The majority of these improvements were accomplished through donations.\u00a0<\/p>\n As Pine Mountain begins its second decade as an Environmental Center, plans are being made to enlarge the base of support and<\/p>\n Page 2<\/strong><\/p>\n increase the enrollment through actively expanding the sphere of <\/span>influence and interest from southeastern Kentucky into adjacent areas of<\/span> Tennessee and Virginia. New curriculums are being designed for use\u00a0<\/span>in the winter months, which will allow more bookings during this\u00a0<\/span>normally slow period.<\/span><\/p>\n The craft’s outlet is being expanded to allow local craftsmen to\u00a0<\/span>market their merchandise to a larger population. Campus facilities <\/span>for meetings, conferences, and workshops will be made available to\u00a0<\/span>local businesses, industries, and community members. A new Community\u00a0<\/span>Center, to replace Burkham Hall which was burned in November 1983, <\/span>will provide local residents with a place to continue and expand their <\/span>community affairs.<\/span><\/p>\n Pine Mountain also wants to promote its image as a community\u00a0<\/span>school by initiating more community education and recreational\u00a0<\/span>programs and by establishing a work partnership program which will\u00a0<\/span>include local high school and college participants called “Earn,\u00a0<\/span>Learn, Work, and Play.”<\/span><\/p>\n Now is the time to approach these objectives for Pine Mountain.\u00a0<\/span>Increased support from Berea College has added stability to financial\u00a0<\/span>advisement, has provided improvement of curriculum planning, and has <\/span>opened avenues to explore new ideas in the area of Resource\u00a0<\/span>Development.<\/span><\/p>\n For purposes of this paper, it is assumed that the case statement <\/span>has been approved and a firm commitment of the proposed component\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Page 3<\/strong><\/p>\n has been made by the School Director and the Board of Trustees.<\/span><\/p>\n I.<\/span> Planning Stage<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n A. Funding – This component could be funded through obtaining a\u00a0<\/span>grant from a foundation or corporation.\u00a0<\/span>Individuals or corporations\u00a0<\/span>could also be approached to donate stocks, real estate, or cash\u00a0<\/span>pledges. The component could be included in the annual budget and a specific endowment could be established to ensure perpetual funding.<\/span><\/p>\n B. Office Budget – The cost of a Development Office with 1-2\u00a0<\/span>staff members would require a budget of $25,000-$125,000 annually,\u00a0<\/span>with approximately $50,000 being a realistic amount for the first\u00a0<\/span>year. Items to be included: Director: clerical; fringe benefits;\u00a0<\/span>consultant fees; supplies; postage; telephone; copying; newsletter <\/span>costs; travel; catalogs and reference materials; entertainment;\u00a0<\/span>promotional materials; office space: office equipment and membership\u00a0<\/span>and association fees. Many of these costs would be in-kind donations,\u00a0<\/span>such as Director and office space.<\/span><\/p>\n C. Staff – The School Director could head the component with a\u00a0<\/span>faculty or administrative staff person appointed in a half-time\u00a0<\/span>release capacity.\u00a0<\/span>This person would be responsible for researching\u00a0<\/span>all materials coming into the office and coordinating it with school <\/span>objectives and programs. Ideally, this person would have knowledge of\u00a0<\/span>grant procedures, know the institution, and have had previous<\/span><\/p>\n Page 4<\/strong><\/p>\n experience with local, state, and federal government, corporations and foundations.<\/span><\/p>\n Clerical assistance would be needed on a part-time basis. This\u00a0<\/span>person would have the responsibility of office management, entering\u00a0<\/span>research information on a database, correspondence, and accounting <\/span>for budget items.<\/span><\/p>\n Volunteers could be used to do research, make contacts with <\/span>government and corporations, or to help with clerical duties. A\u00a0<\/span>former state or federal legislator, attorney, or retired corporate\u00a0<\/span>officer would be an excellent addition to the volunteer staff.<\/span><\/p>\n D. Steering Committee – Influential members from the Alumni,\u00a0<\/span>community, faculty, staff, local business and industry, and local or\u00a0<\/span>state government would be chosen for this function. This committee\u00a0<\/span>would help to establish policy, analyze school needs and areas of\u00a0<\/span>interest, identify institutional goals and objectives, and aid in\u00a0<\/span>cultivating appropriate contacts.<\/span><\/p>\n E. Policy and Procedures – These would be established by the Steering\u00a0<\/span>Committee and the School Director. Policies would include, but not be limited to: requiring that all grant applications and fundraising plans must be reviewed by the Administration and Board of Trustees to ensure that all programs and activities will relate to the goals and priorities of the school; establishing guidelines for submitting <\/span>proposed grants or programs through proper channels; establishing\u00a0<\/span>guidelines regarding the management and evaluation of projects;<\/span><\/p>\n Page 5<\/strong><\/p>\n establishing procedures regarding the purchase of equipment,\u00a0<\/span>installations, maintenance, security, and insurance as related to\u00a0<\/span>individual projects; and encouraging the support, initiative,\u00a0<\/span>equality, and creativity of faculty and staff members in obtaining resources.<\/span><\/p>\n F. Goals and Objectives – By establishing this office, Pine Mountain\u00a0<\/span>Settlement School would be able to serve the community and educational\u00a0<\/span>system more effectively.\u00a0<\/span>Specific objectives as identified by the\u00a0<\/span>Case Statement would include:<\/span><\/p>\n G. Evaluation – the Administration, Board of Trustees, and Steering Committee should do a thorough evaluation of the existing Resource Development programs. Current practices should be documented and\u00a0<\/span>evaluated as to their effectiveness. The planning stage should be\u00a0<\/span>reviewed to establish its feasibility.<\/span><\/p>\n Page 6<\/strong><\/p>\n II.\u00a0<\/span>Implementation<\/span><\/p>\n A. State and Federal Government Relations – A library of resource\u00a0<\/span>materials including basic federal publications, guidelines, deadlines,\u00a0<\/span>catalogs, program guides, and program announcements should be\u00a0<\/span>established (see Appendix A).\u00a0<\/span>The Director should analyze how\u00a0<\/span>government works, determine timetables and the routing of bills, The\u00a0<\/span>school should be put on a mailing list of relevant federal or state\u00a0<\/span>agencies. A filing system and database should be implemented to\u00a0<\/span>document information as it comes into the office.<\/span><\/p>\n Research would be conducted to identify: current professional\u00a0<\/span>affiliations which represent institutional goals on a national <\/span>level; senators, congressmen, federal committee chairmen from the\u00a0<\/span>service area; state legislators and committee chairmen; Alumni,\u00a0<\/span>friends, or community members who have strong, federal or local <\/span>political affiliations. Lists should be compiled containing names,\u00a0<\/span>addresses, and phone numbers of these people.<\/span><\/p>\n Research would also include identifying those agencies within the\u00a0<\/span>federal and state government that would most likely be of assistance\u00a0<\/span>in obtaining resources for proposed programs. Services that the\u00a0<\/span>school could provide legislators would be considered such as helping\u00a0<\/span>with mailouts, technical assistance, or providing community members a\u00a0<\/span>place to vote.<\/span><\/p>\n Senators, congressmen, and state legislators should be made aware\u00a0<\/span>of current and future programs. They should be invited to visit the\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Page 7<\/strong><\/p>\n school to meet with the Administration and see the campus facilities.<\/span><\/p>\n C. Corporate Relations – Research should be conducted to establish a\u00a0<\/span>list of state [and] local businesses and industries (See Appendix B) and to <\/span>evaluate potential corporate support (see Appendix C).<\/span><\/p>\n Prepare a special Case Statement designed only for the corporate <\/span>community emphasizing the economic and cultural impact of the school\u00a0<\/span>and community, the school’s job opportunities and total payroll, the\u00a0<\/span>school’s budget for purchasing local materials and services, and the\u00a0<\/span>leadership and influence that the school provides in the community,<\/span><\/p>\n Prepare a presentation that can be used for corporate <\/span>solicitation.\u00a0<\/span>Include: concise statement of the school’s overall\u00a0<\/span>program; annual report showing history, accomplishments, and\u00a0<\/span>leadership; recent financial statement; proof of tax-deductibility for\u00a0<\/span>contributions – copy of original Treasury Department (IRS) statement or\u00a0<\/span>letter; approval of recognized accrediting groups or associations;\u00a0<\/span>rationale for corporate support (see Appendix D); the objectives to be\u00a0<\/span>met with corporate support; a summary of corporate gifts obtained to date; specific suggestions as to the resources the school is seeking\u00a0<\/span>(see Appendix E); and how school needs [to] correlate with corporation\u00a0<\/span>interests. This presentation should be limited to no more than fifteen\u00a0<\/span>minutes and varied depending upon the organization or corporation\u00a0<\/span>involved.<\/span><\/p>\n Contacts with corporations can be formal or informal, spontaneous or planned, written or oral but in order to be effective corporate\u00a0<\/span>support must be actively sought out with an overall plan.<\/span><\/p>\n Page 8<\/strong><\/p>\n Solicitation should be approached on a peer-to-peer basis with Board\u00a0<\/span>of Trustee members approaching the appropriate executives in a\u00a0<\/span>corporation or the School Director contacting the CEO or a key vice\u00a0<\/span>president.<\/span><\/p>\n If volunteers, Steering Committee members, or Board of Trustees members are going to be used in the solicitation, they should be\u00a0<\/span>trained using a handbook outlining various approaches with sample\u00a0<\/span>letters, etc.\u00a0<\/span>The School Director should be made aware of all\u00a0<\/span>developments so that conflicts will not arise.<\/span><\/p>\n Once a meeting with the corporation has taken place, an immediate\u00a0<\/span>letter of appreciation should be sent to the appropriate party\u00a0<\/span>thanking them for the meeting and outlining any ideas that were\u00a0<\/span>discussed. Any information gained during the meeting should be\u00a0<\/span>documented for future reference. All gifts should be acknowledged\u00a0<\/span>immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n D. Foundations – Research current foundations that could be of\u00a0<\/span>assistance to the school’s goals and programs (see Appendix F). Have the school put on a mailing list to receive current Annual Reports,\u00a0<\/span>RFP, and Program Booklets.<\/span><\/p>\n Identify community members, Alumni members, Steering Committee <\/span>members, or Board of Trustees members who have influence or who can be\u00a0<\/span>of assistance in contacting foundations. Get to know program officers\u00a0<\/span>when possible.<\/span><\/p>\n Prepare a presentation for use in working with foundations which\u00a0<\/span>shows the school’s goals and programs as related to those of the<\/span><\/p>\n Page 9<\/strong><\/p>\n foundation. Train volunteers to assist in approaching foundations. <\/span>Follow up any contact with foundations with notes for future\u00a0<\/span>reference and a letter of appreciation.<\/span><\/p>\n III. Evaluation<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Constantly evaluate the school’s Resource Development program.\u00a0<\/span>Note the positive and negative approaches. Update information on a\u00a0<\/span>planned basis. Be realistic when considering the number of programs\u00a0<\/span>that can be initiated and the number of contacts that can be made.<\/span><\/p>\n Page 10<\/strong><\/p>\n APPENDIX<\/p>\n Page 11<\/strong><\/p>\n APPENDIX A Successful Government Relations\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>CASE
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IN THE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE AT PINE MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL<\/p>\n\n
<\/span>FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT RESOURCE MATERIALS<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span>How Washington Really Works
<\/span>Doing Business in Washington
<\/span>Congressional Yellow Book
<\/span>Federal Yellow Book
<\/span>The Almanac of American Politics
<\/span>Congressional Record