Keeping the Doors Open - 5 Ways to Stabilize Your Tuition Driven School in a Bad Economy

Introductionraise $100,000 in fundraising, especially with 100
DURHAM -- You can still see the faintly scribbledstudents? It just makes sense to utilize the
words to the Preamble to the Constitution on aresources that you have available in this manner.
chalkboard in what used to be Mr. Infinito's historySecond, if you decide to do fundraising then you
classroom. But there are no more lessons for hisneed to focus on doing fewer campaigns that will
classes at RTP Christian Academy of Technology,make a large margin of income for a specific
a faith-based private school in Durham. Too manypurpose. Gumball fundraisers for general expenses
parents have lost jobs in the recession. Thewill not be as effective as a walk-a-thon for a
dwindling student body is forcing the school togym. Your events need to be highly purposed well
shut its doors Tuesday."Everything was going fine.organized, well executed and lean. Then, there is a
The recession is really to blame," said Shon Allen,need to produce immediate results for those who
principal and cofounder of the school, whichgave. Send pictures of new mulch and swing-sets
combines Christian teachings with advancedin the next month's newsletters. You have to
science classes. "It has been a really sadestablish your credibility in these kinds of
experience." (Latifi, 2009)campaigns if you are going to be successful year
Every day we hear about another Christian schoolafter year and expand your programming.
which is struggling to survive or even closing theirIncrease Image Building, not Advertising
doors in the tough economy that the country isWhat is your market role? - are you the
currently facing. For many Christian schools theretechnological leader (for a school you would be
have been many sacrifices made and manythe academic leader but you do not adapt to
difficult decisions loom in the distance. Christianthose that are not able to perform at that
schools are closing everyday; is there no relief inacademic level), or are you the service king (for a
sight? I believe that it is time for some radicalschool you would be the school that is not
actions and shifts in our thinking that will test ouracademically the leader but your school meets the
faith and refocus our purpose for being inneeds of the individual student with excellence and
Christian Education. Consider the following notcaters significantly to the students needs), or are
merely as suggestions but as a clarion call toyou the operational excellence leader (the
change the way that we think about the businesscheapest school, nickels and dimes for extras, and
of school. I believe that the following will not onlyyou give only basic service and is not the
help your school survive these economic times,academic leader). Deciding upon one of these roles
but it will propel your school into even greateris how you begin to build your image in the
success in the future:community because the image building
Lower tuitioncomponents are already built into the fabric of
It sounds like a crazy idea, but calculate it in yourwho you are as an institution.Consider your
mind. Every chair that is empty in any classroomeducational facility like a consulting firm and
right now on any campus of any Christian schoolconsider it from a marketing standpoint - We are
is not making that school money. Every day thatconsultants for those families that have students
empty chair has an earning potential but if itthat would be lost in a hopeless educational
remains empty, that earning potential is notsystem that teaches them to think in ways that
realized. By lowering tuition there are two thingsare contrary to our beliefs. It is a system where
that now occur. First, you are making astudents are herded through and unsafe. It is a
statement to the community on your campussystem that cares more about their bottom line
now and also in your community that you carethan the spirit of the child. It is a system that
about them and you recognize their need.______ (you fill in the blank.) What are we doing
Everyone is struggling. Right now in your schoolto market these shortcomings and how we are
and community, people are losing their homes andreally the experts in remediating against a broken
cars and other possessions are beingsystem? We need to build an image in our
repossessed, money is being stretched so thincommunity that includes excellence, stability,
that every sacrifice is making a difference andsafety, and awareness of what is needed for the
yet many are making almost impossible sacrificessuccess of young people that will be transitioning
to continue to educate their children in a Christianinto the work force. These are your news sales
School because they believe in it, but the decisionstrategies. Use these strategies even if you put
looms every day, month and certainly froman ad in the paper or a commercial on television.
school year to school year whether they will beYou have to market your expertise, not how you
able to continue. By lowering tuition you areare like everyone else.
recognizing that these decisions are difficult andHow is this kind of image building accomplished?
you are offering relief and a reason to stay.Great news - it is not expensive, but it takes
Likewise, in a community that is desperate fortime dedicated to it for success to be realized.
answers to the ills of the public school system,Consider the following as phase one of any good
lowering tuition will encourage those who mayimage building campaign:
think that a Christian School education is financially· Create or revise your website to be THE
unattainable. You are positioning yourself to begincalling card for not only the excellence of your
to fill the empty chairs in every classroom.institution, but as the best reference for your
Second, you are creating a school environmentexpertise and knowledge. Take a look at some
with more parent buy-in and student involvementreally well developed websites for great consulting
which will act like an epidemic of good-will and helpcompanies ( is a great one as a start) and notice
to spread the news of your actions to thehow they are well organized and FULL of
surrounding community (Gladwell, 2000/2002).information that is pertinent to their area of
Consider this scenario -A Christian School doesexpertise. Model your school website after these.
some simple demographic research of its currentYou must start to think differently. · Use social
student body and the surrounding community andnetworking to connect with your families and their
based on that research, decides to cut its tuitionnetwork of friends. Set up a page for your school
by 30%. They announce it to their families andon all the various networks and use Ping.fm to
immediately they see that people are signing uppost on all of them at the same time. Use them
for next year. Soon others start to come and byto talk about why Christian schooling is a good
the grace of God your enrollment doubles. Nowdecision. Point out issues in the news about the
the school may still be facing an issue of notpublic school system (Headline - 5 children injured
making their budget, but the gap is lessened andin school shooting - this is a great opportunity for
now there are more students to help inyou to image build towards the families that are
fundraising efforts, more parent buy-in for theworried about the safety of their children - and
school as far as help around campus and more ofthey should be). Use it as a platform to talk about
a community feel for those who are attending.what the school is doing and post artwork, flyers
Not everything is financial. The reality is that yourand events to keep connected to the network. It
school feels successful and that is going to help inworks, but it takes being dedicated to it. · Publish
the long run for you to create a more financiallyarticles in your local newspapers and tabloids
secure environment. Realize that if you canabout issues surrounding schooling. If you can
survive that year, the next year will only addpublish in educational journals, then blast your
more profit to the bottom line because if tuitionpublishing successes all over the social networks.
remains low, people will stay, more will come, andYou are going to have to "toot" your own horn a
the bottom line becomes more secure.little, but people are going to pay attention to
Think about the airline industry, on any airline,expertise especially when something goes wrong
there is a set price per seat for any given flight,in the public setting.
but not everyone pays that price for their· Become a blogger - set one up and use it in
particular seat. Factors of when the ticket isconjunction with your website. You have to
bought, purchasing online, no additions or changes,become a student of how to drive traffic to your
all can add to the value or expense to thewebsite (this is called Search Engine Optimization
customer in the end. The internet is filled withor SEO). Set up e-mail lists by determining who in
travel site like Orbitz, and Priceline that offeryour community needs to know about what you
competitive pricing and packaging for those whooffer but do not know that you exist, or that it is
can plan their trip according to a relatively smallaffordable and send out high quality e-mail
numbers of factors. So when you fly on a planenewsletters. Blanket the media and other area
and you are paying full price, you were not ableoutlets with the news of your successes and
to meet those parameters. When you couple thisexpertise, not just upcoming events. The
kind of reality with the idea that everyday that acommunity will care more about what you have
seat in a classroom, (like an empty seat on ansucceeded in and they are the people you want
airplane) is empty is taking money from yourto come across your door because they are not
bottom line, you can now see the benefit and thecurrently enrolled. · Hire an outside consultant to
power of utilizing a pricing model that accounts forhelp you establish this kind of initiative. It is not
different sets of parameters, packaging, financialvery expensive and there are many who would
sliding scales, etc. Remember, the monies that arebe glad to help out a local school with their
spent on education are discretionary and so thereexpertise. You can go it alone and find success,
is a greater pressure added to those funds in lightbut with a small amount of money and little
of a worsening economy.expertise, you can really see the results more
Redefine Financial Aidquickly.
Financial aid has become such a difficult subject toThink Creatively About Everything
broach for most Christian Schools. Many times aI work with a local Christian school that has
scholarship fund has been established and there isentered a partnership with several local businesses
never enough money for the school to reallythat write grants for work and research
make that big of a difference to their bottom line.performed in a professional setting for its high
However, what if financial aid could be redefinedschool students. The students research and
and understood in a different light? Building on theproduce deliverables for the businesses and train
concept of "filling the chairs," what if our goal wasas a part of their education and in return for
to redefine financial aid to mean that tuition couldthese research and development efforts, the
be based on other mitigating factors for eachcompanies give the school a grant to fund the
individual family. For instance, what if Christ theprogram. This has virtually eliminated the need for
King Christian School lowered its tuition by 20%tuition at the high school level. This is an example
and retooled its financial aid policies so that aof some highly creative thinking that has created
sliding scale for tuition was enacted so thatan environment where finances are no longer an
families could take advantage of their currentissue. I have known of schools that accepted
position financially. What if you simply negotiatedinternational students coming to the United States
with each individual family for that they couldto study particular subjects or participate in sports
pay? In the state of Florida, there are voucherstraining and have a need to continue their
that are offered for low income families, what ifschooling and the school entered into a relationship
the Christian school accepted those monies as thewith these students and accepted them as
tuition for those students? I realize that not everystudents with tuition that reflect their international
state will have such a program, but what isstatus (in some cases it is double the regular
available for the families in your community? Howtuition) and then used the extra tuition costs to
can you leverage these opportunities for morescholarship students who could not afford to
students to attend your school? Let's go back tocome; very creative. It is time for us to wake up
our illustration above. A school has cut their tuitionand use our creativity as an asset that will help
in half and doubled the enrollment, but there areset us apart (Marx, 2006).
chairs left. Why not fill those chairs with whateverFinal Thoughts So let's get this down to earth
monies you can make available to your budget?about all of this. These theories will seem to be
Think of a rack rate on a hotel room, a price is"pie in the sky" for some and possibly earth
out there that could be charged fro that room,changing for others. However, there are those
but few are ever charged that amount. Likewise,who are reading this article and are still on the
tuition needs to be redefined in a broaderfence. So to conclude, let me offer you these
combination of terms than simply a budgetpoints to ponder. Why did your church start a
amount divided by number of students.Christian School? Think it through thoroughly. For
The reality here is that there is no risk inmost, the idea for a Christian school was birthed
accepting more money, there is a great risk infrom a love of your community and a desire to
not receiving any more money. I have presentedoffer a biblically based education and ultimately the
this scenario before to close friends of mine whohope was to win families for Christ and follow the
are in struggling schools and many of them areGreat Commission of creating disciples. At the
concerned that they will fill a chair for less tuitionvery heart of your school is a desire to love and
and miss out on an opportunity to fill that sameminister to others, and I am exhorting you to go
chair will full tuition. Airlines don't worry aboutback to that place as you consider the future. It
these discounted seats, and why should Christiansimply is not right to allow the lack of finances to
Schools. If a seat is empty fill it and make theclass people out who are passionate about
money. Here is my challenge to you - count yourChristian Education. Yet this is the very scenario
chairs. Right now, today, walk around to everythat we are facing. Remember, 2 Timothy 1:7 tells
classroom and count the chairs that are empty inus that God has not given us a spirit of fear but
each classroom and then do a simple tally onof power, of love and of a sound mind. Do not
what kind of income would be realized by havingallow the financial crisis we are facing to stifle
allowed the students that interviewed for youryour creativity - it is at the very heart of how
school but did not come due to finances to havewe were created; in the image of a fully creative
been paying you even the smallest of amountsGod who has given us the ability to hear from
(like $200 a month).Friends, we are not in a timeHim and step out of the boat and walk on the
of financial fancy anymore, the world has changedwater. We just have to be willing to face the fear
and our survival will come from doing somethingof getting wet in the face and put faith in the
different not from remaining the same.God that called us to start the school in the first
Redefine Fundraisingplace. Thinking differently will be the key that will
Fundraising campaigns have become anathema formake the difference between suffocating and
Christian schools. So many times to make up thesurviving, surviving and thriving, thriving and
difference economically, there are fundraisers thatinnovating. It will be the innovators that will always
ping the same families over and over again tryingsurvive every difficult moment, for they will
to make up the difference in a failing budget. Onedetermine what direction to travel regardless of
woman whose children attend a prominentwhat has defined the successes of the past. The
Christian school in the area recently made asuccesses of the future will always be full of risk
comment to me. She said, "If I could afford toand reward for those who are willing to hold on to
spend more money, then I could afford a greaterthe truths that never change and change the
tuition." Wow, well said. So we have to redefinemethods that have been used to get the truth to
fundraising and I believe that this is done in twothose that are in desperate need of the gift that
crucial ways. First, we need to understand thatonly God offers. This needs to be our motivation
our greatest fundraiser will come by filling theand then God can truly bless us and in the end
seats that are empty. I know that this sounds likesay to us, "Well done."
the last section, but it cannot be over emphasized(c) 2010 Oak Brook Productions, Eustis, Florida -
that every empty seat is costing your school aAll Rights Reserved References
critical amount of money that can be recoupedCashman, K. (1998). Leadership from the inside
and it is not necessarily the amount of the tuition.out: Becoming a leader for life. Minneapolis, MN:
Say that I work for a school that currently hasTCLC, LLC LeaderSource.
100 enrolled with the possibility of taking in anGladwell, M. (2002). Tipping Point: How little things
additional 50 students without adding any additionalcan make a big difference. New York: Back Bay
personnel or critical overhead. Think of it, again likeBooks. (Original work published 2000)
an airline, it costs the same to fly from Miami toLatifi, S. (2009, November 21). RTP Christian
Los Angeles regardless of the plane is full or onlyschool closing. The News & Observer Publishing
half-full. By filling those empty chairs with justCompany. Retrieved December 12, 2009, from
$2000 a student we stand to GAIN $100,000 notMarx, G. (2006). Future-focused leadership:
only to the top line but to the BOTTOM LINE ofpreparing schools, students, and communities for
the budget - -it is all profit because our expensestomorrow's realities. Alexandria, VA: Association
will not significantly change. Now which of us couldfor Supervision and Curriculum Development.