Working with the Office of Development and Alumni Relations (ODAR)

The purpose of the Office of Development and Alumni Relations is to foster the philanthropic health of the School and to engage alumni.

In terms of philanthropy, ODAR focuses its efforts on generating gifts for identified School funding priorities from alumni and friends, trusts and foundations and other charitable entities.

The aim of the Alumni Relations programme is to maintain and strengthen relationships with former students and friends and to engage their active support. The team are currently in contact with over 85,000 alumni.

To achieve these ends, ODAR works with the School’s academic and executive leaders to build and support the necessary organisational capacity.

Please note that within LSE:

• ODAR is predominantly responsible for soliciting and fully responsible for processing private gifts and grants from individuals and charitable foundations.
   
• RPDD (Research Project Development Division) is responsible for research grants that are typically based on a research contract and often publicly funded.
   
• CRU (Corporate Relations Unit) is responsible for developing long-term sponsorship partnerships with business organisations.

Supporting LSE

• The Campaign for LSE was completed by 31 December 2007. The Campaign was a £100 million initiative to transform the School, concentrating on the following priority areas:
   
  • Securing the future through endowment
  • Improved facilities including the New Academic Building and the Lionel Robbins Building
  • Faculty development and research
  • Student support and experience
     
• Thanks to the support of alumni, friends, trusts and foundations, corporations, parents and staff, the Campaign for LSE raised a total of £105 million, one of the largest completed campaign in the UK higher education sector to date.
   
• Whilst we have celebrated the completion of the Campaign for LSE and its achievements this is just the starting point for our long-term philanthropic objectives. We are currently building on the enthusiasm and momentum generated by the Campaign to expand our fundraising activities for the future development of LSE.

LSE’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations (ODAR)

Development

• Since 1999 ODAR has been providing LSE with a reliable and professional development function capable of meeting defined School priorities through philanthropic relationships with alumni, corporations, foundations and trusts.
   
• The School has since invested in professional development and alumni leadership; gift officers; a high quality database to manage high volume alumni and donor contacts; prospect researchers. ODAR annually solicits all LSE alumni through the ‘Annual Fund’ – an unrestricted income stream maintained by alumni telephone donations and pledges.
   
• Success is achieved with the involvement of the School’s Director, key volunteers, senior administration and academic staff. These key players are vital in setting funding priorities and for giving appropriate attention to demonstrating to donors the difference their donations can make.

Alumni Relations

• The LSE Alumni Relations programme is committed to encouraging alumni to stay in touch with the School and to engage their active support.
   
• The Alumni Relations team is in contact with over 85,000 former students.
   
• We have a programme of four alumni Reunions each year, and alumni are involved in mentoring present and past students, helping with the recruitment of prospective students and playing an active role in our alumni groups in the UK and our 80 international groups.
   
• Within the School, the Alumni Relations team supports academics departments and research centres in activities for alumni, from providing alumni data to organising large alumni conferences.
   
• Every member of the LSE's alumni community receives the LSE Magazine, as well as a wide range of benefits such as free Library membership, exclusive discounts and LSE alumni email accounts and invitations to a range of events and reunions.

Operations unit

• The Operations unit is responsible for the systems, budgets, human resources, financial reporting and performance measurement functions of the office. It maintains the School's alumni and donor database which underpins the School's entire fundraising and alumni relations efforts.
   
• The Operations unit is responsible for banking and recording all donations to LSE, and their future instalments, and ensuring these reach their designated purposes, obtaining gift aid for all appropriate gifts and providing recognition for all donors. No gifts or pledges are entered into the gift recording modules of the database without following documented procedures. The School's Internal Auditor verifies these processes annually.

ODAR in North America

• The LSE Foundation Inc and The LSE Centennial Fund are located in New York. The LSE Foundation is a subsidiary of LSE dedicated to developing relationships with US and Canadian alumni, friends, foundations and corporations.
   
• The LSE Centennial Fund ensures the tax deductible status of gifts from US donors. Such gifts must go through the US Office and not directly through the School.
   
• The London office should be first port of call for Heads of Department looking to link with US or Canadian alumni and foundations etc.

ODAR in the rest of the World

• ODAR is in touch with alumni in over 160 countries worldwide through our communications and events programmes. Please get in touch with ODAR if you have forthcoming travel plans for the School and you would be willing to talk to our international alumni groups during your visit. A limited amount of support is available, particularly for accommodation, for academics who are willing to talk to our international groups.

A Head of Department’s Relationship with ODAR

• ODAR can provide accurate contact information to departments who wish to mail or email alumni with any information or initiatives they have produced. ODAR’s database team can also best manage data collected by the academic department in our alumni database. To comply with data protection, departments must first complete a database request form when seeking data from ODAR.
   
• ODAR would ask that Heads of Department seeking philanthropic investment for their departments, first work with ODAR to develop a convincing case for support and secondly be prepared for a process of relationship building that will yield success over years, as opposed to months. In this way, ODAR will also be able to take the administration burden from the department and ensure that LSE has a central record of donors and donations to the School.
   
• Departments should not launch mass solicitations of their entire alumni body.
   
• Departmental donors will also be appropriately recognised by the School through ODAR’s stewardship programme in addition to departmental activities.

Contact Us

If you are interested in learning more about ODAR and how philanthropy or alumni relations might make a difference in your department, please contact the relevant member of staff:

Development and Fundraising

Mary Blair, Director of Development – contact details 020 7955 3634 m.blair@lse.ac.uk 
Rachel Jones, Head of Individual Giving – contact details 020 7955 7449 r.h.s.jones@lse.ac.uk

Alumni Relations

Charlotte Armah, Head of Alumni Relations – contact details 020 7955 7052 c.armah@lse.ac.uk
Nat Holtham, Deputy Head of Alumni Relations – contact details 020 7955 6756 n.holtham@lse.ac.uk 

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