Setting Goals, Securing Resources

Ricky Cheng leads a discussion on fundraising for higher education.

Ricky Cheng leads a discussion on fundraising for higher education.

Asia’s college and universities face wide-ranging challenges: the need to modernize campuses, adapt to changing demographics, introduce a student-centered pedagogy, strengthen the credentials of faculty, expand international linkages, and numerous other issues. Effective responses require a strategic vision, support from multiple departments, and, of course, sufficient financial resources to achieve ambitious goals.

The United Board’s Strategic Planning and Resource Development (SPRD) Program helps college and university administrators take stock of their needs, identify potential resources, and develop a plan to realize their goals. The inaugural SPRD workshop, held in Hong Kong in April 2014, attracted leaders of 28 higher education institutions from nine Asian countries and regions. More recently, workshops have been held in Taiwan and India that highlighted issues specific to those societies.

Participants at SPRD workshops learn how to make the case for financial support to potential funders. They are introduced to ways to build alumni giving programs and identify local resources for their institutions. These workshops also highlight funding opportunities associated with the American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) program of the U.S. Agency for International Development. (For more information on ASHA, click here.)

In addition, United Board Executive Vice President Ricky Cheng often is a featured speaker on fundraising and institutional advancement topics at colleges and universities in the United Board’s network.

Read More
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The Gift of Education: Interview with Ricky Cheng