"Donors, who are often visionary entrepreneurs, have to be made to dream. We can't ask them for money if they don't feel there's a real project for the future that's attractive," says Luc Meureta partner in the Be the Change consulting firm. Networks of independent fundraising fundraisingbased in Paris, London and Toronto, Be the Change was founded by Jon Duschinskyformer Director of AFF (Association française des fundraisers). The firm has worked with the Institut Télécom in France, among others, and is "in talks with three French universities that are about to implement a fundraising". In an interview with AEF, Luc Meuret takes stock of the fundraising in France, how far universities still have to go when it comes to fundraising, and the best strategy they can adopt to get started. He also discusses human resources issues in this field and the role of consulting firms.

AEF : How does fundraising evolving in France?

Luc Meuret: There is a very clear incentive from the legislator to develop philanthropy, with the Tepa law and the tax advantage on wealth tax for donations, and the possibility of creating endowment funds with the LME (law on the modernization of the economy) of August 2008.

France is entering a new era of philanthropy. Old-fashioned charitable giving is tending to disappear. Today, the relationship between donor and beneficiary is more balanced: as equals, both parties "benefit" from the relationship, and the beneficiary is a stakeholder. There is also a blurred vision of the major donor. Who are they? How much do they give? Where do we find them? Alongside the old wealthy families, a new generation of philanthropists is emerging: entrepreneurs who have made their fortune in the high tech or the Internet. They have a fresh approach to philanthropy. More involved, they consider their donations as investments. They're looking for impact, a return on investment.

AEF: What's the situation in the higher education sector?

Luc Meuret: At a time when philanthropy in higher education and research is becoming increasingly globalized, the fundraising is relatively new in France. With the exception of HEC, which has a long history of fund-raising, the movement was launched in the late 1990s. L'Essec and the Catholic University of Lille were among the first to get involved. Business and engineering schools have a head start over universities, which have only been able to do so since the summer of 2007 under the LRU LAW to collect donations. The fundraising is still a sensitive issue for universities, which are at a certain disadvantage compared to schools. Schools generally already have a strong brand, with students who have a strong sense of belonging and with whom they have maintained contact through alumni associations, making it easier to approach them for fund-raising campaigns. Universities, on the other hand, lack the same esprit de corps and organized alumni networks. Some don't even have files with student contact details.

AEF: How do you see things developing?

Luc Meuret: It's going to be a long process. The mistake for universities would be to believe that they can raise large sums of money quickly. Before reaching the level of fundraising campaigns costing several hundred million dollars, with major gifts coming mainly from alumni, there's still some way to go. We don't have the same history, the same donation market, the same awareness of higher education issues among the wealthiest donors. Nevertheless, if a university is to be taken seriously by companies and donors, it must be ambitious in its projects and financial fund-raising targets. In five years' time, we'll have a good idea of the maturity of both universities and donors. Indeed, in France, donors also need to be educated: they don't have a clear strategy for their donations. That's why our firm also offers consulting services to philanthropists.

AEF: What is the role of consulting firms? How does Be the Change work?

Luc Meuret: Higher education and research account for a large part of our firm's work, particularly in the field of research and for RTRA. Our firm provides its customers with experts at every stage of their fundraisingbecause they do not require the same skills. First, we work on the vision and a market study, then we support internal teams in building the project and the offer to donors. This is change management in the true sense of the word: we have to convince all the key people in the establishment, train the management teams and recruit the internal facilitators. Finally, the campaign has to be implemented. This involves identifying and soliciting potential donors.

AEF: Do universities have to hide the fact that they've used consulting firms?

Luc Meuret: We have to stay in the background. Our job is to provide all the technical expertise to the management teams and those in charge of the project. Our role is to provide them with the expertise they need to run a successful campaign, not to do it for them. Some firms do this, but it's not a sustainable solution.

AEF : What's the best strategy for raising funds?

Luc Meuret: Institut Télécom's two-year campaign, for example, got off to a good start because the school set out with a forward-looking vision of the future. We need to inspire donors, who are often visionary entrepreneurs. You can't ask them for money if they don't feel there's a real, attractive project for the future. Donors need to feel that they are making a difference to society. They may be interested in innovation and forward-looking studies, depending on their field.

AEF : How can universities universities start?

Luc Meuret: The strength of universities lies in their ability to work across disciplines. This is what interests donors and companies today. Universities can easily promote innovative chairs. It's a very good entry point for them.

In our view, one of the main challenges facing universities is to rebuild a network of alumni and get them on board with new projects. Internet tools (social networks) make this possible. Usually, in fundraising, you build up a base of donors - at the bottom of the pyramid - who you then build loyalty with and try to increase their contributions. But to do this, you need resources and a strong brand. When you don't have either and you're starting from scratch, like the universities, it's not possible to start at the bottom of the pyramid, as it requires too much investment. So you have to start at the top and target major donors.

AEF: How do you find the specialists to do this work?

Luc Meuret: There's a major human resources problem in France. There are few fundraising experts specialized in higher education. So we have to look for resources in other fields and identify someone with the necessary skills. However, it's important to understand the complexity of the job of fundraiserWe need to be aware of the complexity of the fundraiser's job, capable of mobilizing both internal and external resources, and of driving change.