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Empowering Educational Excellence by Transforming Abu Dhabi's Academic Landscape

The client sought to understand the fundraising landscape for launching an MBA program in Abu Dhabi in partnership with a globally recognized Ivy League business school.

Industry
Education · Public Sector
Region
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Duration
6–7 months
Ivy League MBA Fundraising

The challenge

Comprehend the fundraising landscape to support the launch of an MBA program in Abu Dhabi in partnership with a globally recognized Ivy League business school.

How we delivered

The approach

  1. 01

    Needs assessment and fundraising targets

    • Assessed funding gaps over 10 years and set aspirational targets.
    • Benchmarked methods to bridge the gap, recommending multi-year contracts with annual disbursements.
    • Developed donor profiles by effort, leadership involvement, and offer flexibility.
  2. 02

    Benefits framework for donors

    • Curated tangible and non-tangible donor benefits - brand uplift, networking, talent access.
    • Quantified the total value of benefits and defined bespoke mixes per partnership tier.
  3. 03

    Donor filtration and shortlisting

    • Used a two-stage filtration process to shortlist donors from local and global markets.
  4. 04

    Outreach and advisory board

    • Defined guiding principles for donor approaches emphasizing leadership buy-in.
    • Developed a fundraising timeline, milestones, and an Advisory Board recruitment strategy.
Outcome

The result

Supported the establishment of an Ivy League business school in the Middle East, with a long-term financial plan for the elite program.

10
year funding-gap horizon assessed

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Ivy League MBA Fundraising