EDUCATION · ORG DEVELOPMENT · ANNUAL CAMPAIGN
YSC Academy
$50K to $2.1M. A school transformed by dedication to infrastructure and process.
$2.1M
RAISED IN 18 MONTHS
12x
ROC®
2,100%
YoY INCREASE
1st
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
01
The opportunity
A school unlike any other — with fundraising challenges to match.
YSC Academy is a unique institution: a fully accredited independent school built around the Philadelphia Union MLS youth soccer academy. With approximately 85% of student-athletes receiving need-based financial aid, YSC faced a fundraising challenge most schools never encounter — no alumni base, a four-year-old institution, and a student body whose families were themselves recipients of financial support rather than potential major donors.
YSC had worked with consulting firms before finding COGEO. The first firm they hired brought traditional independent school fundraising strategies that simply didn't fit an organization with YSC's unique profile. When YSC engaged COGEO in early 2016, they were raising $50,000 annually and looking for a partner who understood their situation — not one who would apply a generic playbook to an organization that needed something entirely different.
COGEO recognized the opportunity immediately.
02
What COGEO did
Built the infrastructure, the program, and the team — then handed them the keys.
COGEO recognized immediately that YSC needed a complete development buildout — not just a campaign strategy. Over an 18-month engagement, COGEO transformed every aspect of YSC's advancement operation simultaneously.
Built the case statement and CRM foundation
COGEO developed YSC's first formal case statement — articulating the school's unique dual mission of academic and athletic excellence in a way that resonated with foundations, corporations, and individual donors. Simultaneously, COGEO installed and configured YSC's donor management infrastructure — organizing all existing relationships and building the data foundation for every future development effort.
Launched a major gifts program and activated Pennsylvania's EITC program
COGEO identified and cultivated YSC's closest relationships, coaching school leadership through their first major gift asks with confidence and clarity. COGEO also researched and initiated relationships with qualifying Pennsylvania corporations, unlocking the state's Educational Improvement Tax Credit program — a significant new funding stream that YSC had never accessed before.
Built foundation outreach and designed three signature events
Given YSC's unique profile — academic excellence, athletic development, and socioeconomic inclusion — COGEO identified the school as an exceptionally strong foundation prospect and built a targeted outreach program accordingly. COGEO also designed and executed YSC's first three signature events: an open house for parents and prospective families, a young adult cultivation event, and a private major donor cultivation evening — each built to become an annual fixture in the school's development calendar.
Placed YSC's first Director of Development
As the development program grew, YSC quickly outgrew the part-time internal resource it had allocated to work alongside COGEO. Recognizing that the school needed dedicated advancement leadership to sustain what had been built, COGEO conducted an executive search and placed YSC's first Director of Development — the hire that would carry everything forward long after the engagement concluded.
03
The outcome
From $50K to $2.1M in 18 months. The infrastructure that made it possible is still running.
$2.1M
RAISED IN 18 MONTHS
12x
RETURN ON CONTRIBUTION®
2,100%
YoY Increase
1st
DoD Placed
By the end of the engagement YSC Academy had raised $2.1 million — a 2,100% increase over their $50,000 starting point. Every revenue stream COGEO built contributed: the major gifts program, the Pennsylvania EITC corporate program, the foundation outreach, and the three signature events all fired simultaneously and compounded.
The Director of Development COGEO placed is now running a development program that YSC could never have sustained without the infrastructure built during the engagement. The case statement, the CRM, the donor relationships, and the institutional knowledge are all still working — long after COGEO stepped back. What started as a school with very little outside philanthropic history is now a school with a permanent culture of giving that grows every year.
CAMPAIGN MATERIALS
Campaign Case Statement
Download the YSC Academy case statement — the document that launched a $2.1M development program from a standing start.
MORE WORK
ADVOCACY · ANNUAL CAMPAIGN
EMPOWER ME ACADEMY
EDUCATION · ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
FRENCH AMERICAN SCHOOL OF THE PUGET SOUND
SPORTS · STRATEGIC PLANNING
MINNESOTA THUNDER ACADEMY
