Under the direction of the campus architect, Heurista was selected to provide consultation and design for comprehensive recognition standards to guide naming opportunities and forecast plans for cumulative and planned giving for the CUAnschutz campus. This work involved a detailed audit of all university facilities, tours of the two hospitals that share the campus, visits to other local institutions and a survey of peer organizations across the country. The consultation resulted in improved processes for valuing and formalizing naming opportunities and a detailed design guide including standards for destination graphics for individual naming opportunities, grouped units for recognizing non-facility based namings, exterior sign solutions and detailed workflows for developing content.

Throughout Heurista’s decade long engagement, there have been instances for review and comment on standing policies and drafting of multiple procedures to expedite donor recognition and other donor relations tasks. Heurista has been consulted during the growth of the central donor relations team from one person to a team of six; the application of standards by various units; and staged capacity growth in the donor recognition strategy.

All donor recognition products are fabricated and installed by local suppliers and recognition content development, including graphic design and layout, has moved over time to the CUAnschutz team. Heurista remains involved in a consultative fashion, assisting in major projects and advances in program strategy.

CU Anschutz recognize major giving in three primary categories: Education, Research and Endowed Chairs. Benefactors are offered named funds which are recognized through a hierarchy of plaques reflecting gift size. These plaques are grouped by the area of support. Because new plaques are added to the displays annually, the entire system allows for rearrangement and expansion. Each of the three displays has been expanded at least once in the 10 years they have been in use.

The plaques are also cataloged in the online archive, cuanschutzrecognition.org, where the exactly position of the plaque can be identified.

Endowed faculty chairs are named through funding of $2million or more. CU Anchutz has over 200 hundred named chairs and that roster is growing by almost ten percent per year. This display is approximately 5’ tall and 60’ wide; expansion of the display is expected in the very near future.

Recognition of endowed chairs is showcased in the Anschutz Health Sciences Building, a distinctive, multipurpose facility located at the crossroads of the academic, research and patient care districts of campus. All plaques are the same size and each is accompanied by a separate nameplate listing the faculty member currently holding that chair. the plaques are grouped by area of support and can be rearranged as needed to introduce new recognition.

The digital recognition archive, cuanschutzrecognition.org, profiles each donor, maps the location of the plaques, and contains a story about the current and past holders of the endowed chair position.

At the time Heurista was first contracted, there was extreme resistance toward the naming of campus facilities. This concern stemmed from the recent relocation of all health sciences units, resulting in the decommissioning of hundreds of naming opportunities on the historic campus. Knowing that growth and change were inevitable in the early years, Heurista was asked to find alternative recognition strategies that would minimize the number of faciilty-based naming opportunities on the CU Anschutz campus.

The approach taken was two-fold. First, under the leadership of a new vice president of advancement, fundraising focused on named funds, programs and faculty positions. Secondly, with the agreement of the advancement team and campus leadership, the entry level for facility-based namings was set at ten figures or more (with limited exceptions) and required additional philanthropic service to the organization. Given the high value of facilities associated with this level of philanthropy, it is understood that only significant “destinations” will be named. Therefore, CU Anschutz refers to this type of recognition as “destination graphics,” not area naming.

The design standards for interior destination graphics is tightly regulated: a glass back panel, a white plaque with black lettering, specific types of imagery, and dimensional letters placed on the back panel, not the surrounding wall.

Lettering on buildings or signage to name buildings and are designed and implemented by the Campus Architect. Examples of exterior destination graphics, should they occur, must be approved by the Campus Architect. To date, only a handful of examples have been implemented.

The central advancement team at CU Anschutz builds and maintains an archive of recognition that includes profiles of all benefactor plaques, details on the plaques and their locations, and additonal stories of impact, including content about the holder of each endowed chair. The archive is publicly available online and can be toured at cuanschutzrecognition.org.