Difficulties in paying for college and in maintaining good academic performance are two major hurdles to college graduation for low-income students. In recent years, state and federal budgets for postsecondary education have been cut significantly, limiting the options policymakers, education leaders, and communities have to improve rates of…

"A Guide to Fundraising at Historically Black Colleges and Universities" is a comprehensive, research-based work that brings the best practices and expertise of seminal professionals to the larger Black college environment and beyond. Drawing on data-driven advice from interviews with successful Black college fundraisers and private sector…

Developing a timetable for a college fund-raising campaign may be critical to success. Planning involves deciding what tasks to include, how to prioritize and schedule them, and how much time to allot, based on task requirements, institutional size/complexity, experience. Other factors include campus climate, board style, systems readiness, and…

Guidelines are presented for planning and financing European study tours at the community college level. First, a rationale for incorporating study tours of Europe within the community college curriculum is presented and the benefits of such tours in providing students with experiences they could not normally have are outlined. Next, the paper…

The challenge for fund raising for fine arts programs is to draw the needed donors from the general community. More and more institutions are showing off their institutions' cultural achievements and attracting recognition for them. (MSE)

This publication contains 15 papers concerned with the establishment at colleges and universities of new major gift programs or the improvement of existing programs. The papers, all by development professionals in higher education, are as follows: (1) "An Introduction to the Major Gift Process" (Jon Cosovich); (2) "Strategic…

This article offers suggestions for and examples of fundraising activities for community-based education programs. Topics addressed include: (1) the importance of fundraising and the advantages of being self-sufficient; (2) recommendations on planning fundraising activities and on planning campaigns to publicize the activities; and (3) approaches…

Developmental professions outline the steps and key concepts in the planning and evaluation of fund-raising goals and of the potential to obtain gift support for them. (Author)

Some barriers to fund-raising productivity are identified. A checklist of characteristics of an ideal development program drawn up by a panel of nationally recognized experts was included in a questionnaire sent to participating campuses. (MLW)

This article presents five basic guidelines for initiating a successful alumni merchandising program: (1) shop around for the best vendor; (2) decide what to sell; (3) manage merchandise properly; (4) watch out for risky business; and (5) get what you pay for. (MDM)

The president of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education talks about why college advancement officers need to rethink, restructure, and communicate better about their fund-raising campaigns, in light of public perceptions that the institutions are greedy and not managing resources efficiently. Emphasis is on carefully defining…

An estate planning seminar is a personal and cost-effective tool for alerting college constituents to a financial opportunity. Such seminars are not hard to coordinate, are a service to alumni and friends, and may bring long-term benefits to college and participants. Experiences at a number of colleges illustrate diverse approaches. (MSE)

Discusses the importance for camp development efforts of collaboration between the camp's chief administrative officer (CAO) and development director. Describes qualities of an effective development director; where and how to begin the search for a development director; and the importance of retaining an effective development director in meeting…

Basic principles of designing a reunion gift program include beginning small, researching class prospects, gathering volunteers, determining the financial goal, communicating needs and intentions, organizing volunteers, advertising well, and making the donation at the reunion a major event. More ambitious plans can be tied into the program later.…

A step-by-step guide to the selection of a microcomputer system is provided for educators having made the decision to implement computer-assisted instruction. The first step is to clarify reasons for using a microcomputer rather than conventional instructional materials. Next, the degree of use (e.g., types of courses and number of departments…