The new strategic paradigm of resource development described in this paper recognizes that there are a number of important resources, in addition to financial ones, that are important to support the mission and to achieve the vision of a nonprofit organization, such as a college or university. It acknowledges and utilizes board members, with…

An institutional development audit is a comprehensive evaluation of a program, its operations, and its people. Information is analyzed to assess: institutional mission, personnel and organizational structure, financial resources, program management, communication, and overall program effectiveness and efficiency. (MLW)

An actual case of successful university gift solicitation is chronicled from beginning to end, including identifying the prospect, doing appropriate research, setting a strategy, involving the prospect, making the request, closing the solicitation, and following up. Persistence and good communication skills were keys to success. (MSE)

Flexible endowments are a form of planned giving agreement letting highly motivated donors give endowment-level funding to colleges and universities before they are able to make an outright gift. The donor commits to giving the institution the amount of money an endowment would have generated each year until the endowment principle is fully…

The first chapter of this monograph presents some major themes and fundamental issues surrounding leisure activities volunteers and their management from a system perspective. Chapter 2 discusses the results of a survey conducted to obtain a status report of selected volunteer system characteristics. The third chapter focuses on dealing with…

The job of a college or university planned-giving officer is to seek gifts that the college will receive after the donor's death. It requires substantial interpersonal skills, legal and financial knowledge, and understanding of donor attitudes. While dealing with potential donors requires great tact, the gifts are often substantial. (MSE)

Technological advances can be very helpful in managing college development functions, including organizing information on prospective individual and group donors, managing development staff, and precise and complex recordkeeping. Continued user demands promise to spur development of further program management techniques and tools. (MSE)

Statistical modeling provides a method for colleges to use alumni-development information to create an equation predicting who is likely to respond positively to fund-raising appeals. This can make fund raising more cost-effective, provide higher returns on minimal investment, provide results quickly, and improve competitiveness. Resources…

Donor recognition societies, or gift clubs, are used by colleges and universities to thank and encourage donors. For such giving mechanisms to fulfill their potential, they must be carefully planned and administered. Issues to consider include setting gift levels based on institutional goals, establishing rules for counting eligible gifts, and…

Increasingly, in response to donor concerns, college fund raisers are purging from their files donor information that is not directly related to gifts and may be sensitive if released under subpoena for probate court or open-records laws. In some cases, the reduction in information makes fund raising more difficult. (MSE)

Five college presidents who were previously development officers tell what they have learned about the roles, including the importance of maintaining a vision for the campus; pressure on a college president to succeed in many areas and difficulty of scheduling; and the crucial role of mutual support in the development effort. (MSE)

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (New York) has coordinated a comprehensive fund-raising campaign with special emphasis on several regions of the country. Each regional component is a miniature of the overall campaign. Planning strategies include regional analysis, adaptation of the usual development resources, volunteers and staffing, good…

This report reviews the financial history of one successful school health center, Commerce City Community Health Services (CHS), in Commerce City, Colorado. The report reviews the center's 20-year history to provide an example of how often and how notably a center's sources of financial support can change over years of operation. The story of…

Reasons for increasing fund-raising efforts among Australian colleges and universities are outlined. Theories of fund-raising are contrasted with current practice, and a model is developed that includes specific suggestions and considerations for administrators in planning an advancement program. (MSE)

Anecdotes about fund-raising from the experiences of a variety of institutions reveals that communications problems, in various forms, are at the heart of many fund-raising problems. Among the ideas presented are the use of large donors to solicit other donations, trustee assistance, persistence in asking support, and alumni matching funds. (MSE)