Possible changes in U.S. Postal Service rates and services, resulting from a planned restructuring, are discussed. College administrators are encouraged to review mail class use, available discounts, and even the design and quantity of materials mailed out. (MSE)

College and university fund raisers are offered three recommendations for targeting the best donors: (1) make effective use of indexes and directories, electronic or manual, to match foundation and college interests; (2) narrow the pool to true prospects; and (3) make preproposal contact geared to the foundation's style or organization. (MSE)

Advice is offered for making college alumni reunions fun and memorable, illustrated with anecdotes from various institutions. Suggestions include exciting opening activities, focusing on the particular habits or characteristics of a class, appealing to a variety of tastes, emphasizing class identity, savoring favorite campus traditions, and…

Directors of small public relations shops were queried on how they have cut out unproductve work. Some time-wasters include: long committee meetings, telephones, outside services, things that require big effort for little reward, interruptions, junk mail, typewriters, etc. (MLW)

Planning can help college public relations officials make the most of their time and energy. One approach includes reviewing institutional mission and strategic plan; setting department goals; identifying and targeting audiences; establishing interdepartmental links; and setting out action, crisis, budget, and evaluation plans in writing. (MSE)

It is proposed that online searching of fee-based search services offers institutional advancement professionals an efficient and often cost-effective method for researching donor prospects. Strategies for streamlining in-house online searching and for using vendor services effectively are outlined, and a number of databases and other useful…

Practical time management and task management advice is offered to small college communications office personnel. Workers must know how to establish priorities and stick to them, what their limits are and how to leverage time, how to promote themselves and their work, when to tap outside resources, and how to network. (MSE)

Seven personality types, and corresponding work styles, are described and ways to foster their creativity in the context of the college/university advancement office are suggested. Managers are urged to lead staff members to develop talents, allow them to do so, and help them move to the next level of achievement. (MSE)

Thirty-four suggestions for making college fund raising more effective are offered. The ideas focus on conserving what you have, getting and keeping extra income; finding creative donations; cutting travel and printing costs; bargaining with suppliers; using telephone, mail, and fax effectively; using creative staffing; and monitoring resource…

College and university professionals in publications and public relations recount how they have effectively coped with significant budgetary setbacks. Strategies include more careful and cost-conscious planning, staff reorganization, and reductions in printing and mailing costs. (MSE)

Organizers of auctions, fairs, rummage sales, and other fund-raising events at schools and colleges offer suggestions for making sales run smoothly, avoiding burnout, and complying with the law. These include ideas for improving efficiency, using volunteers effectively, making changes to accommodate new situations and conditions, and addressing…

Guidelines for college publications professionals seeking to improve their productivity include these: set priorities; consider the consequences of each project; spend minimal time on trivial tasks; focus on your goal; identify the slowest task, which may limit a project's effectiveness; make appointments; avoid taking work home; and schedule…

Fourteen principles for successful operation of a small collegiate alumni program are presented. They address such issues as planning, setting priorities, making decisions, routinizing procedures, using technology, creating a climate for cooperation and productivity, getting volunteers, keeping staff longer, and maintaining a balance between…

A university president outlines basic rules for chief development officers to work effectively with the institution's leader. Desirable qualities include loyalty, honesty, shared enthusiasm, assertiveness, efficiency, ability to provide support, good program management, ability to work alone as well as with the president, good focus, and…

Colleagues of the late Virginia Carter Smith, former communications vice president of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), comment on her special qualities and contributions to the organization and its administration. (MSE)