Revised Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) standards for reporting college and university fund-raising income take effect in July 1997. Some of the changes affect what front-line fund raisers say to donors and what they ask them to sign. The major change is to present-value calculation of gifts, critical in reporting planned…

An endowed chair that is not carefully conceived and fully funded can create problems for institutions of higher education. A well-thought-out policy should guide staff, faculty, and donors concerning level of positions available, minimum donations for each, and titles. Minimum funding figures should be based on predicted endowment income.…