The University of South Carolina Upstate requested permission of the USC Board of Trustees in September 2007 to undertake planning to locate its business school in downtown Spartanburg. Since that request millions of dollars in private donations have been raised, including the naming of the business school as the George Dean Johnson Jr. College of…

Economic pressure has played a role in most clashes between independent alumni associations and their college administrations. Some pros and cons of independence are provided and some events of the past few years are described. (MLW)

The experiences of three institutions (Oberlin College, Ohio; University of Nebraska; and St. Christopher's School, Virginia) illustrate how effective a carefully developed marketing scheme for planned giving can be. Staffing, budgets, average funds raised, and average deferred gifts are reported for each. (MSE)

A program that sent a fund-raising videotape to 1,500 University of Richmond alumni is described. Research had turned up affluent alumni in areas too remote for personal calls or visits by the presidents. The program was a success and proved cost-effective. (MLW)

A large number of colleges and universities now offer programs or individual courses on fund-raising and institutional advancement. A survey of academic offerings in fund-raising is discussed. (MLW)

Varied approaches taken to bringing vitality to direct mail fundraising campaigns are described for 10 institutions: Northern Arizona University, Georgetown University (District of Columbia); Miami University (Ohio), Kansas University, Pennsylvania State University, St. Ignatius High School (Ohio); Metropolitan State University (Minnesota),…

Washington College, a small liberal arts college on Maryland's Eastern Shore, revitalized its fund-raising program, adding an aggressive marketing strategy and a new emphasis on major gifts. They used a three-step process: assessed their situation, solidified their development program, and used that to support a big-gift campaign. (MLW)

Five college student foundation programs are described briefly: fund raising at the Georgia Institute of Technology; fund raising and leadership development at the University of Houston (Texas) and the University of South Florida; the Franklin College (Indiana) fund-raising challenge; and the College of William and Mary (Virginia) scholarship…

The evolution, design, and implementation of the University of Cincinnati (Ohio) Foundation's plan in the event of a disaster that would destroy its building and computer system are described. The plan focuses on rapid assessment of damage, getting the system back into working order, and recovery of any losses. (MSE)

Four basic models of the organization of college and university communications offices are described: advancement, news bureau model, agency, and marketing models. Pros and cons of each are discussed, and the structure of this function at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) is presented as an ideal…

At George Mason University (Virginia), a consulting firm designed a program to train university administrators to deal with the media effectively. On-camera simulations, followed up with practice sessions in the university's telecommunications department, were an effective method of preparing for difficult media questions. (MSE)

Older computer applications are often caught in cycles where maintenance and operation become increasingly expensive, yet replacement costs are prohibitive. Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a strategic approach toward enhancing an existing alumni/fund-raising/gifts system to extend its life and avoid the capital costs associated…

The University of Texas at Austin has established a highly successful graduate training program for community college administrators, with a high rate of participation by minorities and women. Aggressive fund raising, outreach, recruitment, leadership education, and quality faculty characterize the program. A number of distinguished administrators…

Creative approaches of four institutions to endowment fund raising are described, including incentives for endowing chairs (Cornell University, New York), endowed football team positions (University of Southern California), a federal challenge grant (Green River Community College, Washington), and financial aid endowments by alumnae (Marlborough…

This report provides a summary record of the achievements realized and the problems encountered by the nine colleges of the Los Angeles Community College District during the 1985-86 school year. First, a district overview highlights several positive and negative trends, including: (1) enrollment continued to decline, which brought the District to…