Ten years ago, MDC's report, "The State of the South 2007: Philanthropy as the South's 'Passing Gear,'" (ED519455) examined how philanthropy can accelerate progress toward a South that is both equitable for all its residents and competitive with other regions of the country. A decade later, our second iteration, commissioned by the…

Once a beacon of hope for thousands of Black students denied access to higher education by predominantly White institutions, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have educated generations of Black scientists, doctors, lawyers, educators and social activists. But today, these institutions face serious challenges. Questions of…

The changes and uncertainty people have seen in the economy over the past 20 months have created a paradigm shift in fundraising. This has certainly been the case at Holy Cross, a Jesuit liberal arts college of 2,900 students in Massachusetts, as it has been forced to rethink its strategies and adapt in creative ways to the new reality. Other…

The $5.7-billion endowment at Washington University in St. Louis is a nest egg that makes a lot of things possible. Endowment proceeds begat the whimsical, stainless-steel spherical sculpture now hanging in the lobby of the sleek new art museum, which gives off a fun-house mirror effect from below; the sprawling collection of books on the Third…

This white paper presents a case history of the Spelman College endowment and how good financial management and alternative strategies for the growth of the endowment has made Spelman's one of the largest among U.S. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). How has Spelman College been able to grow its endowment funds to this level? A…