Straightforward application of simple economic concepts can explain relationships between expenditures and gift revenues, including those related to predisposition and capacity, and has practical applications in interpreting costs. (Author/MSE)

Striving for a standardized alumni research terminology should parallel future research efforts in such areas as measurement of donor potential, modeling alumni giving patterns, and examination of involvement in alumni activities. A taxonomy and a strategy for achieving standardization are described. (MLW)

Developmental professions outline the steps and key concepts in the planning and evaluation of fund-raising goals and of the potential to obtain gift support for them. (Author)

Experienced fund-raisers identify a variety of nontraditional sources of funds and unconventional approaches to fund-raising, and explore ways of measuring an institution's success with them. (Author/MSE)

Investigated why private research universities differ in the sources and uses of their annual giving using data from 74 private universities and a subset of 29 private universities. Findings identify some factors that determine giving, but models could explain only part of the differences in funding from different sources. (SLD)

Both routine monitoring reports and special studies contribute to effective fund-raising efforts and the provision of services to alumni of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A long-range strategy committee was established to determine market-research needs and approaches and to establish long-term alumni-relations priorities. The alumni…

A taxonomy of developmental planning considerations and corresponding areas in which institutional researchers and developmental professionals can collaborate to assess and improve fund-raising activities is presented. (MSE)

Using empirical research methods to segment alumni markets, profile donors, prioritize prospects, and project realistic budgets becomes more important as fundraising goals expand. Projecting alumni growth and its impact on program and budget planning, profiling donors and nondonors, and ranking prospects are discussed. (MLW)

Evaluates the success of the Cornell Tradition Program, designed to encourage current undergraduate aid recipients to give back to the university after graduation. Results indicate institutional efforts can have a positive impact on the long-term giving behavior of alumni. The Input-Commitment-Environment-Output model used shows promise as a tool…

This paper focuses on key strategic decisions taken at Tufts University (Massachusetts) under President Jean Mayer noting the role of formal planning and institutional research. Initiatives in the following areas are described: the School of Veterinary Medicine, nutrition, environmental management, entrepreneurial liberation, fund raising, and a…

A review of some alumni research conducted at Stanford University (California) and the ways the findings have been used indicates the range of development and alumni-relations issues for which market research can be valuable. It also demonstrates the value of ongoing, rather than occasional, research. (Author/MSE)

Comparing an institution's fund-raising cash proceeds with other institutions' is straightforward, using readily available data. However, measuring fund-raising productivity requires care in defining related expenses and resulting fund-raising achievements. Simplifying assumptions can be helpful. (Author/MSE)

Graphics, survey research, and multivariate statistical techniques were applied at a private liberal arts college to help development professionals better understand and predict alumni giving behavior, on both an aggregate and an individual basis. (Author)

Alumni research does not yet have its own body of literature and resources. Readings are selected from related areas, such as fundraising, marketing, survey research, and other resource books. (MLW)

Although different in nature from academic activities, college fund raising also requires planning and management. To develop more responsive executive information systems, development officers must take the lead, ask the right questions, and work closely with campus institutional researchers, registrars, enrollment managers, and computer…