The active participation of alumni is necessary for the long-term health of institutions of higher education. Alumni contribute financially to higher education institutions by sharing their time and talents. Recently, a small private University in Macao initiated an alumni mentoring pilot program to engage alumni. However, it is unclear what the…

An estate planning seminar is a personal and cost-effective tool for alerting college constituents to a financial opportunity. Such seminars are not hard to coordinate, are a service to alumni and friends, and may bring long-term benefits to college and participants. Experiences at a number of colleges illustrate diverse approaches. (MSE)

College programs targeting parents as potential donors are discussed. Factors to be considered in program development, such as finding the right constituency, approaching them, program budgeting, and incorporating the program into others, are examined. Benefits of such programs are seen as substantial. (MSE)

Trends in college fund raising are identified in three areas: (1) in campaign design, goals are bigger and campaigns longer; (2) demographics of donors and volunteers have changed, with donors more skeptical, less generous, and harder to find and volunteers more scarce; and (3) government and corporate contributions are critical. (MSE)

Ideas are offered for targeting groups in college and university fund raising, including reunion class giving, using volunteers, soliciting parent giving, asking faculty and staff to give, and helping students establish an early giving habit. Specific solicitation strategies are provided for each group. (MSE)

Advice for the college scholarship administrator in dealing with donors include conveying clear policies, avoiding restrictions, setting minimum endowment levels, educating estate professionals, publicizing scholarships, and having donors meet recipients. Suggestions for handling internal tasks include simplified administration, clear fees policy,…

A survey of alumnae of three Catholic liberal arts colleges investigated applicability of a theoretical model proposing that selected demographic, background, and opinion variables would affect alumnae giving. Results indicate that most of the demographic/background variables studied had only weak to moderate correlation with giving patterns.…

A study of the fund raising program design aspects commonly considered important in fund raising success and the strength of these aspects in institutions with various levels of fund-raising success is reported. The 398 institutions studied include public and private research universities, public and private doctoral universities, public…