Bit by byte, a new day is dawning in educational advancement. Fading fast is the era dominated by viewbooks, alumni magazines, and campaign brochures. Technology is reshaping the way colleges and universities teach students, communicate with constituents, relate to alumni, and appeal to donors. The way constituents communicate with each other is…

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…

Although fundraising is not necessarily a natural activity for those trained and serving in student affairs functions, it is activity to which those in the field may have to grow accustomed. Fundraising on behalf of student affairs needs to be undertaken with a widely understood process and clearly articulated goals. When student affairs staff…

The atmosphere of monetary support for the community college and the community college president has changed. State funding and tuition have always been the primary sources of revenue at public higher education institutions. Unfortunately, tightening state budgets have led to a decrease in state financial support adding to the need to find…

For most institutions, the budget pain will get worse before it gets better--if it gets better. Budget constraints have become the norm in virtually every state. In prior recessions, advancement offices tended to view downturns as bumps in the road to be negotiated before returning to business as usual. But the current troubles could signal a…

In January, when Dr. Teresa Sullivan became the first woman selected to become president of the University of Virginia, expectations were that the noted sociology professor and provost and executive vice president for student affairs of the University of Michigan would ease into her job in bucolic Charlottesville. When she took over in August,…

In challenging economic times, student affairs administrators need to employ creative tactics seeking fiscal resources for their efforts to support student learning and student services. The cost of higher education has increased as government support wanes. Transferring the cost to students and their families is often unworkable and can put…

Using three waves of the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study, a module of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, fielded by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, we examine characteristics of donors who gave to any level of education in each of the years studied (2000, 2002 and 2004). We find that these persistent donors to…

Institutionally related foundations have played a vital role in raising and managing private resources in support of public institutions of higher education. Unlike private grant-making foundations, college and university foundations are typically incorporated as public charities under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Although they…

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the annual revenue received by United States public Community College Foundations from 2008-2009 in relation to selected variables associated in the literature with successful foundation performance. This study also collected longitudinal data by replicating and expanding upon a similar study…

This project explores why non-donors do not give to their alma mater by interviewing 12 non-donors for an in-depth examination of their decision-making processes. The Van Slyke and Brooks (2005) model of alumni giving provides the conceptual framework. This study concludes that where donors and non-donors differ is in the ways in which they…

The economic debacle of September 2008 left in its wake major economic losses at both corporate and personal finance levels. Equally disturbing, a looming economic uncertainty ensures this: fund-raisers will need to work even harder and smarter to capture dollars. Although higher-education institutions have a track record of weathering these…

Charter schools have been studied from numerous perspectives. One topic that remains under-researched, however, is charter school leadership. Therefore, we examine how charter administrators define their leadership roles and their ability to lead. Results indicate that charter principals see three primary functions in their leadership--building…

Community colleges are facing record enrollments and declining state and local funding, and many leaders of these institutions see increasing private support as critical for colleges. In 2010 the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) conducted a national survey of community college foundations. The survey, drafted with the…

Integration of alumni relations and development is vital to institutions. In this article, the author talks about integration and focuses on the functions of alumni relations and fundraising, and the symbiotic relationship between them. He suggests that the best alumni relations officers understand the direct relationship of their work to resource…