Last summer, the Chabot College Children's Center Evening Program came close to being shut down due to lack of funding. In order to break the typical mold of annual fundraising ideas (e.g., t-shirts, flower pots, and cookie sales) which give low returns, the Center hosted its first fundraising venture called "International Arts Performance…

This article outlines an approach to reducing gift officer turnover during comprehensive campaigns by investing in the human capital management (HCM) program. While many universities have begun to create HCM programs, I suggest creating a position specifically focused on the retention of gift offices to ensure that universities and non-profits can…

This historiographic essay urges a reappraisal of the revisionist view of philanthropy and African-American higher education in the nineteenth century as hegemonic by adopting agency as a theoretical framework to excavate the institutional histories and other primary sources on the northern black colleges--specifically Wilberforce University--for…

Corporate philanthropies can provide much-needed support to K-12 and postsecondary education efforts. This article analyzes whether select multi-billion dollar corporate philanthropies continue such support and adhere to best-funding practices during an economic downtown. Drawing on interview and document review data, the authors examine the…

The purpose of this study is to better understand the characteristics that lead to revenue generation in K-12 education foundations. I reviewed higher education and K-12 education fundraising research literature to identify factors that might be related to success in private revenue generation. The review revealed three key factors explored…

The purpose of this article is to identify an issue that impacts individuals and institutions on a seemingly individual basis but collectively affects numerous program participants and their communities. Specifically, this article is about the tension between the need to provide student support service programming with the need to advocate for the…

This article discusses Georgetown University's Discovery Initiative, an advancement program in which students and recent graduates meet with alumni who are not currently involved with the Washington, D.C., university. Currently, the Discovery team consists of 50 students who conduct interviews in the Washington, D.C., area during the school year…

A survey of online fundraising by the "Chronicle of Philanthropy" found that 192 nonprofit organizations raised $1.1 billion online in 2007 and $1.4 billion in 2008. Given this trend, to what extent are educational institutions using and succeeding with online fundraising? Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) explored this…

Asking constituents to rally around a cause and make stretch gifts when they're already suffering unprecedented hits to their personal finances sounds more like a fool's errand than a best practice in fundraising. The economic crisis has added a tricky new aspect to operating in campaign mode, but savvy fundraisers haven't given up, scaled back,…

The purpose of this article is to provide a better understanding of the history of fundraising in black college communities; to complicate understandings of white involvement in black college fundraising; to understand the role of fundraising, that is, fundraising for social change and social justice, during the period that followed the…

It is certainly no secret that people are living in a difficult economic climate. In these times of belt-tightening, both institutional and personal, budgets for arts education are being slashed and individual donations are plummeting. Music teachers in particular know well the impact of these developments on their programs, and they know that…

Policy discussions about funding in higher education focus primarily on revenues needed to balance budgets from year to year, rather than on how funds need to be invested to meet strategic priorities. The data in "Trends" show that the incremental approach to fundraising and spending has resulted in a slow disinvestment in core…

Doug Lederman's article, "Sports Subsidies Soar," discusses the issue on institutional subsidies for sports program. His article invites an obvious question: why are so many universities willing to subsidize athletics through either a direct transfer of institutional funds, assessing a dedicated student fee, or a combination of these? This…

Larimor University entered a relationship with a donor during a time of continuous leadership changes. The case study had many issues: questionable ethics in fundraising and donor relations, leadership failing to uphold the values by which the institution was founded, leadership transition and succession planning, ineffective management policies,…

There's an urban legend which holds that community college graduates who go on to earn degrees at other institutions develop a stronger loyalty to the college that granted their highest degree. Perpetuating this legend is a limiting belief that keeps fundraising professionals from taking necessary steps to fully develop the potential that exists…