Ten steps to planning a marketing strategy to increase endowments are identified: conditions of fund, ways to establish funds, guidelines for funds, good business practices, enduring nature for fund, recognition of donors, corporations, periodic reports to donors, etc. (MLW)

Church-related institutions can be successful at fund raising both inside and outside the church, but using denominational affiliation as an excuse for failure must be eliminated. The ideals and people that make a church-related college unique must be emphasized. (MLW)

Provides advice on how to instill the giving habit in recent graduates and how to encourage them to take an active part in alumni issues. Development officers need to keep track of recent alumni, use telephone and electronic mail rather than letters to contact young alumni, and develop special programs to encourage giving by recent graduates. (MDM)

Four major trends in corporate funding that may be seen as problems for higher education are outlined. Trends include corporate downsizing, decreased corporate giving, fewer one-time gifts, and increased emphasis on elementary secondary education. Specific examples are given of institutions turning these potentially negative trends into…

Arguments for and against formal alumni chapters are outlined. Pros include increased membership, better leadership, and strengthened development potential; cost effectiveness is possible. Cons include direct and indirect costs; informal alumni structures are seen as equally effective. (MSE)

Parents can offer a college time, loyalty, and money. Leading roles currently played by parents in campus programs include recruiter, career counselor, political supporter, and fundraiser. Keeping track of parents, organizing and orienting them as volunteers, funding the programs, and assessing the efforts' effectiveness are important elements.…

Business researchers and marketers find certain databases useful for finding information on investments, competitors, products, and markets. Colleges can use these same databases to get background on corporate prospects. The largest data source available, DIALOG Information Services and some other databases are described. (MLW)

By combining phonathons with direct mail, colleges can make their solicitation more personal and more effective. The use of student callers is advocated, and the use of the telephone-direct mail program by St. Louis University is described.

A campaign to create an endowed chair in surgery for the Vanderbilt University Medical Center is described. More than $1.1 million was raised in less than six months for the chair, and a new set of prospective donors was found. (MLW)

Doane College used church connections to bring its message to corporations. Doane's success was attributed to a careful assessment, a small but influential group of solicitors, and a strategic approach that suited the staff, the budget, and church affiliation. (MLW)

Scientific research on development in higher education is limited and fragmented. Fund-raising research has provided information on whether a winning football team helps raise outside support, donor behavior, how much institutions spend on fund raising, major ethical issues fund raisers face, etc. (MLW)

For those who run successful senior gift programs, the gift totals should be just the beginning. Others need to be challenged to donate even more. Other constituencies include parents, faculty, underclassmen, young alumni, and corporations. (MLW)

Information--who your prospects are, what they're interested in, who can best reach them, and what they're capable of giving--is the key to big gifts to institutions of higher education. Prospect research means digging into the personal and financial backgrounds of your donors. Professionals offer advice for drawing up ethical research and privacy…

Three dissertations are discussed: "Fund-raising from Private Sources in Public Community Colleges Using Not-for-profit Foundation Boards" (Carolyn Hunter); "Personality Traits of Effective Resource Development Officers in Two-year Colleges" (Raymond Taylor); and "The Relationship of Selected Institutional and Personal Characteristics to the…

Common assumptions about college and university fund raising in foreign countries are examined, focusing on four constituencies: alumni, parents, corporations, and high-stakes donors. Personal experiences of several fund-raising professionals suggest that each assumption is true in some, but not all, cases. (MSE)