Advice is offered for developing and strengthening college alumni special interest groups. These include setting clear guidelines; striving for membership quantity and enthusiasm; focusing on a mission; developing strong and creative leaders; sharing responsibility among staff; setting reasonable objectives; and finding financial support. (MSE)

Robert W. Woodruff's $100 million grant to the medical school at Emory University (Georgia), the largest individual gift in the history of U.S. education, was the culmination of a process in which the entire foundation was turned over to the university in 1978. The endowment is used throughout the institution for improving educational programs,…

A guide to planning college and university anniversary celebrations that attract the attention of both friends and strangers recommends creating substantive programs related to current public interest; faculty involvement; broad-based and varied programing; media participation; attention to both past and future; and adequate budget. (MSE)

As businesses reduce unrestricted giving to colleges and universities, competition for dollars has increased dramatically. Companies see giving as a way to address critical social, educational, and economic issues and also as part of their marketing strategy. To gain funding in this environment, the institution must maintain its uniqueness while…

The largest, and potentially most profitable partnership between educational institutions and the private sector is the large-scale real estate development, also know as the science park, the high-technology center, or the research and development park. Such partnerships have earned the adjective "entrepreneurial." (MLW)

The effectiveness of gift range tables for capital campaign planning is discussed. The gift range table provides a rule of thumb concerning how many gifts are needed at each range of giving to ensure a campaign's success. Feasibility studies are discussed. (MLW)

The more that is known about what appeals to alumni, nonalumni, businesses, and other types of organizations, the more institutions will know which traits to stress in fund-raising appeals. Year-to-year variations in the amounts of money given to education by different groups were studied. (MLW)

The Georgia General Assembly in 1985 set up a matching gift program called the Eminent Scholars Program in which state matches dollar for dollar the income generated from gifts given specifically to endow chairs and professorships. The program in both Georgia and Florida are described.

A planned giving recognition program lets donors know how much they are appreciated. The Forsyth Heritage Society at Texas A&M was formed in 1989 for donors who had their wills on file with the university. Recognition program descriptions include those at University of Miami, Amherst College, Dartmouth College, etc. (MLW)

Because Canadians are more fiscally conservative than Americans, a strong tradition of private support for higher education has not developed there. Wills programs are among the least labor-intensive methods of acquiring planned gifts. Life insurance policies are another route to take for planned giving. (MLW)

Through $33 million in gifts, Michael W. Louis has helped convert century-old National College of Education (Illinois) into a multicampus, nationwide university pioneering ways to make education available to working adults. The process began with a friendship between a college president with a vision and an industrial heir who appreciated it. (MSE)

Gift planning is increasing in Canada's colleges and universities to offset effects of retrenchment. New annuity vehicles and the emergence of university Crown Foundations offer tax breaks that support private giving to institutions. In addition, a simplified process for gifts is anticipated. (MSE)

A journalist's master's thesis reports a survey of 300 campus periodical editors, 300 alumni professionals, and 300 journalism educators concerning types of periodicals, common characteristics, primary funding sources, content, coverage of controversy, publication viewpoint, relative publication quality, methods of quality improvement, and goals…

Eight articles focus on capital campaigns including setting goals (D. Dalessandro), the lead gift (D. A. Campbell), motivating trustees (J. J. Ianolli, Jr.), alumni associations (W. B. Adams), role of public relations officers (R. L. Williams), special events( H.R. Gilbert), the campaign document (R. King), and case statements (D. R. Treadwell,…

Building a college's potential for a major gift requires that (1) faculty, administrators, and volunteer leaders share a strong sense of where they want the institution to go and how to take it there; and (2) the development professional communicate that vision and excitement to alumni, community, and other possible donors. (MSE)