Sharply reduced tax benefits of some gifts of appreciated property, especially works of art, have college officials worried that their collections at campus museums and galleries will suffer. John Whitney Payson's decision to sell Van Gogh's "Irises," on loan to Westbrook College, is described. (MLW)

The American Indian College Fund has begun its first nationwide appeal for private donations, part of a 5-year effort to build a $10 million endowment for scholarships at 26 tribal colleges and to increase awareness of the colleges' existence. Foundations and corporations are responding. Sensitivity about the history and image of Indians has…