Public education funding relies on revenues from a variety of sources, from local taxpayers to federal programs targeting students with specific needs. The vast sum of funding collected--in excess of $600 billion annually--often masks which entities fund the education of our nation's youth. Questions of funding adequacy and equity across school…

A new class of financial tools is being developed to promote human capital investments that benefit society. Social innovation financing (SIF) entails raising private capital to support promising social interventions, with the expectation that those providing the funding will eventually be repaid. Funds are allocated based on service providers'…

This white paper reports on findings from the fourth survey of social media in advancement, conducted in January and February, 2013 by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Huron Education, and mStoner. The survey was taken by more than 1,000 CASE members. Featured are six case studies on the effective use of social media in…

This qualitative case study examines the importance of men's intercollegiate athletics for alumni giving at Boston College for a 10-year period, based on the perceptions of 21 Boston College administrators and alumni. This study explores how athletics at Boston College engages alumni in ways that may eventually lead to their financial support of…

Last summer, California and Massachusetts became the sixth and seventh states--along with Hawaii, New Mexico, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Maryland--to send a resolution to the U.S. Congress calling for a constitutional amendment to (1) end the court's extension of personhood rights to corporations, and (2) enable the government to definitively…

Community colleges are enjoying a rare moment in the limelight right now. But part of what is being revealed by that light is just how much scrambling two-year institutions must do to keep up with increasing demands and decreasing budgets. With the recession sending many laid-off workers back to school for job retraining, and with President Barack…

Dozens of schools are slated for aggressive interventions over the next three years under a new, multistate effort that aims to clear hurdles that have hindered previous attempts to improve underperforming schools. Education officials in Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and New York have agreed to partner with Mass Insight…

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…

American public higher education is in trouble. Besieged by declining state and Federal support for more than 30 years, public colleges and universities are facing a "game-changing" set of challenges that threaten to alter the very nature of the institutions. As two recessions withered state budgets in the first decade of the 21st…

Even in difficult economic times, colleges and universities continue to invest in residence hall construction projects as a way to attract new students and keep existing ones on campus. According to data from "American School & University"'s 20th annual Residence Hall Construction Report, the median new project completed in 2008 was…

"No education grantmaker can afford to ignore public policy. Local, state and federal policies shape the context in which we work by establishing education standards, allocating resources and setting priorities for people working in education." So begins the report on Grantmakers for Educations' 2005 Grantmakers Institute, Foundation…

Nicholas C. Donohue is the new president and CEO of the Quincy, Massachusetts-based Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the largest philanthropy in New England devoted exclusively to education. Donohue has been a classroom teacher, a university trustee, and commissioner of education for the state of New Hampshire. Most recently, he served as special…

This dialogue is based on the life and success of George Peabody and the Peabody Institute Library, Danvers, Massachusetts. The dialogue is between two researchers who have spent years studying the life of George Peabody. The script recounts the difficulties faced by the poorly educated youngster who grew to become one of the wealthiest men in the…

In February 2006, Nellie Mae Education Foundation President and Chief Executive Officer Blenda J. Wilson convened a roundtable discussion on trends in education philanthropy. Wilson's guests were Ron Ancrum, president of Associated Grant Makers, which serves grantmaking members in Massachusetts and New Hampshire; Nancy P. Roberts, president of the…

This article presents an article by William Lloyd Garrison that criticize George Peabody, his wealth, his politics, and his motives for philanthropy. The article also presents a response by Franklin Parker which defends Peabody and explains the differences between his viewpoints, motives, and actions and those of Garrison. (SM)