A training manual for volunteer fund-raisers is presented. The technique of soliciting is described and an interview with top volunteer Jerome Stone on fund-raising is included (MLW)

A strategy for seeking grants from major foundations is presented. A five-step process includes: preparation, identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. A grant from one of the private foundations in the country brings not only cash but also important national visibility to a campus. (MLW)

Gift clubs at significant levels give donors a reason to make significant gifts. Mega-gift clubs succeed for four reasons: they are an attractive way to recognize donors, clubs give donors who are ready and willing an opportunity to give, they offer status, and they provide donors with tax deductions. (MLW)

Offers guidelines for creating a strategic plan for a college or university's annual fund. Identifies benefits of strategic planning and describes six planning approaches using examples from various institutions. Two planning prototypes, from McKendree College (Illinois) and the University of Southern California, are included. (DB)

Guidelines for conducting an annual fund at colleges and universities stress the importance of aggregate donor behavior and donor value, rather than solicitation technique, in driving strategic planning and goal-setting. Suggests fund raisers track three measures of donor participation: donor retention, lapsed donor reactivation, and new donor…

Washington College, a small liberal arts college on Maryland's Eastern Shore, revitalized its fund-raising program, adding an aggressive marketing strategy and a new emphasis on major gifts. They used a three-step process: assessed their situation, solidified their development program, and used that to support a big-gift campaign. (MLW)

Revised Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) standards for reporting college and university fund-raising income take effect in July 1997. Some of the changes affect what front-line fund raisers say to donors and what they ask them to sign. The major change is to present-value calculation of gifts, critical in reporting planned…

To flourish, every college endowment needs a comprehensive investment and management plan. The institution must have specific strategies and targets for (1) raising more funds; (2) investing for growth, not just income; (3) determining the spending rate; and (4) transferring part of yearly surplus into endowment. Trustees must take time to…

As the battle over college and university tax-exempt status escalates, institutional public relations officers are offered advice for making their case for tax-exemption without alienating the community, including: getting facts straight; communicating internally first; going to the source of criticism; illustrating economic and nonmonetary…