Institutional advancement as a profession has not put enough emphasis on formal research. Research helps to analyze media, define audiences, and target publications, as well as help in conducting long-range planning, marketing programs, and fund-raising campaigns. (MLW)

The college development office must treat major gift prospects as they would regular major donors, involving the president, providing broader and deeper cultivation, and consistently personalizing the process. The process is a long-term one and requires planning. The principal gifts manager optimally handles no more than 50 prospects. (MSE)

Discusses approaches to relations with college/university alumni members of fraternities and sororities in the context of widely reported incidents of serious accidents, hazing, and alcohol abuse. Offers examples of ways to reach out to Greek alumni from Hamilton College (New York), Bowdoin College (Maine), Dartmouth College (New Hampshire),…

Grant proposals are most likely to succeed when they are based on solid, well-conceived ideas. Long-range planning is the best way to come up with workable ideas that will convince small foundations of a project's merits. Planning helps identify an institution's top priorities and achieve a consensus. (MLW)

The best-prepared college crisis managers go beyond planning and networking to compiling information on what the campus does to avoid and cope with problems, including (1) keeping lists of key campus individuals and establishing rapid access to media; (2) cultivating campus connections; (3) gathering information on contingencies; and (4)…

The efforts to develop a long-range plan for the Wisconsin Alumni Association are described. Steps to take to set up a long-range plan for alumni associations include: needs assessment, volunteer committee to advise staff, situation analysis, alumni census, mission statement, goals, implementing the plan, and evaluation. (MLW)

Planning can shield a small development office from scattershot demands. Priorities should be set and an office assessment should be done. An assessment should outline the elements of a successful development program, review the current program's progress, and propose a three- to five-year plan for moving the program ahead. (MLW)

Once a school, college, or university has changed its graphic identity and developed a system for publications graphics, keeping the identity fresh over time requires additional effort. Suggestions are made concerning the role of administrators, faculty, and staff; dissemination of information within the institution; and strategies for…

Advice is offered for making college alumni reunions successful fund-raising events, illustrated with ideas used by several institutions. Suggestions include long-range planning, leadership by complementary cochairmen, recruitment of committed volunteers, flexible structuring of class committees, continual coaching of volunteers, and establishing…

Ten keys to strengthening advancement efforts in small colleges include clarifying institutional mission; knowing and articulating your market position; maintaining a long-term focus; staying aware of global trends; establishing total institutional commitment; allocating adequate resources; promoting leadership; building a selectively…

Five case studies illustrate the value of strategic communications in school and college public relations (PR). Central issues include public scrutiny of a controversial faculty hiring policy; internal communication during retrenchment; a local education/job fair; animal rights activism; and winning public approval for a long-range campus plan.…