Corporate sponsorship is a marketing strategy by which companies communicate about their products or services by affiliating with events or institutions valued by targeted customer groups. Increasingly, campus communicators are seeking to establish corporate sponsorships but first must resolve legal and ethical concerns. Various types of…

Discussion of ways to increase minority giving to colleges and universities debunks the myth of "minorities don't give," and reports a recent study of minority philanthropy, which details philanthropic characteristics of four minority cultures: blacks, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and American Indians. Specific strategies recommended include…

The basic issues a college capital campaign feasibility study should resolve are discussed, and the major players are described. The feasibility study seeks to answer six questions: the campaign's case, leadership, the goal, the institution's ability to raise the money, timing, and the plan of action. (MLW)

Ways to involve faculty in fund raising are identified including: faculty should have a role in determining fund-raising priorities, and are in best position to articulate needs to donors and to identify prospective donors; alumni form an international constituency that travelling faculty can contact. (MLW)

A fund-raising phonathon can only be as good as the people who work the phones. Development directors were asked to name their most productive callers. They included alumni, faculty, staff, and students. Secrets of five highly successful phonathon volunteers are presented. (MLW)

How the ability of competing institutions to attract private support has changed over time is discussed. Data from 1971 to 1982 on Tufts University and 33 other selective colleges and universities was studied. (MLW)

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)

Ten steps to planning a marketing strategy to increase endowments are identified: conditions of fund, ways to establish funds, guidelines for funds, good business practices, enduring nature for fund, recognition of donors, corporations, periodic reports to donors, etc. (MLW)

Church-related institutions can be successful at fund raising both inside and outside the church, but using denominational affiliation as an excuse for failure must be eliminated. The ideals and people that make a church-related college unique must be emphasized. (MLW)

Four major trends in corporate funding that may be seen as problems for higher education are outlined. Trends include corporate downsizing, decreased corporate giving, fewer one-time gifts, and increased emphasis on elementary secondary education. Specific examples are given of institutions turning these potentially negative trends into…

Business researchers and marketers find certain databases useful for finding information on investments, competitors, products, and markets. Colleges can use these same databases to get background on corporate prospects. The largest data source available, DIALOG Information Services and some other databases are described. (MLW)

By combining phonathons with direct mail, colleges can make their solicitation more personal and more effective. The use of student callers is advocated, and the use of the telephone-direct mail program by St. Louis University is described.

A campaign to create an endowed chair in surgery for the Vanderbilt University Medical Center is described. More than $1.1 million was raised in less than six months for the chair, and a new set of prospective donors was found. (MLW)

Doane College used church connections to bring its message to corporations. Doane's success was attributed to a careful assessment, a small but influential group of solicitors, and a strategic approach that suited the staff, the budget, and church affiliation. (MLW)

Scientific research on development in higher education is limited and fragmented. Fund-raising research has provided information on whether a winning football team helps raise outside support, donor behavior, how much institutions spend on fund raising, major ethical issues fund raisers face, etc. (MLW)