For college fund raisers, one bright spot in the economic doldrums is that it is easier to talk with potential donors about their deaths. As donors worry about outliving their assets, fund raisers find success--and often bigger donations--in asking them for bequests. Many college fund raisers have raised the subject of bequests more actively with alumni over the past few years. As fund raising makes a slow recovery nationwide, development officers have found bequests to be one of the most resilient forms of giving and, often, a source of growth.