This book presents profiles of 38 exemplary fund-raising programs conducted by educational institutions and recognized by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) in its 1997 Circle of Excellence Awards in Educational Fund Raising competition. The programs were selected from more than 1,000 programs and included two categories of educational fund raising: overall performance and overall improvement. Introductory information includes a list of the 1997 winners in addition to those profiled in the book. The 28 institutions profiled in the section on winners for overall fund-raising performance are grouped by institutional type: private residential doctoral institutions, public research doctoral institutions, private comprehensive institutions, public comprehensive institutions, private liberal arts institutions (grouped by number of alumni), private professional or specialized institutions, public professional or specialized institutions, independent secondary day and boarding schools (grouped by number of alumni), and non-independent schools. Profiles of winners for overall fund-raising improvement are also grouped by institution type. Profiles usually include a description of the fund-raising program (often with illustrations of promotional material) and vital statistics (on institution, staff, volunteer organization, reasons for program success, and contact information). (DB)