A year-long study to examine the relationships of higher education institutional characteristics, fund raising methods, and fund raising expenditures to voluntary support outcomes in institutions of higher education was undertaken. The initial results of the survey on college fund raising methods are presented, and a discussion of the implications for management of fund raising programs is provided. Research for this phase of the study looks at the basic features of fund raising programs in institutions of higher education and the difference in prevalence of certain features among private and public institutions and among institutions with high and low outcomes in voluntary support. Methodology is discussed with a focus on the public and private institutions included and the fund raising methods survey. Results are discussed in terms of: planning, goal-setting, and evaluation; donor programs (non-alumni gifts, and corporation and foundation gifts); differences among sets of institutions; duration of programs; administrative support systems; and ratings of programs. Results indicate that though some differences did occur between private and public institutions and between institutions with high and low outcomes in voluntary support, there are more common features than differentiating ones. Resulting messages to practitioners and managers in fund raising are (1) to expand and develop the institution's capacity to conduct systematic evaluation of the current fund raising programs, management procedures, and outcomes and (2) to challenge and seek to verify all assumptions made about the institution's limits regarding fund raising outcomes. Tables are included. (SM)