Conrad Colbrandt gave Saint Mary's College of California a financial permission slip to dream big--a $112-million pledge to support new construction and endowments. From the time that Colbrandt made his pledge in 1997 until 2004, talk of new athletics facilities and classroom buildings became real architectural plans. However, all of those plans were quickly dashed one day in 2004 when it was discovered that Colbrandt was deeply involved in a real-estate investment scam that was orchestrated by his associate, John S. Banker, another Saint Mary's donor. In this article, the author discusses the increasing withdrawals of big pledges and discusses how colleges are reconsidering their potential donors.