This article describes a study whose primary purposes were to determine the characteristics of an effective fund-raising program, the marketing practices that contribute to the success of a fund-raising program, and factors of the development system's influence on a fund-raising program. This study utilized a Delphi research instrument. Initially, 74 invitations were sent to potential panel members at colleges with 10,000 or more students. Forty-two colleges agreed to participate in the study. Opinions were solicited by mail in a sequence of three separate rounds and participants were asked to respond to three open-ended questions. The composite list of statements and a zero-to-four rating, Likert-style, was included with each statement. After three rounds, the medians of the final responses were taken as representing a group consensus. This study identified specific factors that contribute to effective programs designed to "raise the bar" for successful fund raising at community colleges. These conclusions provide insights targeted for use by community college development foundation officers to create and implement effective fund-raising strategies. The findings of this study served as a basis for the conclusions in three major categories: (1) characteristics; (2) marketing practices; and (3) influence factors.