A 4-year study produced workable standards for capturing comparative costs useful to college administrators in fund raising, alumni administration, and public relations. The 51 institutions of higher education that completed the study reported their expenditures and gift income for the years 1985-86, 1986-87, and 1987-88. (MLW)

Basic principles of designing a reunion gift program include beginning small, researching class prospects, gathering volunteers, determining the financial goal, communicating needs and intentions, organizing volunteers, advertising well, and making the donation at the reunion a major event. More ambitious plans can be tied into the program later.…

Large, flashy college fund drives may be falling out of favor with alumni and friends of the institution. Advancement professionals recount their experiences and suggest ways to adapt campaigns to new needs and environments. Inherent problems with large campaigns are enumerated, and the importance of clear communication to audiences on and off…

College and university advancement professionals comment on when their colleagues should invest in advanced education and when it is unnecessary. The practical benefits of advanced training and the clout that credentials offer are examined, and how to determine how much and what kind of training to seek is discussed. (MSE)

Strategies used by five schools, colleges, and university libraries to thank major donors personally and sincerely are described, including a photo album of the gift's results, active donor participation in planning the facility donated, presenting a crystal etching of the building funded, posting of recognition on the World Wide Web, and a…

Six college and university alumni and development professionals comment on problems and potential of computer software for program administration. They look at current problems with software, discuss capabilities they would like to have, and make predictions for the future of software abilities, hardware uses, sales, and other issues. (MSE)

Five situations are posed in which a college advancement administrator must make an ethical judgment. They involve renaming a building named after a graduate, use of personal versus institutional funds for a sensitive information search, use of unrestricted gifts, respecting donor intentions, and candor in information dissemination. Readers are…

College and university fund-raisers offer suggestions for successful direct-mail campaigns, telephone campaigns, and fund-raising auctions. Ideas include specific persuasive techniques for different types of donors, motivational and support mechanisms for volunteers, and appealing activities and rewards for campaign participation. (MSE)

College development specialists predict trends in corporate matching gifts including increased competition, reduction in gift size, more diversity, more employee input, sophisticated use of technology, more global and democratic giving, gifts reflecting the general economic climate, and larger gifts for top recipients). They recommend better…

Creative approaches of four institutions to endowment fund raising are described, including incentives for endowing chairs (Cornell University, New York), endowed football team positions (University of Southern California), a federal challenge grant (Green River Community College, Washington), and financial aid endowments by alumnae (Marlborough…