In an atmosphere of declining support, rising costs, and an increasing emphasis on quality education, the need for effective fund-raising is important to American higher education. During the past decade, institutions of higher education, both public and private, faced difficult financial problems with no apparent end in sight. A growing number of colleges and universities have been threatened by the unstable economy and shrinking applicant pools and are faltering under this threat. Private higher education seems to be especially vulnerable to financial difficulty and has been historically dependent upon philanthropic support to complement traditional revenues in an effort to remain financially viable. As a result of this changing environment, the identification and development of enhanced and more diversified fund-raising strategies have emerged as one of the most significant and far-reaching needs presently confronting American higher education. This study investigated and analyzed academic leadership and management of advancement activities in American higher education with particular attention given to schools of dentistry. It focused on how American schools of dentistry may organize and manage their fund -raising programs to maximize voluntary financial support. With the prospect of declining support and rising costs, an aggressive and effective fund-raising program is arguably crucial to their survival. The study addressed the predominant organizational structure and management practices in the area of fund-raising at American schools of dentistry; the perceptions held by the deans and senior development officers in these same institutions as to the effectiveness of certain practices relating to fund-raising sources and constituencies, and methods and techniques used in their fund-raising programs; and the emerging pattern which might serve as a model for development programs at American schools of dentistry or other institutions of higher education. The study is composed of the entire population - a census of American schools of dentistry. Forty-five institutions (45/55) in thirty states, including Puerto Rico (30/34), participated in the survey and thirty-five deans (35/55) and thirty-five development officers (35/55) responded to the survey . The questionnaire is the principal means of data collection with a structured personal interview limited to the deans and development officers of the five California schools of dentistry. The deans and development officers cooperating in this survey give evidence that their major development-related functions are consistent with trends toward greater specialization in fund-raising. A high percentage (87.5 percent) of the dean respondents acknowledge affirmatively to making use of strategic planning as a management tool for the school's advancement activities. The dean respondents characterized the alumni as the most important giving constituency and the annual fund as the principal funding source. They also regard personal visits as the most effective method of soliciting funds for their institutions. The development officer respondents emphasized ideas, goals, and directions of their school's advancement program while being most aware of the specific mechanics of fund-raising. The guiding outlines of a model development program for American schools of dentistry appear to emerge from this exploratory study.

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2010. / Title from screen (viewed on July 19, 2010). Department of Philanthropic Studies, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Dwight F. Burlingame, William M. Plater, Leslie Lenkowsky. Includes vitae. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-95).

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The thesis made a comparative study of two university foundations, namely Indiana University Foundation, the United States, and Peking University Education Foundation, China, from a historical approach. Many theories influenced the author’s thinking about the issues, such as nonprofit organizations, elite philanthropy, and civil society. The paper seeks to: (1) make an overview of the development of the two foundations; (2) analyze and compare their differences in nature, structure, and fundraising practices, etc.; (3) examine the underlying reasons which may involve social, political, economic and legal factors; and (4) explore the future development of university foundations in China. In an era of accelerated globalization, the boom of diaspora giving and growth of nonprofits set the stage for the development of philanthropy in China. While continuing to draw from the extensive experiences of its American counterparts, the Peking University Education Foundation needs to reflect on its own actual situation and explore a road tailored to Chinese-style university foundations.

This study examined the profile of the potential online donor to a small, private, liberal arts institution. Attitudes towards online giving were studied between participants who donated online and those who did not. Additionally respondents of differing class years were compared to determine which age groups were more likely to donate over the Internet. A total of 576 surveys were returned for an effective response rate of 38%. Collected data were entered into an SPSS database. The data revealed most respondents had been using the Internet for over 5 years, and accessed the Internet almost everyday. Data also revealed that most respondents accessed the Internet from their homes or offices and own two e-mail addresses. Through data analysis, it was discovered that a small percentage of respondents currently donated to other nonprofits over the Internet. However, the majority of respondents were unsure about online giving and its role in the philanthropic process. Additionally, respondents' attitudes towards online giving did not differ between class years. Respondents' preferred method of communication was through the mail, however, the majority of respondents reported they would be willing to receive monthly e-mail communications from the institution. Conclusions and recommendations included that credit card security and information privacy were viewed as very important to donors if they were to donate over the Internet. In addition, it was concluded that donors who made financial transactions over the Internet were more likely to make a charitable contribution over the Internet. Recommendations included the institution should begin the process of educating their alumni as to the benefits of online giving, and integrate online giving into their comprehensive fundraising process.

The comprehensive computerized decision support system developed in this research employs two techniques, computer modeling and goal programming, to assist top university financial officers in assessing the current status of funds sources and uses. The purpose of the DSS is to aid in reaching decisions concerning proposed projects, and to allocate funds from sources to uses on an aggregate basis according to a rational set of prescribed procedures. The computer model provides fast and easy access to the database and it permits the administrator to update the database as new information is received. Goal programming is used for modeling the allocation process since it provides a framework for the inclusion of multiple goals that may be conflicting and incommensurable. The goal programming model allocates funds from sources to uses based on a priority structure associated with the goals. The DSS, which runs interactively, performs a number of tasks that include: selection of model parameters, formulating goals and priority structure, and solving the GP model. It also provides on-line access to the database so that it may be updated as necessary. In addition, the DSS generates reports regarding funds allocation and goal achievements to allow analysis of the model results. The decision support system also provides a framework for experimentation with various goal and priority structures, thus facilitating what-if analyses. The user can also perform a sensitivity analysis by observing the effect of assigning different relative importance to a goal or set of goals. / Ph. D.

Past higher education fund-raising studies examining alumni giving across several institutions have had two main limitations. First, the multitude of independent variables used in these studies has made it difficult to determine whether past studies have discovered many different factors that influence levels of alumni gift revenue, or whether they have discovered a few common factors that have been represented by different sets of variables in each study. Second, past studies have failed to adequately describe causal mechanisms through which variables significantly related to gift revenue influence levels of gift revenue. The current study addresses the aforementioned limitations in creating an aggregate model of donor behavior for law school alumni. The study examines alumni giving at 41 ABA-approved law schools. The results indicate that four basic factors account for most (87 percent) of the variance in amounts of alumni annual fund revenue among different law schools. The four factors, listed in order of importance and shown with the variables that load highly on each factor, are the following: Factor l--"Institutional Quality" (variables are average LSAT scores of accepted law students; reputation of law school among professors at other law schools; reputation of law school's graduates among judges and practicing lawyers; average starting salaries of new graduates of the law school; total number of volumes in law library; number of volumes in law library divided by FTE enrollment;). Factor 2--"Institutional Size" (variables are: FTE law school enrollment; number of living law school alumni; number of FTE law faculty; total number of law school advancement staff people). Factor 3--"Relative Advancement Effort" (variables are: number of law school advancement staff people divided by number of living law school alumni; number of law school reunion classes solicited for special gifts each year). Factor 4--"Institutional Age" (variables are: age of law school; age of law school's parent institution). Differences between the factor structures for public and private law schools are examined. The study suggests possible causal mechanisms through which these four factors influence the amount of alumni gift revenue raised by each law school.

Thesis (Master's Degree in Technology: Entrepreneurship), Durban Institute of Technology, 2003. / Over the last decade computer technology has impacted tremendously on the survival and productivity of organisations. In today's technologically advanced business environment, much emphasis is being placed on obtaining a competitive advantage through the use of computers - a commodity that has become available to almost everyone in an organisation. Increasing global competition and pressing social needs have impacted with such vigo~ that even tertiary institutions are now facing major financial constraints, thus forcing them to investigate alternative sources of income to maintain sustainability. Through the use of computer technology - searching, retrieving, sorting, producing and organising data efficiently and accurately - the belief is that many departments at the M L Sultan Campus of the Durban Institute of Technology can be converted into income-generating units that can be self-sustaining. There are many departments at the M L Sultan Campus with the relevant infrastructure and person-power to establish business units. These departments vary in the services that they provide, thus relevant information systems need to be aligned to future business units within these departments. This study focuses on a) investigating the impact of information technology and its systems on businesses; b) ensuring that information technology and its systems is looked at a~ a cost effective resource for maintaining a competitive edge and promoting business value. The interaction of business processes, people and technology will ensure successful planning and implementation of strategies within the potential business units; and c) recommending to selected departments the expected fmdings whereby they could choose to adopt these recommendations to transform themselves into business units in order to maintain a competitive edge for financial sustainability. / M

Most research studies of women in the college and university advancement profession measure the number of women in advancement positions, report their corresponding salaries and reflect on the differences between male and female employees in the same position. Little research explores how women achieve high ranking advancement positions and very few provide an analysis of the characteristics, influences and careers of successful female advancement professionals. This dissertation describes the life and work of Virginia Carter Smith, founding editor of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education's award winning publication CURRENTS. The career and contributions of Virginia Carter Smith are relevant and helpful to advancement professionals in colleges, universities and K-12 institutions. This study explores Smith's formative years as a child, describes her educational and extra-curricular preparation and identifies individuals who influenced her life and provided direction for her future. It also examines Smith's role in the formation and direction of CASE and CURRENTS. Smith successfully launched CURRENTS in 1975 when few women held senior-level positions in advancement-related fields. With Smith's contributions, CASE became the dominate professional organization for advancement professionals working in educational institutions, and CURRENTS continues to be an exemplary professional development periodical for individuals working in advancement. This study also examines how Smith promoted qualified individuals, particularly women, to senior-level positions in colleges and university advancement offices. Hundreds of women and men in the profession claim that Smith's served as a role model or mentor to them. Smith contributed to the increase of women in advancement offices nationally over the last twenty years. Her high standards for herself and for other development officers helped professionalize the field for everyone.

近年來，由於地方政府支出的無效率，以及六年國建與社會福利措施的陸續開辦，致使地方公共支出遽增。在地方稅課收入成長率不及地方公共支出成長率的情形下，導致地方財政呈現逆轉的情勢。然而地方財政為國家財政之一環，國家財政又為庶政之母，故地方財政之健全與否，攸關國家施政與全民福祉。因此，解決地方財政困難便成為重要課題之一。 　　本論文係針對地方財政的節流面著手，首先就其支出現況作分析，再探討其所面臨的問題，繼而尋找出問題的改進方法。茲將研究結果歸納如下： 　　一、地方政府每年還本付息金額與人事費用之負擔沈重，加上理財效率偏低與委辦事項之經費負擔，致使地方財政極為困難。 　　二、台灣省各縣市政府教科文支出龐大，業已超過憲法之規定，以致於有拖垮縣市財政之虞。 　　三、國建六年計劃不斷有執行進度落後、預算大幅追加、與舞弊事件層出不窮等情事產生，致使地方財政更為困絀。 　　四、目前各種社會保險年年虧損，以及未徹底執行自負保費制度，故形成地方財政的沈重負擔。 　　財政運作應秉持「量入為出」原則，能節省處儘量節省，舉凡政府人事的精簡、教育經費的移轉、經營效率的提昇、工程弊端的消弭、以及依保險所需實際費用收取保險費……等措施，都能為地方政府節省鉅額的支出，繼而解決地方財政的困難。

The purpose of this exploratory, mixed method study was to examine factors in students‟ university experiences that affected their future alumni engagement with their university. A web-based survey instrument was administered to 1,139 University of Lethbridge bachelor‟s degree holders who graduated during the University‟s first 40 years (1967 to 2007). Results indicate that the foundation for alumni engagement is set early in the student experience and is particularly affected by the nature of the relationships the student has with the institution. Alumni who were engaged as students were more likely to become engaged alumni through volunteer or donor activity. The higher alumni rated their satisfaction with factors present in their student experience and alumni relationship, the higher the likelihood that they stayed connected with and demonstrated their commitment to their alma mater. Recommendations for further research and for designing student and alumni engagement strategies are provided. / xiv, 195 leaves ; 29 cm