From the Chronicle of Higher Education, January 29, 2010: "The end of 2009 showed improvement in charitable giving—not necessarily in dollars raised but in terms of encouraging increases in donor participation. In a tough economy, an increase in participation rates is a terrific sign of philanthropic confidence. It gives us the opportunity to steward those donors and keep them with us as we move into better times. A broader base of participation should lead, eventually, to a higher level of donations." Read more

From the Chronicle of Philanthropy, January 29, 2010: "Calling for a new 'decade of vaccines,' Bill and Melinda Gates today announced that their foundation will spend $10-billion over the next 10 years for the development and delivery of vaccines to impoverished people—the largest pledge ever by a grant maker to a specific cause." Read more

From the Chronicle of Philanthropy, January 27, 2010: "Contributions continue to pour in for relief efforts in Haiti. Fifteen days after the massive earthquake struck, donors have contributed more than $528-million to 40 U.S. nonprofit groups, a Chronicle tally finds. The pace of giving for Haiti is running ahead of the amount donated in the same period after the September 11 attacks in 2001 and the Asian tsunamis in 2004 but slower than the outpouring of gifts after the flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005." Read more

From the CASE Newsroom, January 19, 2010: "Fundraisers for U.S. schools, colleges and universities predict that giving will increase 3.7 percent during 2010, according to survey results released today by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. For 2009, the CASE Fundraising Index estimates that giving declined less than 1 percent from the previous year. The optimism for 2010 follows a challenging and unpredictable year for donors and fundraisers alike, said CASE President John Lippincott." Read more

Dartmouth College Press Release, January 7, 2010: "Dartmouth College has completed a seven-year, $1.3 billion fundraising campaign that has enhanced its place as a leader in American higher education....The largest gifts were also the biggest in Dartmouth’s history: $50 million each from two anonymous donors. One gift will support the Visual Arts Center, the other a number of priorities across the institution. Two gifts were made at the $25-$49.9 million level, sixteen at $10-$24.9 million, twenty-seven at $5-$9.9 million, and 163 at $1-$4.9 million.” Read more

GG+A Vice President Dr. Mary Blair received the Distinguished Service Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Europe Board on August 25 in Liverpool. The committee cited Dr. Blair’s impact upon the professionalization of philanthropic fundraising for education in the UK as its reason for approving the action. This is only the second time the CASE Europe Board has made such an award.

"We noted above all your effective contribution to the Thomas Report on Voluntary Giving; your service on the CASE Europe Board; your indefatigable championship of the Ross-CASE survey; and the example you set through your leadership of the Development and Alumni Relations office at the London School of Economics (LSE)…" Joanna Motion, CASE Europe Vice President for Institutional Operations, said.

Prior to joining GG+A, Dr. Blair served as Director of Development and Alumni Relations for LSE. During her nine year tenure, she headed a campaign for £100 million, the first campaign in the UK to set and achieve a target of that magnitude. Earlier in her career, she spent 15 years with The Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Blair holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University in English and American Studies.

Grenzebach Glier and Associates would like to congratulate the winners of the 2009 John Grenzebach Awards:

Richard Trollinger, vice president for college relations, Centre College. Trollinger is the recipient of the John Grenzebach Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation for “Philanthropy and Transformation in American Higher Education,” completed at the University of Kentucky. Trollinger’s research documents how notable mega gifts caused dramatic but different changes in three recipient colleges and universities.

Andrea Walton, associate professor, education, Indiana University, and Marybeth Gasman, associate professor, higher education, University of Pennsylvania. Walton and Gasman received the John Grenzebach Research Award for Outstanding Published Scholarship for Philanthropy, Volunteerism & Fundraising in Higher Education, published by the Association for the Study of Higher Education. The book provides historical and contemporary information on philanthropy, fundraising and volunteerism and serves as a tool for those teaching and studying these topics.

The John Grenzebach Awards for Outstanding Research in Philanthropy for Educational Advancement recognize the work of established researchers and encourage young scholars to continue their work in advancement. The awards program is cosponsored by CASE and the Giving USA Foundation. Click here to read more.

John J. Glier, GG+A President and Chief Executive Officer is quoted in this article

University Fund Raisers in Europe Appear Less Shaken by Downturn

From the Chronicle of Philanthropy, August 28, 2009: “University fund raisers’ views on the global economic crisis appear to be split by the Atlantic Ocean.' There’s difficulty among my European colleagues in understanding the angst in the United States,' said John Lippincott, president of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, speaking here at CASE Europe’s annual meeting....University fund raisers in the United States, including many at prominent institutions like Cornell and Stanford Universities and the University of Washington, are reeling from the effects of a bad year in which gifts and endowments were down and many of their colleagues were laid off. But British and continental fund raisers appear less shaken. John J. Glier, president of Grenzebach Glier and Associates, an international fund-raising consulting firm, said that among his British clients, fund-raising income was flat or slightly up from last year." Read more

Laying Off Charity's Rain Makers - Even Fund Raisers Face Dismissals as Recession's Grip Tightens

John J. Glier, GG+A President and Chief Executive Officer is quoted in this article

From the Chronicle of Philanthropy, July 23, 2009: “At colleges, hospitals, and other large nonprofit groups, chief development officers are increasingly looking to pare expenses through layoffs and other approaches, such as salary and hiring freezes, furloughs, and staff reorganizations.... Fund-raising consultants uniformly warn charities to avoid making cuts in the development office, even if other departments are asked to reduce the number of employees. ‘Across-the-board cuts are typically not very strategic,’ says John J. Glier, chief executive of Grenzebach Glier and Associates, a fund-raising consulting firm in Chicago. ‘You're pruning with an ax and not a scalpel.’ Instead, he says, groups should make a close examination of fund-raising programs and keep in mind that cuts that ‘look logical on the surface’ may have undesired consequences.” Read more [subscription required]

Fund-Raising Offices Make People a Priority as Budgets Are Cut

John J. Glier, GG+A President and Chief Executive Officer is quoted in this article

From the Chronicle of Higher Education, July 13, 2009: "In recent months, many fund-raising offices have cut programs and events that don't get big results, replaced more-costly direct-mail and print publications with online communication, taken money from different divisions to pay for fund raisers' travel, and kept back-office positions open or eliminated them altogether. These changes are not without risk. Cutting operations, whether programs or people, will have an effect on the amount of money raised, says John J. Glier, president of the consulting group Grenzebach Glier and Associates, who works with many of the largest college fund-raising campaigns. You cannot, after a certain point, raise more money by spending less,' Mr. Glier says. He expects universities will continue making investments in fund raising, including staffing, after the financial picture improves. And smart institutions are still hiring strategically for positions they believe will help them raise more money now." Read more [subscription required]

Fundraising in a Storm

By Joseph Sanders, GG+A Vice President

From the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Magazine, Summer 2009 Issue: "While independent schools are responding to economic challenge with a variety of fundraising strategies, a common thread runs through the most successful programs: they are neither giving up on their donors nor conducting business as usual.  In many cases, they are prudently balancing their strategies.  For example, some day schools are strengthening their alumni solicitation programs while some boarding schools are shifting some staff from capital to annual fundraising.  Information gathered from several independent schools demonstrates great vitality and optimism in the face of gloomy economic conditions." Read more [subscription required]

North American Fund Raisers find Plentiful Opportunities Overseas

Mary Blair, GG+A Vice President is quoted in this article [subscription required]

From the Chronicle of Philanthropy, June 4, 2009: "Colleges, hospitals, and other large institutions outside the United States, particularly in Australia, Great Britain, and Hong Kong, have been raising private money for many years. But now nonprofit groups around the globe are stepping up their fund raising and turning to North Americans for advice...'After being here a while, I did not want to hire any U.S. personnel who were interested in a European experience and then would go back home,' says Mary Blair, an American who spent seven years leading a successful campaign for the London School of Economics that ended in 2007. 'I want to focus on training more U.K. talent,' says Ms. Blair, now a fund-raising consultant working in London for Grenzebach Glier and Associates, a Chicago consulting firm." Read more [subscription required]

May 11, 2009

Kathryn Nelson joined Grenzebach Glier and Associates (GG+A) as Vice President and Managing Director in 2009. In this role Kathy will focus on the firm's higher education clients in the western region of the US as well as GG+A initiatives in Asia Pacific. Kathy most recently served as Vice President for Development at the University of Hawaii Foundation. Read more

March 20, 2009

Mary Blair joins GG+A with more than 20 years' experience in fundraising for academic institutions. Based in London, she will lend her expertise to academic health care initiatives as well as the firm's work with higher education institutions. Mary most recently served as Director of Development and Alumni Relations for the London School of Economics (LSE). During her nine year tenure, she headed a campaign for £100 million, the first campaign in the UK to set and achieve a target of that magnitude. Read more

Elon University News, February 2, 2010: "Douglas G. and Edna Truitt Noiles ’44, of New Canaan, Conn., have made a $1 million gift to Elon University to support the Elon Academy, a university-run college access program for Alamance County high school students. This is the couple’s fourth major gift to the Elon Academy and the largest gift yet to support the academic enrichment program established in 2007 with the Alamance-Burlington School System." Read more

From Philanthropy Journal, February 2, 2010: "Lou Nanni, vice president for university relations at the University of Notre Dame, says the recession has provided an opportunity for fundraising programs to regroup and rethink their strategies. A down market, he says, 'is a time you can be rigorously introspective and working out a strategic process that will position you well for the future.' Nanni says Notre Dame responded to signs a recession was coming by focusing on how to improve its fundraising. We said, 'This is a time for us to be rigorously introspective and look to see what we can do to fine-tune our organization and make ourselves more efficient.' The school, which has raised $1.67 billion with a year-and-half left in a seven-year effort to raise $1.5 billion, has hired consulting firm Grenzebach Glier & Associates, involved its entire advancement team and broad range of constituencies in the planning process, and visited other schools. The effort has resulted in a new strategy the school will roll out this spring that affects its entire fundraising program and support systems, including annual fund, principal giving, major gifts and gift planning." Read more

Sweet Briar College Newsroom, January 29, 2010: "Margaret 'Peggy' Jones Wyllie always wanted to be an engineer, but when she entered college in 1941 pursuing that dream was nearly impossible. In those days, universities with engineering programs rarely admitted women and no women’s college in the country offered the degree. So in 1945, Wyllie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from Sweet Briar College. Sixty-five years later, Sweet Briar is one of only two U.S. women’s colleges to offer an engineering degree. The program’s success has permitted Wyllie to revisit her childhood dream while expanding opportunities for Sweet Briar’s aspiring engineers of today. She and her husband, Malcolm Robert Jesse Wyllie, have given $3 million to Sweet Briar to create an endowment in support of the program." Read more

From PennState Live, January 20, 2010: "A Healthier World Awaits, the Campaign for Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, was recently selected for an Award of Excellence by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) for 2010." Click here to read more and watch the video online.

Mayo Clinic News, January 26, 2010: "Mayo Clinic announced today that it raised $1.35 billion in its first comprehensive fundraising campaign, surpassing the goal of $1.25 billion. Though campaigns of this size typically take seven years to achieve, The Campaign for Mayo Clinic was a five-year initiative. Mayo embarked on this campaign to raise philanthropic support to accelerate innovations in clinical practice, education and research that have the potential to revolutionize medicine in the 21st century." Read more