From the Chronicle of Higher Education February 21, 2010: “When the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, president of the College of the Holy Cross, travels to meet alumni and donors, he often adds a stop for young alumni. While they might not have much to give, the gatherings allow him to make a face-to-face appeal to recent graduates and help them develop a habit of giving.” Read more [subscription required]

From the Chronicle of Philanthropy, February 7, 2010: "The New Jersey Performing Arts Center expects to raise $10.7-million this year, 5-percent more than in 2009. Peter Hansen, the center’s vice president of development, says he is grateful to be projecting an increase of any size. This is the harshest fund-raising climate in his nearly 30 years in the profession, he says." Read more

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

December 2009

Dan Allenby joined Grenzebach Glier and Associates (GG+A) in 2009 as Vice President for Annual Giving. Dan provides a wide range of annual giving expertise and plays a large role in expanding the firm's annual giving practice across a wide variety of educational, medical, cultural, and other nonprofit sector organizations. He also provides advice and services to GG+A clients with respect to online engagement including social media, email, and website development. Read more

July 2009

D. Lance King joined Grenzebach Glier and Associates (GG+A) in 2009 as Executive Vice President and Managing Director. Lance provides strategic leadership and management to GG+A's consulting staff, as well as to consulting services, client services, and GG+A Analytics. He also assists in developing and improving products and services that foster sustainable cultures of philanthropy in GG+A client institutions. Read more

August 2009

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]

From the Chicago Tribune, March 4, 2010: “Like many people who lived through the Great Depression, Grace Groner was exceptionally restrained with her money. She got her clothes from rummage sales. She walked everywhere rather than buy a car. And her one-bedroom house in Lake Forest held little more than a few plain pieces of furniture, some mismatched dishes and a hulking TV set that appeared left over from the Johnson administration. Her one splurge was a small scholarship program she had created for Lake Forest College, her alma mater. She planned to contribute more upon her death, and when she passed away in January, at the age of 100, her attorney informed the college president what that gift added up to. ‘Oh, my God,’ the president said. Groner's estate, which stemmed from a $180 stock purchase she made in 1935, was worth $7 million.” Read more

UNL News Release, March 1, 2010: "University of Nebraska alumnus and cattleman Paul F. Engler of Amarillo, Texas, announced today a $20 million gift to support programs in agri-business at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The gift from the Paul F. and Virginia J. Engler Foundation to the University of Nebraska Foundation's Campaign for Nebraska: Unlimited Possibilities will establish a permanently endowed fund to support the Paul F. Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program at the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources." Read more

From The Times Online, February 26, 2010: “A high-profile university professor is to give £1 million of his own money to reward young researchers. Baron Bhattacharyya of Moseley will donate the funds to inspire students at the University of Warwick. He told The Times that he thought it best to put ‘my money where my mouth is’ after speaking so frequently over university funding. It is one of the largest personal donations to a university by one of its staff.” Read more 

From Penn Current, February 23, 2010: “The Penn Libraries have received $4.25 million for the renovation of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library and the creation of a Special Collections Center. The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, is a member of the Libraries’ Board of Overseers. This is the largest gift to the Libraries from a living donor. ‘Because of this gift, we will have a multi-purpose space in our Rare Book & Manuscript Library that is equal to the scholarship that our special collections inspire,’ says Penn President Amy Gutmann. ‘Students will now have a place where they can physically experience the past as part of their preparation for the future. We are thrilled and enormously grateful.’” Read more

IU Press Release, February 21, 2010: “Indiana University President Michael McRobbie and Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Fred Glass today announced the single largest gift in the history of the department of athletics. The Cook Group has made a $15 million gift to the For the Glory of Old IU capital campaign, which will be most immediately utilized to support and enhance the new basketball development center for the benefit of the men and women basketball program student athletes. In recognition of this historic gift, Indiana University will permanently name the new basketball development center Cook Hall.” Read more