A recent ACLU campaign beefed up its major gifts and planned giving

"It's not a time to be putting money away for tomorrow," she says, explaining a possible reason for the organization's difficulty in raising endowment monies.

Soon after, the Leading Freedom Forward (LFF) campaign was launched. With an unusual dual focus of increasing both major and planned gifts, it raised $407 million over the past five years, surpassing its original goal of $250 million. The campaign launched in January 2005 with the goal of raising $100 million in cash gifts and $150 million in planned giving. When it closed in mid-September, it had brought in more than $150 million in cash gifts and more than $250 million in planned  giving.