Education

Nation’s Colleges Raise More Than $40B, Study Says
February 3, 2016 at 10:00 am

U.S. colleges and universities raised a combined $40.3 billion in fiscal year 2015, with Stanford and Harvard universities each surpassing $1 billion ($1.63 billion and $1.05 billion, respectively)....

THON Officials Launch Alternative Fundraising Efforts
January 26, 2016 at 9:53 am

With THON less than a month away, one can only wonder how the cancellation of several canning weekends will impact the bottom line. For years, Penn State students have traveled throughout the East Coast, holding cans and soliciting donations for THON, the world's largest student-run philanthropy. THON, of course, benefits cancer patients and research. This year,…

Rite Aid Makes $2M Gift to 'Mister Rogers' Nonprofit
January 25, 2016 at 9:52 am

Ken Martindale, president of Rite Aid Corp., wasn’t totally surprised when Tony Bucci, chairman of Rite Aid’s Pittsburgh-based advertising agency, suggested the drug store chain consider making a charitable gift to the nonprofit Fred Rogers Co., which produces children’s programs for PBS. “Everybody knows ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,’” said Martindale, who also serves as president of…

Are Universities Spending Too Much on 'Looking Good'?
January 14, 2016 at 10:54 am

A USA Today report found that 29 colleges and universities spent a combined average of $2.5 million a year on large-format graphics to decorate athletics facilities. The schools say they help with recruiting of players and donors. Critics say they're a waste of funds better spent elsewhere. But what do facility graphics really mean for these schools' bottom lines?...

Can Philanthropy Be Taught in a Classroom?
November 30, 2015 at 11:38 am

Can philanthropy be taught in a classroom? And would philanthropic donors armed with MBAs in impact and effectiveness actually be a good thing for the voluntary sector? Sir Thomas Hughes-Hallett thinks so. He’s spent the last three years setting up the London School of Economics' (LSE) new Marshall Institute for Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship. Having…

Funding From Charles Koch Foundation Raises Concerns at WCU
November 23, 2015 at 9:35 am

A proposal to create a new center at Western Carolina University using $2 million from the Charles Koch Foundation is generating concern among some faculty at Western Carolina University. The proposed Center for the Study of Free Enterprise would be funded, in part, with money from the foundation created by Charles Koch, CEO of Koch…

Public Colleges Lift the Bar on Fundraising Campaigns
November 13, 2015 at 8:37 am

Public U.S. colleges are growing more ambitious in the philanthropy race. A $4 billion fundraising campaign unveiled last week at Texas A&M University ranks as one of the largest ever, as top public schools try to offset declining state and federal funding and stay competitive with private counterparts with longer track records of tapping donations.…

University of Missouri President Steps Down Amid Race Controversy
November 10, 2015 at 6:00 am

Several University of Missouri organizations, including the football team and the student association, saw their demand met Monday when university system president Tim Wolfe announced he was stepping down amid a controversy over race relations at the school's main campus. Saying he takes "full responsibility for the inaction that has occurred," he asked that the…

Seattle School Board Votes to End Formal Relationship With Its Fundraising Arm
November 9, 2015 at 9:03 am

The 20-year partnership between Seattle Public Schools and the Alliance for Education, its fundraising arm, will be significantly restructured. The School Board voted six to one Wednesday to empower the superintendent to end the district’s formal relationship with the alliance. But board President Sherry Carr said she was open to working with it on a…

A&M's $4B Fundraising Target Is Largest in Texas History
November 6, 2015 at 10:01 am

Texas A&M University has announced an ambitious fundraising goal unrivaled in Texas in the hopes it can capitalize on recent successes that have drawn the national spotlight to College Station. Campus president Michael K. Young on Thursday announced the university aims to raise $4 billion by 2020, the largest comprehensive fundraising campaign ever announced in…