Major Gifts

Inside the Field Museum's recently unveiled Cyrus Tang Hall of China, a rare kingfisher headdress glitters in a new technological light. Touch screens allow visitors to view it and 350 or so other artifacts from every angle and to read the unique stories behind them. This sort of approach might not have happened if it…

A roundup of notable gifts compiled by The Chronicle: California Institute of Technology Intel Corporation co-founder Gordon Moore and his wife, Betty, pledged $100 million to endow the institution. The Moores said how the institute chooses to use the donation is up to its leaders, who announced the money will be used to establish a…

I love reviewing Indiana University’s major gift process of metrics and accountability. Each major gift officer must have a portfolio and be accountable for moving that portfolio. When I meet someone with Indiana University experience, I assume they are properly trained to close gifts and move prospects. In my experience over time, I unfortunately have hired several “experienced” major gift officers that just couldn’t pull the trigger...

We conduct feasibility studies to provide the research on what we will face in a campaign. It is invaluable. When it comes to someone’s potential, life happens and other commitments and priorities are in play. Someone may have a health or family situation that no one knows about that is impacting their giving. They may be in a very different position in a few months or a few years. Let’s keep honoring our donors and prospective donors, and building long-term relationships that transcend campaign timeframes...

The California Institute of Technology has announced a $100 million endowment gift from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation—to be used as the Caltech leadership chooses. To strengthen Caltech for generations to come, the institute's president and provost have chosen to dedicate the second-largest gift in its history to funding fellowships for graduate students. Caltech…

There are significant debates about the role of philanthropy and modern trends in philanthropy. Often philanthropy is viewed as the elitist activity of the rich in their attempts to raise their profiles, build power or show off their wealth. It can be done in a paternalistic and charitable manner that results in an imbalance of…

The Special Olympics has received a $25 million donation, the largest single private gift in the organization's 47-year history. The donation comes from the philanthropic foundation of Thomas Golisano, the founder and chairman of Paychex Inc. The Rochester, New York-based company is a payroll processor and human resources services provider. Officials with the Golisano Foundation…

The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La Jolla, Calif., has announced two grants totaling more than $4.5 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help develop a vaccine against HIV/AIDS. The grants, awarded through the foundation's Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery program, will fund new tools in TSRI's High Resolution Electron Microscopy Facility…

We were sitting in the main conference room high above the city doing some major gift training with a fantastic group of major gift officers. The training was about asking for the gift—a session we regularly conduct with our clients. The MGOs sitting around the table were a mixture of seasoned professionals and employees newer to major gifts. Part of our session had been the day before, where we were dealing with the reasons MGOs do not ask donors for what they could give.

After a record year of private gifts, Clemson University is closing in on its $1 billion fundraising goal for its “The Will to Lead” capital campaign. Private gifts to the university totaled $136.6 million for the 2014-15 fiscal year, bringing the multi-year campaign’s total to $934 million. Clemson is entering the “home stretch” of its…