Fellow beggars: The history of fund raising campaigning in United States higher education.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This project traces the history of fund raising campaigns in American higher education. Campaigns to raise financial resources began in 1641 only five years after Colonists established their first college in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Campaigns evolved from boat trips to Europe, beggars on horseback, and church initiated subscriptions to letter writing and personal solicitation of more substantial gifts from personal fortunes created during the nineteenth century.
During that period college leaders devised ways of reaching a broader base of donors through the use of volunteer solicitors. Often, these volunteers were motivated by the promise of a gift from a wealthy individual that had to be matched in some fashion. Early in the twentieth century the novelty of volunteerism strengthened and found expression in two dissimilar professional philosophies. One school of thought, made popular by the fund raisers from the YMCA, found success in tightly managed, intensive campaigns. The other school of thought came from Bishop William Lawrence who preferred a more tranquil atmosphere. Two distinct cultures developed, yet both found remarkable success. After World War II America's colleges and universities instituted “development departments.” Higher education hired their own personnel who had been trained by professional consulting companies, or the colleges paid the companies to provide training—often at their professional conferences.
The post war period also witnessed an explosion in information, the development of professional associations, and fundamental changes in the functions of non-faculty campus personnel. Today, honest disagreement exists in the roles and functions of people involved in the campaign process, in how campaigns ought to be structured, and in what gifts ought to be counted toward goal. Perceived and actual fund raising abuses came to light from both inside and outside higher education. Legislators and regulators began to explore the issues in the 1980s, and in an atmosphere that was turning increasingly cynical leaders in academic fund raising began to call for reform. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education responded by leading their members through a process that led to promulgating standards for campaigns in 1997. Time will tell if higher education will adhere to standards.