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Lowered Expectations Like many other business schools, the Eccles School has been hit with a budget cut from the state, which only exac- erbates the effects of depressed giving rates and a shrinking endowment. It also translates to lower expectations for the school's capital campaign, now two-thirds of the way to its $100 million goal. For instance, the school's original goal had been to spend $80 million on its new building project, but given the slower pace of fund raising, the school may try to reduce the cost of the building to $70 million. Still, there may be some light on the horizon. Although seven-figure gifts to the Eccles School have not been forth- coming in the past months, several individuals have noted that they may be able to make significant pledges once the economy has begun to bounce back. "At this point," says Woodbury, "we are very optimistic and continue to reach out to potential donors." The story is the same for the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, which has been conducting its $86 million fund-raising campaign since January 2002. School fund-raisers had hoped to finish the campaign by the end of June, but that timeline was extended, says Charlie Adair, director of development. "While we recently received a significant donation to push us over the $80 million mark, we did not meet our June 30 deadline," says Adair. "We spoke to many people at the end of last year who just weren't ready to give." A few donors have asked to skip payments, he says, but they have extended the terms of their pledges accordingly. When Culverhouse wrapped up its campaign in July, there was a "flurry" of dona- tions, says Adair. "We closed a little bit short—just $1.3 mil- lion from our goal," he says. In light of the times, Culverhouse is changing the ways it connects to donors. For instance, the school is emphasizing e-mail and its Web site over print-based mailings. The school also keeps these messages short and simple, directing people to the Web site for more information. These approaches don't just save money—they keep the school's communications effective, concise, and on target. That strategy may pay off when donors resume their phil- anthropic activities, says Adair. "The good news is that I've met with a number of corporate donors who are interested in giving $1 million gifts in the fourth quarter. Many are ready to start the conversation again," he says. "I feel good about the next six months." Tough, Not Catastrophic The top fund-raising schools have been hit incredibly hard. In April, The Chronicle of Higher Education surveyed 12 schools currently conducting fund-raising campaigns of $1 billion or more. It found that those campaigns saw an aver- age 32 percent decrease in donations between March 1, 2008, and February 28, 2009. That's a huge dip, but it's not the whole story, says Roy Muir, a consultant with Marts & Lundy, a New Jersey-based consulting firm that works with universities and other non- profits. Such large campaigns often rely on massive gifts— and today's economic climate can spur wealthy donors to think twice about the amount, structure, timing, and invest- ment of a large donation. The story is less dire for campaigns at institutions with smaller fund-raising objectives. At the end of 2008, Marts & Lundy surveyed its clients to see how the economy's rever- sal of fortune had affected annual giving campaigns. The 64 responding institutions reported an average 3 percent decrease in total money raised—not the best outcome, says Muir, but also not catastrophic. The 22 private higher education institutions that respond- ed told similar stories. Their average annual fund participa- tion decreased by 4 percent from 2007 to 2008; total cash proceeds were down 3 percent. Seven public institutions reported a 6 percent decrease in alumni participation, and a 5 percent decrease in their total gifts and pledges. Institutions in the public phase of major campaigns were the hardest hit among Marts & Lundy clients. They reported an average 22 percent decrease in new gifts and pledges, and a 10 percent decrease in total cash proceeds. 38 BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009 BRAND X PICTURES/PUNCHSTOCK