**Executive Summary
With the tectonic shift in higher education funding from a social good
supported by public funds to a private benefit supported by individuals
and private entities, institutional fund-raising is undergoing change.
Fund-raising, which was once almost exclusively the concern of
independent colleges and universities, is now an increasingly important
preoccupation of public institutions. As this shift has taken place, the
tasks associated with fund-raising have become the responsibility of
departments and chairs as well as the concern of administrators and
professional fund-raisers.
In this briefing, I provide a historical review of funding patterns in
higher education, followed by a discussion on how chairs can lead their
departmental search for external funds to meet operating and capital
budget needs. I then review the fundamentals of fund-raising, its
terminology, and the rules that govern expenditures in academic
departments. I also explain how chairs and departments can put their
ideas into action to expand department resources, by responding to
opportunities and/or designing their own plan. Finally, I provide
suggestions for dealing with some of the ethical issues that can
arise.
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