Gearhart, Miller Author New Book of Fundraising Case Studies

A new textbook by Dave Gearhart and Michael Miller, University of Arkansas higher education professors, provides case studies to help fundraising professionals think differently about how to solve problems and see issues from different perspectives.

Gearhart formerly served as chancellor and vice chancellor for advancement at the U of A, and Miller currently serves as dean of the College of Education and Health Professions. New Forums Press published the book titled Case Studies in Higher Education Fundraising: Critical Issues, Critical Discussions.

Gearhart and Miller wrote in the book's foreword that the need by higher education institutions for private gift support has never been greater but the competition for funds has also increased in recent years. They describe the biggest changes in recent decades as greater involvement by donors in what their money is spent on, trillions of dollars available for giving as members of the greatest generation pass along funds to baby boomers, and the electronic age of solicitation in which social media plays a large role.

Fundraisers must continually educate themselves about changes in tax law, creative ideas to use in working with benefactors and strategic problem-solving. The book's format of case studies offers a teaching method that engages students in an active learning process. The 15 case studies are loosely based on real events but all of the names and places are fictional.

Each case study includes discussion questions about one-third of the way through, again at about two-thirds of the way through and at the end. Students must answer hard questions, take positions and defend them, and the book offers several strategies for how to use the case studies in class. Discussions about the case studies mimic the process fundraisers go through in the workplace, where people with different ideas and perceptions of reality must work together, the authors wrote.

Topics include athletics and academics, angry heirs, protection of donor information and proposed gifts that don't fit an institution's needs. One chapter covers the challenges fundraisers face when a community college and a neighboring four-year institution find themselves at odds over their missions. In the scenario, the fundraising professionals brought donors into the situation to put pressure on the community college.