Too often donors and volunteer fund raisers think of charitable gifts only in terms of cash and other liquid assets, says Laura Hansen Dean, executive director for gift planning at the University of Texas at Austin.

But in these tough economic times that needs to change, said Ms. Dean at a session in Denver of the annual conference of the National Committee on Planned Giving.,

Before beginning a capital campaign, Ms. Dean recommends an organization review and revise its policies for accepting gifts. Even though a significant proportion of the country’s wealth is tied up in real estate or in closely held business interests, most charities’ policies discourage gifts that don’t come in the form of cash or securities, she said.

Ms. Dean also emphasized the importance of working with consultants that value planned gifts as an integral part of a...

Graduate students and faculty members at New York University’s Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising are putting their research to public good in a new online journal of essays, articles, and opinion pieces.

The journal, Chronicling the Independent Sector: The Heyman Center’s Fundraising and Philanthropy Forum seeks to raise awareness of the study of philanthropy and promote discussion of effective fund-raising techniques.

“As our fund raisers and philanthropic leaders become better and more knowledgeable in the field, the promised outcome is a better America and a better global community,” write the journal’s co-editors in chief, Casey Rotter and Lauren Weston. “This online journal is a forum to the world and the greater philanthropic community as a whole.”

The journal’s inaugural issue features an essay on...

As the economic crisis worsens, some charities are reporting that companies are curtailing their giving. But that could also make their products less appealing to customers, new research suggests.

A survey of more than 1,000 adults conducted by Cone, a Boston communications consulting company, found that even in a poor economy, consumers expect companies to support philanthropy. More than half said companies should maintain their levels of financial support for charitable causes, and 26 percent thought the companies should give even more.

Another preliminary study by Cone and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business found that advertising promoting a product’s link to charity boost sales. More than 180 participants evaluated a magazine containing advertisements for four products—shampoo, toothpaste, potato chips, and light bulbs—and were then given money to purchase one product...

For most hospitals and medical centers, grateful patients are an untapped resource for fund raising, according to John H. Glick, an oncologist who serves as vice president of the University of Pennsylvania health system.

“Every time I read in an obituary of someone who received care at Penn that they left money to the American Cancer Society I see a lost opportunity, said Dr. Glick who spoke here at the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy’s annual meeting.

As the system’s senior physician leader, Dr. Glick asks doctors to devote 10-15 hours a year to fund raising and to attend training on how to identify potential donors among their patients.

Penn Medicine also created a “medical concierge program” that expedites appointments with physicians and provides other administrative services for generous donors. For the fiscal year 2006, said Dr. Glick, the 330 patients in the...

Most capital campaigns design their strategies based on myths — and a a result, they often fail to reach their full potential, William C. Krueger, president of Capital Quest, a fund-raising consulting firm, told last week’s annual meeting of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, in Chicago.

For example, many people believe that campaign-feasibility studies predict how much will be raised, but “statistics mean nothing in a campaign,” said Mr. Krueger. Instead, he said, a preliminary study should be used to start a discussion with prospective donors about the campaign, not to come up with numbers for how much money can be raised.

Some fund raisers also believe that getting all board members to give to a campaign is essential, but an obsession with getting all board members of offer their support can kill a campaign, said Mr. Krueger.

“The words ’100% of the board has...

When Laura Walsh joined the BC Cancer Foundation in Vancouver Island seven years ago as its director of development, the center had recently completed a $7-million capital campaign and she was hesitant to ask big donors make additional gifts for other purposes, out of fear of causing donor fatigue.

But that was a mistake, she now says.

In a session at the annual meeting of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, she said she realizes she missed opportunities to bring in additional contributions and build upon relationships with donors who had already shown their support.

Securing major donations without the aid of a capital campaign’s energizing slogans, benchmarks, and lofty goals can be a challenge, she said. But it can be done.

When planning to seek money outside of a campaign, Ms. Walsh suggests using the same sort of aspirational language that is common in capital...

The daily life of a fund raiser who seeks planned gifts can be unpredictable, filled with duties that reap uncertain and long-delayed rewards from bequests and other gifts such as charitable trusts that provide tax benefits and income for donors.

That’s why it’s important for such fund raisers to have both a clearly defined set of expectations and a solid understanding of factors such as fluctuations in the economy that can affect results, writes Tom Cullinan, a fund-raising consultant, in an article that recently caught the interest of members of an online discussion group of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

The article, “Evaluating Gift Planner Performance: A Guide for Charity Managers,” notes that some charities expect such fund raisers to bring in commitments four times their salary within the first three years.

Others looks at how much it costs to raise a dollar...