Future of Division III

[MCScots2013]

Of course admissions and the President's Office hate being the subject of this kind of article; however, I'd say it depends. The alumni base makes a huge difference. If there is a large untapped group of potential donor alums, ie. those who could but don't, then publicity could help.

Take two Virginia schools: Sweet Briar and U of R (Richmond). SBC by all accounts has worked a miracle in the last decade to stay open and U of R is one of the wealthiest schools in the nation with ~$3.5B in endowed funds. A far cry from nearly closing the doors a few generations ago.

Catawba in NC has gotten two $200M gifts in the last 3 years. Endowment has grown from $88M to $614M in the last 5 years. Crazy!

It takes as little as one generous person to make a game changer for these schools.

[IC798891]

Of course admissions and the President's Office hate being the subject of this kind of article;

It takes as little as one generous person to make a game changer for these schools.

Save-the-institution type donors already know more about the financial decisions of an institution than would ever be put in a news article about those financial decisions, way before that article even gets thought of, let alone written or published.

That's why capital campaigns typically don't get announced until you have *at least* 70% of that money in the bank already. If you're making major financial decisions, good or bad, your rich alumni are the first to know, and the general public are the last. If anything, the reason you make these types of moves is because of what those alumni have or haven't done.

Anyone finding out via this article? Rank and file alumni

*I say this AS a rank and file alumnus. My hundred bucks a year is not keeping the lights on

Again, that's not to say these institutions are doomed. Plenty have been pulled back. But this article is not what's turning the tide

[WUPHF]

As discussed before, with the college tuition model, typically, you pay a lot initially and then get a lot of free services in return including academic, recreational and health-related services, programs, events...

If I looking at a college and heard that it was struggling financially, knowing that cuts would be inevitable, I might question the value proposition.  But I might be alone in thinking this way.

[DagarmanSpartan]

Publications are going to beat this dead horse for the foreseeable future.  Who can blame them, though?  Highly clickable topic and too easy to pick a small private college then look up their financials. Has to be a go-to when a deadline is coming up or you need to push something out for a quick payday.     

Wouldn't shock me if the school helped with the article.  Might get alumni to open the wallet for donations.  Any publicity is good publicity. 

Donors give for lots of reasons. But the common thread running through all of them is giving to something they believe in.

I agree on that last sentence.  Most of the money I donate to my undergrad alma mater (CWRU) goes to......get this now........the campus RADIO STATION (WRUW).  Best college radio ever!!!

As you say........it's something I believe in.

[Gray Fox]

Publications are going to beat this dead horse for the foreseeable future.  Who can blame them, though?  Highly clickable topic and too easy to pick a small private college then look up their financials. Has to be a go-to when a deadline is coming up or you need to push something out for a quick payday.   

Wouldn't shock me if the school helped with the article.  Might get alumni to open the wallet for donations.  Any publicity is good publicity. 

Donors give for lots of reasons. But the common thread running through all of them is giving to something they believe in.

I agree on that last sentence.  Most of the money I donate to my undergrad alma mater (CWRU) goes to......get this now........the campus RADIO STATION (CWRU).  Best college radio ever!!!

As you say........it's something I believe in.

Every little bit helps.  You may inspire the next Wolfman Jack.

[DagarmanSpartan]

https://wruw.org/

[MCScots2013]

Well, this is something:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/governance/executive-leadership/2026/09/03/antioch-university-sues-over-alleged-hostile

[smedindy]

*I say this AS a rank and file alumnus. My hundred bucks a year is not keeping the lights on

Fundraising pro here. The more rank-and-file alumni give, the more attractive the college is for larger donors as it shows that there is affinity and interest in the instiution.

Now, higher ed fundraising is shedding smaller donors, pertty much across the board, as charitable giving becomes more targeted and cause oriented. But stewarding the rank-and-file donor gifts is what gets you the larger gifts down the road, and makes the college more attractive for estate plans.

[y_jack_lok]

Well, this is something:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/governance/executive-leadership/2026/09/03/antioch-university-sues-over-alleged-hostile

Fascinating!

[Ralph Turner]

*I say this AS a rank and file alumnus. My hundred bucks a year is not keeping the lights on

Fundraising pro here. The more rank-and-file alumni give, the more attractive the college is for larger donors as it shows that there is affinity and interest in the instiution.

Now, higher ed fundraising is shedding smaller donors, pertty much across the board, as charitable giving becomes more targeted and cause oriented. But stewarding the rank-and-file donor gifts is what gets you the larger gifts down the road, and makes the college more attractive for estate plans.

YES!

[Gray Fox]

*I say this AS a rank and file alumnus. My hundred bucks a year is not keeping the lights on

Fundraising pro here. The more rank-and-file alumni give, the more attractive the college is for larger donors as it shows that there is affinity and interest in the instiution.

Now, higher ed fundraising is shedding smaller donors, pertty much across the board, as charitable giving becomes more targeted and cause oriented. But stewarding the rank-and-file donor gifts is what gets you the larger gifts down the road, and makes the college more attractive for estate plans.

YES!

My college has a giving day that mostly attracts small gifts but alerts alums to larger possibilities.

[IC798891]

*I say this AS a rank and file alumnus. My hundred bucks a year is not keeping the lights on

But stewarding the rank-and-file donor gifts is what gets you the larger gifts down the road, and makes the college more attractive for estate plans.

Of course, you want to turn rank-and-file alumni into estate leaving alumni. Bob Iger was not always equipped with Laker buying money. Yes, you want a 25-year old to give her $100 now, and then, as the decades pass, the relationship grows, her income grows, and then when she passes away at 78, she leaves you $15 million dollars or whatever the sum.

But we need to recall the state of the colleges in the article that sparked this conversation. These are institutions that are struggling financially, to the tune of being forced to break some of the ironclad rules of sustainability.

They, and the hundreds of other colleges facing closure/merger in the next decade don't have the luxury of slowly nurturing small relationships and waiting decades for the payoff.

It's not that the random $100 isn't appreciated, it's that it can't do what you need it to.

These colleges are at the point in the movie Rounders where Matt Damon has one day to repay Ed Norton's debt, and he goes to see John Turturro.

"What can you do for me? I mean five hundred isn't even enough to get me started."

"Five hundred won't help, what's two grand going to do?"