The University of Alaska Foundation hosted a major gift solicitation workshop for academic leaders and development professionals at the Fairbanks campus earlier this month. This was the second part of a two part series focused on acquiring and deploying private support. If attendance and enthusiastic participation was any indication, the event was a huge success.

The CASE on Campus workshop featured guest presenter Penny Hunt, vice chancellor for development at the University of Illinois at Chicago and senior vice president for the University of Illinois Foundation. Hunt spent the entire day Ocober 6 with nearly 40 UA and UAF staffers, including the UAF chancellor, several deans, the UAF provost and development officers from both the Foundation and UAF. Staff from Public Affairs and UAF Marketing and Communications also attended. CASE stands for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and is the professional organization dedicated to fund-raising, alumni relations, marketing and communications.

The first part of this series was held in Fairbanks in June, as well as both parts of the series conducted at UAA in May.

“As we build a culture of philanthropy in Alaska and the university, it’s important that we all understand the roles we play,” said Foundation president Mary Rutherford.� “The Foundation is proud to partner with the campuses in bringing these high quality programs to Alaska.� By hosting them on campus, many deans, directors and staff who would not otherwise be able to participate can join. Also, learning together helps create a sense of camaraderie among faculty and staff.”

The workshop covered a variety of issues, such as how to cultivate potential donors to the university, how to solicit major gifts and proper stewardship. The workshop also included brainstorming and role-playing sessions, with some participants taking on the role of donor and others as the development officer.
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