Introduction
What can faculty members and college and university administrators do to advance their programs’ or schools’ missions through philanthropy? This paper will address that question within the general context of philanthropy in this country; it will touch on some empowering principles, and finally discuss their application.
A Golden Age of Philanthropy
We have entered in this country what my Boston College colleague Paul Schervish calls a “golden age of philanthropy.” From 1998 through 2052 we expect $41 trillion of wealth to transfer through estates. This is a modest estimate. It assumes a starting point of wealth in the country ($32 trillion) lower than other published reports. It also assumes a real growth rate of only an average 2% annually. Historical growth for the last 50 years in the USA has averaged well over 3%. At 3% growth, the wealth transfer
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