Looking Ahead | Experts: Longer contract for pres. shows confidence

Penn's strategy for raising the remainder of the money for its $3.5 billion capital campaign is fairly standard, experts say.

Although finance consultants vary on how much a university should raise during the quiet phase, they generally agree that Penn was ready to take the next step in the campaign.

The University announced last Saturday the public phase of the "Making History" capital campaign, during which they aim to raise $1.9 billion - the rest of its $3.5 billion goal.

During the quiet campaign that began in 2005, the University began discussing some of its message for the campaign and raised $1.6 million, or 46 percent of their total goal.

Stanford University, now in the middle of a $4.3 billion campaign, is taking a similar approach, targeting alumni from all financial backgrounds.

Penn, too, is opening its arms - and wallet - to donations of all sizes.

"The contributions we've got to date that range from $1 to $100,000 account for 25 percent of what we've raised," Penn President Amy Gutmann said.

Johns Hopkins, Columbia and Yale universities are also currently in the middle of capital campaigns similar to Penn's, each striving to raise over $3 billion.

Carol Wittmeyer, president of the fundraising consulting company The Meliora Group, said the synced announcement of the extension of Gutmann's contract by five years was a strategic move to show confidence in the campaign.

Not surprisingly, donor confidence will be crucial for meeting the $3.5 billion goal, since well over 90 percent of all gifts to campaigns come from under 10 percent of donors, Wittmeyer said.

As far as transitioning from the quiet to public phase, experts say a university should raise anywhere from 30 to 50 percent of the campaign money during the quiet phase.

Fritz Schroeder, senior associate vice president of development and alumni relations for Johns Hopkins University, said an institution as large as Penn may go public as early as 30 percent into their total fundraising.

Alternatively, Richard Jolly, vice president of client services at Marts & Lundy, an international fundraising-consulting company, said institutions "like to have well over 50 percent of the goal committed" in order to be confident of their success rather than any sort of "artificial time line."

Still, Penn's Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations John Zeller says he feels comfortable using the "two- and five-year" model of capital campaigns that many institutions use.

"We did remarkably well," he said of the quiet phase of Penn's campaign. "I think this campaign has resonated so well with all of our constituency."

The public phase of Penn's campaign will focus on using the momentum from the quiet phase to draw in even more donors.

Overall, money from the campaign will go toward financial aid, the endowment and eastward expansion projects, including a new College House and medical research facilities.

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