92 DEANS AND DEVELOPMENT to a decision?” should generate a more specific response than, “How much longer do you need before you decide?” Once the Gift has Been Given, or the Pledge Agreed to, how do you Continue to Work with the Donors to Ensure their Satisfaction? The best way to thank people for their gifts is to remind them of the posi- tive difference the gift has made from your stewardship. Building proj- ects need to be undertaken when funding is forthcoming supporting them. Funds supporting students or faculty research or travel need to be allocated in accordance with donor intent. You are responsible for monitoring the expenditure of gifts and their benefits. Atoneofourinstitutions,themusicdepartmentcomplained about a lack of scholarship funding supporting students. The dean examined the department’s finances and realized, to his horror, that the department had fifteen to twenty endowed scholarships and over $100,000 in unspent income from those accounts. The department was not spending money that it had, or not spending it in sufficient amounts on an annual basis. The dean told the department that until it could demonstrate it was awarding the funding already available, he could not ask donors for further contributions. Over a multi-year period the carry-forward was substantially reduced. This is an example of stewardship: the wise management, over time, of gifts. Before donors provide follow-up gifts or foundations additional grants, they want to see evidence their dollars have brought effec- tive change, and new programs have a “value-added” result. Persua- sive evidence includes increased numbers of students brought into a program, increased graduation or retention rates, and other data traditionally accumulated by Institutional Research offices. But donors will be most moved when they see individual lives changed, faculty scholarship accomplished, programs or centers developed, equipment purchased, and facilities renovated and built. Whenever