Making the Case for Arts and Sciences 109 support the public role the college must have to remain viable in today’s society. In many cases, successful fundraising efforts extend beyond alumni to include members of our community or state who believe in the purpose of our campaign. So far, our examples focus on strategies for acquiring major gifts for Arts and Sciences. But as a dean of Arts and Sciences, you must recognize the value of all gifts, large and small. If you are asked to support a general mailing, recognize that while the yield may be relatively small, an accu- mulation of small gifts in a general college excellence fund allows you some flexibility to support important activities to enrich student educa- tion. The letter itself should explain to donors who might be inclined to give that their gifts matter. Provide examples of how their gift allowed you to send student Jason to a professional conference in Pittsburgh or Megan to the Newberry in Chicago to complete research on her thesis. Take note of gifts larger than expected and any accompanying corre- spondence from the donor. Your development officer can sometimes use donor responses as follow-up leads for more and greater gifts. (DB) At UNO, I have used the letter to promote the values of undergraduate research, which is a major initiative in our college and University. While students have access to some funding in our Office of Research and Creative Activity thanks to a student fee, they rely on departments and the college for travel support. In response to one mailing focused on undergraduate research, one donor stepped up to establish a new fund to support that priority. (PSG) At CMU, we include a donor solicitation insert with everycollegenewsletterthatissentoutviaregularmailoremail. This provides alumni and donors an opportunity to support a program that has been featured within the newsletter, since it is often the student success stories that attract their interest. As a result of a particularly strong program where students are required to study abroad, one donor has provided a gift to support future students who wish to participate.