What is“Development?” 17 for her talents as a female student in the 1970s. For her, giving to the University meant supporting the repression she had experienced. But bringing her back to campus to meet the dynamic women students, faculty, and administrators there in the twenty-first century convinced her to give to the college as a way to support women, not to endorse what she had experienced. It’s not only the prospect herself who may be the key to a gift. The prospect’s spouse or partner can be a crucial person in the discussion about giving, even though the prospect has all the wealth. As one college president, who is a champion fundraiser, put it: some of his best donors “were adopted, walked on, or married in.” I have met a fair number of couples, usually with the husband as the person with the high income or accumulated wealth, where the husband relies on his wife to make the crucial decisions on philanthropy, including to his alma mater or at least to which aspect of his alma mater that they will contribute. Non-alumni form a significant portion of giving to colleges and universities. Business leaders who hire your graduates can be generous donors. Parents sometimes identify more with the institution that their children attended than with their alma mater. This is particularly true when the parents, a generation earlier, chose to attend a college simply because it was nearby or the cheapest alternative. They became much invested in their children’s college because they spent two years helping choose it and became deeply involved in it through their son or daughter. A parents’ council can be a wonderful source of prospects and donations. Grandparents, too, can be very generous. Look for them at senior recitals, final home games, departmental honors receptions, and commencements. Let them take all the photos with you that they want, get their names if you can, and ask them to send you copies of the photos so you get their emails. Usually that’s enough for a good research department to do its work. Whenmakinganask,bewellprepared,knowthatyouhaveearnedthe right to make the ask with the prospect, listen carefully, and remember that the conversation should be donor centered. Consider setting the stage by planting a seed with your prospect. After telling a story about a specific need, remember to listen for the prospect’s response. If the