City University Retains New Fundraising Consultant

Vice Chairman of the CUNY Board of Trustees, Benno C. Schmidt Jr. will spearhead fundraising efforts.

The City University has retained the Community Counselling Service Company (CCS), a professional fundraising/public relations firm based in Manhattan, to assist in undertaking a Development Assessment on every college campus. Chancellor Goldstein announced the move in a March 27 letter to all college presidents, observing that "competing demands on the University's limited resources make it imperative for us to secure external monies."

During early spring, colleges will complete surveys prepared by CCS, and its staff will then conduct interviews with campus leaders and chief advancement officers. The goal will be to evaluate the level of individual campus development programs and explore opportunities for increased fundraising efficiency, innovation, and growth.

The Chancellor reiterated the high priority of fundraising in his administration when he raised the subject at the January meeting of the Board of Trustees. While expressing his delight at getting "weekly calls from our presidents about major gifts," he acknowledged that the concerted focus on raising funds from alumni and extramural sources "is a relatively new phenomenon" at CUNY.

The Chancellor urged the Board to create a Standing Committee for Development that "would ultimately lead to a campaign for CUNY." He did not have to look far for the ideal chair of such a committee. Motioning to the meeting's presider, Vice Chairman of the Board Benno C. Schmidt Jr., Goldstein recalled Schmidt's "extraordinary record" as "probably the best fund-raiser in Yale's history" during his presidential tenure there, and then added, "I can't think of anybody better to lead that effort than you."

Enthusiastically accepting the challenge, Schmidt acknowledged that, from his first days on the Board, he had thought it a "great lost opportunity at this University in the area of attracting private gifts and eleemosynary contributions. . . .In my previous experience, the responsibility of university trustees has included a stewardship of the development effort," Schmidt stated, "and I think there is every reason to believe that CUNY would benefit from moving very strongly in this direction."

Promising to move a planning effort "into high gear this spring" aimed at creating an "oversight and support mechanism" on the Board for University-wide fundraising, Schmidt voiced his conviction that there is "no reason why CUNY should not be the most successful public university in the U.S. at drawing private support."