MIT Reports to the President 1994-95

Vice President for Resource Development

The past year in Resource Development was characterized by a transition between the end of our largest and most successful capital campaign and a new era -- an era defined by shrinking federal dollars, a shift in MIT's relationships with industry and their relationship with philanthropy, a shift in the culture of foundation giving and a movement of wealth overseas. Yet, it was also a year characterized by extraordinary success and discovery. While private support rose to its second highest level in the history of the Institute, we focused attention on developing a better understanding of our base of support from individuals, corporations and foundations, both here and abroad, and have begun to lay the groundwork for increased private philanthropy and enhanced financial flexibility to help sustain MIT's preeminence in the years ahead.

We have continued the brisk pace established during the Campaign for the future. Our collaboration with the senior officers, deans, department heads, faculty, the Alumni/ae Association and others throughout the Institute has grown stronger as we have worked together to support school-based fundraising, corporate and foundation support, and giving from alumni and friends of MIT.

As required by the Institute, Resource Development reduced the operating budget by 2% during the past year while staffing remained relatively stable. During the year there were 18 promotions (10 men and 8 women, including 4 minorities). In addition, 10 open staff positions were filled. Key appointments during the course of the year included John Wilson as Director of Foundation Relations and School Development Services and Elizabeth Ogar as Director of Finance and Administration. Athelia Tilson joined the department as Special Assistant to the Vice President in November 1994. Resource Development continues its effort to fill positions with qualified women and minority candidates working closely with Personnel and others to identify new resources from which to draw applicants. The department participated again in the CASE Minority Internship Program and added a minority woman to the staff as a Research Analyst in July 1994. Resource Development remains committed to the hiring and promotion goals set out in our Affirmative Action report.

Private Support

Private support for Fiscal Year l995 totaled $108.9 million, including the following: $101.2 million in gifts, grants, and bequests, and $7.7 million in support through membership in the Industrial Liaison Program. The total compares with $94.5 million in 1994, $96.8 million in l993, $97.4 million in 1992, and $101.1 million in l991. Gifts-in-kind for the past year (principally gifts of equipment) were valued at $6.8 million.

Sources of gifts for Fiscal Year l995 were: alumni, $21 million; non-alumni friends, $10.7 million; corporations, corporate foundations, and trade associations, $33.6 million; foundations and charitable trusts, $32.4 million; and others, $3.5 million.

Donors designated expendable and endowed funds as follows: unrestricted, $17.7 million; departments, $40.8 million; faculty salaries, $14.9 million; graduate student aid, $6.2 million; undergraduate student aid, $12.6 million; building construction funds, $2.7 million; and other funds $6.3 million.

Barbara G. Stowe

OFFICE OF INDIVIDUAL GIVING

The Office of Individual Giving, directed by George Ramonat, consisting of the major gifts field staff, the director of principal gifts, the development officer for the arts, and the gifts planning associate director, and the staff devoted to the production of development communications and donor relations, had an extremely active year in continuing to develop a strong philanthropic culture among our major gift constituency.

The field staff, along with Lucy Miller, Director of Principal Gifts, managed 332 visits by the senior officers of the Institute with major donors who were in different stages of the gift getting process. This was a significant increase over the previous year's activities.

Regional activity by the gift staff on their own or with MIT volunteers, usually members of the Corporation Development Committee, consisted of small hosted events; qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship visits. This activity on the whole was lower than last year because of the loss of three members of the field staff in the office. However, the number of calls per active staff member was higher than the year before.

Under the purview of the Office of Individual Giving, an eight member task force convened to investigate the feasibility of conducting a comprehensive campaign for MIT in the near future. The Campaign Feasibility Task Force (CAFE) considered internal and external factors as well as the available resources and the additional resources needed for implementation. They expect to issue recommendations on the overall feasibility, process and structure in September 1995.

The Director of Principal Gifts, Lucy Miller, participated in several major undertakings this past year. She helped coordinate the principal gift prospects in MIT's first feasibility study to investigate the depth of support for a potential building project on campus. She also worked closely with the staff of the Sloan School to develop the Lemelson-MIT Prize, and to support the dedication of the Jack C. Tang Center for Management Education in April 1996.

Three members of the field staff left to pursue other opportunities. Colin Maclaurin was added to the staff in March as a major gifts officer assigned to New England. John Landry was promoted to Associate Director.

This office also manages the Corporation Development Committee (CDC) with George Ramonat serving as Executive Director. Below is a summary of the CDC's activities.

Corporation Development Committee

The Corporation Development Committee (CDC) held its annual meeting in November 1994. A highlight of the program was a dinner presentation by Nobel Laureate biologist Professor Phillip Sharp. The next day, members participated in interactive sessions designed to elicit their opinions about programs and strategies to be developed by Resource Development over the next few years. A consultant, John Brown of John Brown Associates, ran a highly interactive training session on deferred gifts of capital.

The Steering Committee met in May to plan the agenda for the annual meeting in November, and it also reviewed and made suggestions for a revised mission statement for the larger committee, as well as reviewing the purposes of its own activities.

Communications and Donor Relations

This office, headed by Elizabeth Harding, has three main areas of responsibility: editorial support for fundraising, the coordination of fundraising-related events, including Campus Visits, and the management of major gift stewardship at MIT.

The editorial group works with individual, corporate, and foundation frontline staff to write and edit newsletters, proposals, special letters and brochures. The principal publication of the office is Spectrum, a 16-page tabloid newsletter. Last year three issues were produced and sent to the mailing list of about 13,000 alumni/ae. Spectrum is also distributed internally to faculty and administrative staff. Other major publications produced in the past year included MIT Facts, Parents' News, the Parents Handbook, the Emma Rogers Newsletter, and eight donor profiles for Technology Review. MIT Facts was put on the World Wide Web for the first time. Two other brochures were produced to be available for fundraising purposes in September 1995: a case for endowing undergraduate scholarships and an overview of the School of Science. Carla Lane was promoted to Associate Director.

The Office of Events held three campus visits with a total attendance of 108 people, and helped to organize 18 other events. They also produced a Tribute to Sustaining Fellows in May with the dedication of a plaque, located outside Huntington Hall, to a group of major donors. Over 300 Sustaining Fellows and their guests attended a Saturday afternoon symposium, and over 400 were present at the plaque dedication and dinner dance in Walker Memorial that evening.

The Office of Donor Relations reported to 150 donors of scholarship funds on the performance of the endowment and the appointment of scholars supported by their gifts. The office continued to coordinate the stewardship of professorships with Resource Development, the Schools, and the Office of the Provost. A computer program designed for this task will be extended in the coming year to manage and strengthen stewardship practices for fellowships, research funds, and unrestricted gifts. The recommendations to be put in place were made by a Task Force that included five alumni/ae and ten administrative staff representing Resource Development, the Alumni/ae Association, and the Schools.

H.E. Ramonat

OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH AND SYSTEMS

FY 1995 was a year of great activity for the Office of Development Research and Systems. Under the directorship of Shelley Brown, the office played a key role in four major initiatives concerning research and systems:

The above initiatives were carried out in addition to the office's primary responsibilities which include: research support for fundraising activities of the senior officers, as well as fundraising support for the Office of Individual Giving; the National Screening Program, and ongoing technology and programming support for Resource Development.

Four members of the administrative staff left to pursue other opportunities. Jon Holcombe, Matthew Duffy, and Kevin Holland joined the department as Research Analysts. Christine Ford, from Corporate Development, joined the office as Screening Coordinator. John Solmonese and Charles Carr were both promoted from Senior Research Analyst to Assistant Director; Alexander Chisholm and Magdalena Hu were promoted to Senior Research Analysts.

Shelley Brown

OFFICE OF FOUNDATION RELATIONS AND SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

Under the direction of John S. Wilson, gifts from private foundations for this fiscal year totaled more than $32 million, up 68% from fiscal year 1994, and continued to make significant contributions to MIT's educational and research programs. Major grants or pledges were received in support of Industrial Performance Center, MIT - Japan Program, Center for Technology, Policy and Industrial Development, Knight Science Journalism Fellowships, and a large bequest from Arthur J. Conner Trust (Class of 1888).

In March 1995 Kathryn Battillo was appointed to Associate Director of the Office of School Development Services (OSDS). FY95 resulted in key fundraising initiatives and the design of systems and services to support the fundraising needs within each of the schools. Some of the highlights provided by the support of OSDS staff teams include: the School of Architecture and Planning focused on producing two department profiles, identifying and qualifying new donors, and stewarding current donors. The School of Engineering developed a Funding Opportunities Database and a set of Department Profiles to market the funding needs of School of Engineering departments, labs, centers, and programs. It identified prospects and assisted in developing marketing strategies for the new SoE initiatives which include the Master of Engineering program, the System Design and Management Program, the MITES program, and several chairs, fellowships, and other funds in the School of Engineering.

Beginning with an inaugural event honoring the Ivan R. Cottrell Professorship in Molecular Biology and Immunology, FY95 efforts with the School of Science focused on building support for Corridor Experiments and assistance with campaigns to build endowment for the Jerrold Zacharias and Victor Weisskopf Professorships in Physics.

The Sloan School team provided backup fundraising support for over 70 visits by the Deans, faculty, and staff. In addition, a new stewardship/donor relations system to improve correspondence with Sloan donors has been designed. Sloan's ongoing efforts included developing strategies for prospective donors to the Tang Center for Management Education, support of the school's growing Asian initiatives, and screening and identification of new prospects.

The Provost's support focused on two fundraising initiatives, MIT International Science and Technology Initiative (MISTI) and the Alliance for Global Sustainability, which included support of a dinner on May 2 for leaders in the MIT Chinese community and the International Conference on Sustainable Development and Environment in Beijing involving Alliance partners, MIT faculty, graduate students and industry leaders.

During the last year, three members of the administrative staff left to pursue other opportunities. Gretta Zettergren and Gary Gresh joined the staff of OSDS as Senior Research Analysts. The School of Humanities and Social Science appointed a new development officer, Carol Martin who has supported the Dean and department heads in fundraising for the Kochi chair and new initiatives focused on interactive multi-media.

John S. Wilson, Jr.

CORPORATE RELATIONS INCLUDING INDUSTRIAL LIAISON PROGRAM

Under the direction of Thomas R. Moebus, corporate cash gifts to MIT totaled $34 million, up 21% from fiscal year 1994. Programmatic initiatives such as Leaders for Manufacturing, the Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, and Inventing the Organizations of the 21st Century continued to spur corporate giving. The MIT Media Lab continued its success in attracting levels of corporate support, including gifts. However, overall, generalized support (fellowships, endowment) continued to shrink as corporations cut back. Non-U.S. support grew in such places as Argentina and Spain, often in conjunction with programs of regional institutional support. Explorations for support are underway in several other nations. These new engagements have been pursued ambitiously with the lead of faculty (Professors Moavenzadeh, Marks, McRae, Bras) and staffed by Corporate Relations.

In the new academic year, we will approach corporations to support MIT's Alliance for Global Sustainability and a growing number of engagements in Asia, especially focusing on engagements in China. Under the guidance of Associate Provost Phillip Clay and Professor Suzanne Berger (MISTI), and in conjunction with MIT faculty, we will also continue to pursue a selected set of international engagements.

Recessions in Europe and Japan had a negative impact on Industrial Liaison Program memberships. Exceptions to the trend of foreign losses were found in Latin America and in Asia, in countries other than Japan where modest gains were seen. In particular, the ILP share of the chemicals sector dropped during this year, while increases in membership were seen in the communications and services sectors. Overall, revenues were $7.7 million, down 2% from 1994, and up 2% from 1993.

Increasingly, international markets offer opportunities for MIT across all sectors of development: corporate and foundation support, gifts from individuals and sponsored research. The International Task Force, staffed by eight representatives from across Resource Development and the Alumni/ae Association, was convened by the Vice President to frame and examine issues of strategy formation, resource allocation and organizational structure for resource development overseas. Under the direction of David Woodruff, Director, Asia Pacific, Corporate Relations, the task force will issue recommendations in August 1995.

The Corporate Relations' quality improvement effort, internally titled "IQ^", continued this year by creating new products and services to respond to customer needs as identified in our "Voice of the Customer" survey, results of which were published in the MIT Faculty Newsletter. Within the ILP, new products have included Guide to MIT-Industry Partnerships, MIT Expertise, and an ILP Home Page on the World Wide Web. The MIT Report is being redesigned to target a higher level industry readership. A new publication, MITbits, slated for parallel electronic and paper distribution, will provide encapsulated research updates on a timely basis. Another new publication, ILP Reports to the Faculty, will bring information about industry needs and research interests to interested faculty and research staff on campus. In an effort to expose faculty to industrial practice and encourage industrial support for faculty, we have launched a coordinated effort to match faculty, especially at the junior level, with New England companies. We expanded the ILP Corporate Advisory Panel to include several international members. Two all-day meetings were held this year which provided critical inputs to the Task Force on Industry Linkages and elicited significant industry feedback on proposed new ILP products and services.

Within Corporate Development, a major bench marking study was undertaken with 14 non-Ivy/Stanford universities to assess how they approach industry for financial support. In addition, the Corporate Research group worked to improve corporate backups this year by soliciting input from senior officers and distributing backups to key faculty and others upon request.

On the events front, we successfully experimented with targeted industry sector meetings, gathering the research leaders from the Petrochemicals Industry to a session at Endicott House, co-chaired by Professors Robert Brown and Thomas Jordan. A trial collaboration with an outside conference promotion agency succeeded by adding 140 paying non-member attendees to the 360 ILP attendees at a conference on "Technology Supply Chains," chaired by Professor Charles Fine. We will move toward this model of operation for an increasing number of our events. Our second Annual Conference for Research Directors, "New Models for University-Industry Partnerships," included a special Technology Fair and focused on encouraging greater networking among faculty and industry participants. A preliminary analysis indicates that several sponsorships resulted from the meeting.

Internal operations underwent an overhaul this year, with the installation of a consistent Macintosh platform throughout the department. Staff with all levels of expertise took advantage of training opportunities, including training in the use of basic applications as well as the Internet.

During the last year, five members left Corporate Relations to pursue other opportunities. Kenneth Goldman and Wendy Elliott were promoted to Manager of Corporate Relations. Ms. Elliott is currently on a leave of absence to pursue a Master's Degree from the Sloan School of Management. Robert Malster was appointed Manager of Corporate Relations for the Biology/Chemicals Sector. Lauren Smith Brown was promoted to Senior Research Analyst and Nathaniel Bruce was promoted to Industrial Liaison Officer. Beatrix Henize was promoted to Assistant Director of New Business Development.

Cynthia Bloomquist returned to her position as Associate Director of Corporate Relations after a temporary assignment with the Council on Primary and Secondary Education.

Thomas R. Moebus

MIT Reports to the President 1994-95