Educational institutions famously undervalue the annual fund, perceiving it merely as a means to unrestricted funds, according to Lori Yersh, senior advisor to the vice president of advancement and external relations at Concordia University in Canada and an annual giving expert who has consulted at more than 120 educational and health care institutions in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

Sometimes the best publicity for your institution has nothing to do with the institution.

Hundreds of alumnae had gathered on the sidewalks of William Peace University, shouting and waving signs with messages like "It's not the guys; it's the lies." Months earlier, during the summer of 2011, the North Carolina private institution made the decision not only to switch from female to coed but to change its name from Peace College to William Peace University, after the man who donated money to help start it.