THE CHANGE LEADER

Category: Fundraising & Grants

Changing Higher Ed podcast 278 Higher Education Fundraising and Strategic Planning Alignment

Higher Education Fundraising and Strategic Planning Alignment—Strengthening Donor Relationships and Institutional Resilience:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 278 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Bill Crouch

In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Bill Crouch, CEO of BrightDot and former university president, about how presidents and boards can strengthen higher education fundraising in today’s strained financial climate. Together they explore strategies that move beyond transactional giving to cultivate generosity that creates lasting impact.

What you’ll gain from listening to this podcast:

✓ Fundraising as Strategy: How to integrate development into broader institutional planning to counter enrollment and funding pressures.

✓ Mattership: Why donors want assurance that their lives and legacies matter, not just their dollars.

✓ The 95/5 Reality: Why presidents should focus attention on the small percentage of donors who hold the majority of philanthropic capacity.

✓ Eagles and Sparrows: How to engage high-capacity donors without losing the value of

September 23, 2025 June 30, 2026
Capital Funding Strategies in Higher Education: How Universities Are Solving Infrastructure and Student Housing Challenges-Changing Higher Ed podcast 256 with Brent Miller of HED

Capital Funding Strategies in Higher Education: How Universities Are Solving Infrastructure and Student Housing Challenges:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 256 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Brent Miller of HED

In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Dr. Drumm McNaughton explores how college and university leaders are adapting to shrinking state support and increasing infrastructure demands by rethinking capital funding. He’s joined by Brent Miller, Higher Education Market Sector Leader at HED, to break down practical funding models—ranging from public-private partnerships (P3s) to bond initiatives and mission-aligned donor gifts.

You’ll hear real examples from USC, UC Irvine, the University of Michigan, UC Merced, and more, along with key insights for presidents, CFOs, and boards on structuring capital projects to support institutional strategy and reduce long-term costs.

What you’ll gain from listening to this podcast:

✓ Donor-Funded Innovation: How institutions are aligning major gifts with capital goals and academic programs.
✓ P3 Reality Check: What public-private partnerships look like in

April 22, 2025 June 27, 2026
Advancing Research for Tier Two Institutions with NSF | Changing Higher Ed Podcast 165 with Host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Guest Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan

Funding Research for Tier Two Institutions with NSF:

Changing Higher Ed Podcast 165 with Host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Guest Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan

Tier two (R2) research and smaller institutions, including two-year, minority-serving, and tribal colleges, can now build solid research infrastructures and perform groundbreaking discoveries through research enterprises on the same scale as larger R1 and flagship universities.   In this episode of Changing Higher Ed®, Drumm speaks with Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF). They discuss how his organization helps democratize ideas in higher education, enabling all colleges and universities to solve real-world problems and revitalize their communities.   The NSF achieves this through funding and grant programs like the Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity (GRANTED) and Enabling Partnership to Increase Innovation Capacity (EPIIC).   Dr. Panch also discusses NSF’s mission and vision. He talks about its recent $44 million program that helps fund projects across the US.

July 25, 2023 December 11, 2025
Hope Forward: Enabling Free Tuition for College | The Change Leader

Hope Forward: Enabling Free Tuition for College:

with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Matt Scogin | Changing Higher Ed Podcast 092

Hope College, a Christian college located in Holland, Michigan, is establishing the innovative Hope Forward program, enabling free tuition for college, which will allow students to graduate debt-free. The first pilot cohort of students is enrolling in the school in Fall 2021. The institution is trying to create this model to free itself from being tied to tuition, build a true learning community, and inculcate the values of giving and generosity in students.

September 11, 2021 January 23, 2024
Changes to University Scholarship Processes Due to the Pandemic

Changes to University Scholarship Processes Due to the Pandemic:

with Host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Guests Keith Brown and Alania Cater | Changing Higher Ed Podcast 060

This podcast focuses on the changes to university scholarship processes due to the pandemic, and features Dr. Drumm McNaughton, Keith Brown and Alania Cater | Changing Higher Ed 060. The coronavirus pandemic’s tumultuous reach continues to upend higher education. This podcast looks at the disruption that has happened in the areas of scholarship, financial aid, and fundraising.

October 20, 2020 June 18, 2024
Raising Money for Universities during COVID: with Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Scott Roberts and Tim Hill | Changing Higher Ed Podcast 043

Raising Money for Universities during COVID:

with Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Scott Roberts and Tim Hill | Changing Higher Ed Podcast 043

In this podcast, Raising Money for Universities during COVID with Scott Roberts, Tim Hill, and Dr. Drumm McNaughton you’ll hear why higher education fundraising is even more critical as colleges and universities navigate the unexpected and unpredictable financial situation caused by the current COVID-19 pandemic. During a time marked by physical separation, institutions and their development offices need to find creative ways to stay in touch with donors and potential donors while also having compassion and empathy for what these individuals are facing during the pandemic.

May 19, 2020 November 25, 2023
University Fundraising during Crisis Situations | Higher Ed Podcast

University Fundraising During Crisis Situations:

with Martin Leifeld | Changing Higher Ed Podcast 042

This podcast explores university fundraising during crisis situations. At the time of this podcast, COVID-19 was the major crisis for higher ed finances. Contrary to what many would think, the current situation could be an important time to visit with donors.

During his 24 years of professional fundraising, Martin Leifeld and his teams raised a staggering $500 million dollars. He served as vice-chancellor of advancement for the University of Missouri-St. Louis for a decade.

May 13, 2020 September 23, 2025
Transforming Higher Ed in Turbulent Times

A Primer for Transforming Higher Ed in Turbulent Times

Transforming Higher Ed in turbulent times may seem impossible, in “normal” times is difficult enough. Preparing for what comes next and strategically managing the transformation will make or break your institution.

November 2, 2019 September 11, 2023
An illustration symbolizing venture philanthropy in the context of colleges and universities. The image features a large, modern university campus

Venture Philanthropy for Colleges and Universities:

Funding and Programs with Venture Philanthropy

Venture philanthropy for college and university funding is a new trend in higher education, and the following blog discusses the pros and cons of how this can help your college or university. Writing in 2012 for the American Association of University Professors, Kevin Kumashiro voices a concern that still resonates for many academics, the fear that venture philanthropy is bound to introduce programs “framed by corporate profitability.” This fear that the private sector only becomes involved in higher education for the purpose of self-enrichment originates in an assumption that business objectives necessarily oppose the interests of the academic world; there cannot be a scenario in which both sides gain. Given the current climate of dwindling public funds, declining enrollment, and a stagnant twentieth-century workforce, however, universities need to move past

January 16, 2017 November 14, 2023

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