Crème de la Crème
CURRENTS Article In 2011, 268 bronze, silver, gold, and grand gold Circle of Excellence awards went to 171 colleges, universities, independent schools, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. Eight of those grand gold and gold award winners are profiled here.

AdvanceWork: Slumber Party
CURRENTS Article Oregon State University’s College of Business wanted to thank donors for supporting its conversion of a long-vacant dormitory into a residence hall and learning facility for students of its Austin Entrepreneurship Program. One trustee suggested a campus sleepover and the rest, as they say, is history. This article describes the event that welcomed 130 donors as the first overnight guests of the “new” Weatherford Hall and explains why creative stewardship is so important.

AdvanceWork: Stars in Their Eyes
CURRENTS Article Alumni of historically black colleges and universities are giving to alma mater in increasing numbers; the average size of their gifts also is on the rise. In May, the Kresge Foundation’s HBCU Initiative held an event to celebrate this unprecedented growth in major gift philanthropy by noncelebrity HBCU alumni and to raise alumni awareness of giving.