The Changing Face of Philanthropy

Where the color line yields to the bottom line

ATLANTA  —  Just before the winter holiday break, a group of 70 Black professionals gathered here at the Georgia Institute of Technology for a reception. They nibbled hors d'oeuvres and traded business cards as a jazz group played in the background. Even after the evening's main attraction — a speech by Coca-Cola Co.'s Michael Bivins, education director of the soft-drink company's foundation — people didn't bolt for the door.

This wasn't your average reception.
It was a sort of a coming-out party for Georgia Tech's first Black development directors — Birgit Smith Burton, director of foundation relations, and James S. Simmons, director of corporate relations.
But it was also the first time Black professionals in development at Atlanta universities had gathered.
"A lot of people still think Georgia Tech is a White, male institution," says Smith Burton. "But the face of Georgia Tech is changing. We're the first African Americans at this level in institutional advancement. Blacks are becoming directors and it's making a statement. We're having more opportunity and proving our skills and talents."
But although many applaud their appointments, Black professionals say this scene is not likely to be repeated on too many college campuses. Although some Blacks are moving into senior positions in development at university foundations, the number of minorities in the development field is still small.
According to the National Society of Fund-Raising Executives, Blacks make up just under 2 percent of the organization's members, despite the fact that the organization has grown from 10,000 members to 22,000 in the last decade. The percentage of Hispanics (1.1 percent), Asians (0.4 percent) and Native Americans (also 0.4 percent) have all remained constant as the organization's headcount has increased in the last 10  years.
But with the rise in foundation and corporate giving to higher education — American colleges and universities received a record $20.4 billion in private giving last year — gift-seeking gigs have become more prominent.
Experts say that with colleges and universities having to rely more on their fund-raising arms as state allocations dwindle, there's more room than ever for fund-raisers of color to get into the game.