N.Y. City Opera Drops Plan to Sell Name and Assets - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

N.Y. City Opera Drops Plan to Sell Name and Assets - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "he New York City Opera has abandoned plans to sell its name and other assets after months of legal squabbling between rival bidders seeking to revive the moribund company, writes The Wall Street Journal. The opera's board is instead weighing whether to restructure through the bankruptcy process begun when the organization filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2013."



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Harvard Draws Megagifts With Move Into Naming Rights - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Harvard Draws Megagifts With Move Into Naming Rights - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "Harvard University, long an exception to the higher-education trend of big donors' names adorning academic departments, is attracting unprecedented donations after reversing course, writes Boston.com."



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After Debate, Montana Regents OK Naming Law School for Donor - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

After Debate, Montana Regents OK Naming Law School for Donor - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "The Montana Board of Regents voted Friday to rename the University of Montana law school in recognition of a $10-million gift, turning back one member's protest over a lack of public participation in the naming-rights process, the Missoulian reports. The gift will be used in part to create a program in consumer law and protection at what is now the Alexander Blewett III School of Law."



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Montana Regent Questions Naming Law School for Big Donor - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Montana Regent Questions Naming Law School for Big Donor - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "A member of the Montana Board of Regents is protesting plans to rename the University of Montana School of Law after a $10 million donor, saying the public has not been given sufficient input on the plan, the Missoulian and the Associated Press report"



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Gifts Rename Buildings at Yale and Indiana U. - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Gifts Rename Buildings at Yale and Indiana U. - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "A 14-story tower on Yale University's campus will be renamed for David Swensen, the longtime manager of the school's endowment, following a $25 million gift made in his honor, Bloomberg writes. The donation was made by Peter Baldwin, a Yale alumnus and New York University historian, and Lisbet Rausing, also a historian and the daughter of Swedish industrialist Hans Rausing.
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With Naming Gifts, ‘Perpetuity’ Is a Matter of Negotiation – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

With Naming Gifts, ‘Perpetuity’ Is a Matter of Negotiation – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "The New York Times writes about the shifting meaning of “perpetuity” when the word is applied to putting multimillion-dollar donors’ names on cultural institutions. The article was prompted by Lincoln Center’s recent deal with the heirs of 1970s patron Avery Fisher to allow the venue to change the name of its concert hall in hopes of attracting a lucrative new gift, and it cites other donor pacts in which perpetuity carried a time limit."



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Prison firm withdraws gift to name FAU football stadium - Schools - MiamiHerald.com

Prison firm withdraws gift to name FAU football stadium - Schools - MiamiHerald.com: ust hours after the latest student protest, Boca-Raton based GEO Group on Monday withdrew its planned $6 million gift to Florida Atlantic University, a gift that would have put its name on the school’s football stadium.

Trade-Offs in Museum Naming Rights - NYTimes.com

Trade-Offs in Museum Naming Rights - NYTimes.com: Luckily, Mr. Rush said, the university’s hundreds of thousands of alumni are known for their school spirit. It also helps that the museum is offering naming opportunities; one gallery will bear the name of Edward Minskoff, the New York real estate developer and a Michigan State graduate. Mr. Minskoff wrote in an e-mail that the Broad name, if anything, encouraged him to give. “Eli is one of the most important collectors in the world, and it will only serve to attract other prominent contributors,” he wrote.

Often, though, putting a wealthy donor’s name on the door discourages giving, according to Mr. Munitz and other experts. (He named the Menil Collection in Houston, the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas and the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts in St. Louis as three museums facing that challenge.)

The Art of the Naming |

The Art of the Naming |: "For donors and organizations alike, the negotiations of naming rights for a building or program can be a tricky process. Donors are protective of their investment while the organization must think through the long-term impact a naming may have. The following are a few tips to consider before sitting down in the conference room to negotiate:"

Beyond The Bake Sale: School Fundraisers Raising Their Sights -- Courant.com

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Beyond The Bake Sale: School Fundraisers Raising Their Sights -- Courant.com: "Now these two mothers, along with other education boosters in Simsbury, are setting their sights significantly higher: They have launched a campaign, complete with a professionally produced marketing video and what amounts to a schoolhouse version of naming rights, to raise $1.5 million."

LiveScience.com-Name a Species

LiveScience.com: "Maybe a squiggly-wiggly, or a fishamazoo? This newly-discovered species needs a name, and you can choose it, for a price.

As a fundraising venture, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego is inviting donors to name new species."

The Gift Is Huge. But How Many Thanks Are Enough? - New York Times

The Gift Is Huge. But How Many Thanks Are Enough? - New York Times: "“There are at least three families with six places of recognition within the building,” Mr. LeClerc said, adding that it was nearly impossible to enter a room of the sprawling building in Midtown without stepping over a dedication carved into the floor or beneath a benefactor’s name written above a doorway. Striding across the Rose Main Reading Room, Mr. LeClerc approvingly repeated a phrase he had heard recently to describe the library: “A billboard to philanthropy.”

But on April 10, Community Board 5 voted to recommend rejecting the library’s proposal to carve the name of a major new donor, for whom the building will be named, on pedestals flanking the Fifth Avenue entrance. The donor is Stephen A. Schwarzman, chief executive of the Blackstone Group, a Wall Street firm, who on March 11 announced his gift of $100 million. Mr. Schwarzman has been a library trustee since 2001."

Yale Daily News - Decision to bar donors’ names from colleges sets Yale apart

Yale Daily News - Decision to bar donors’ names from colleges sets Yale apart: "he Corporation was in favor of expansion, Betts quickly offered, which raised the question: What would they be named?

Or, at least, would the University allow the lead donors for the colleges the chance to attach their names to them?

“We’re not going to,” he said.

The reporter pressed.

“What if someone approaches Yale with a $1 billion gift? What do you say: ‘No’?”

The assembled administrators laughed, but Betts got serious.

“The answer is no,” he declared. “We’re not going to do it.”"

newsobserver.com | Universities consider naming rights

newsobserver.com | Universities consider naming rights: "But for the right amount of money, they might bend the rules from here on out.

So in addition to old-school philanthropy, many are taking a close look at the kind of deals that have made corporate naming rights a staple of professional sports.

No one is about to slap the name of a bottled water company across the Old Well at UNC-Chapel Hill. But local universities are seeing the kind of money typically offered for 'termed contracts' at arenas and stadiums. Many would like a piece of that pie."

Argus Leader Media - News-Donor to USD says program misnamed

Argus Leader Media - News: "The university announced that the business school, which is getting a new building on the Vermillion campus, would be renamed in honor of Miles Beacom, Sanford's longtime associate at Premier Bankcard.

But the widow of a USD alumnus - who previously gave $9.2 million to the school - says her family's donation already secured the naming rights. Lucy Buhler, wife of the late Walter Buhler, wants some of the money back.

The USD Foundation, which oversees these types of gifts for the university, declined.

Now the whole thing is up to a judge."

Charity for its own sake? What a concept - Opinion

Charity for its own sake? What a concept - Opinion: "A seemingly ridiculous concept became a reality when, over the past two years, the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business raised over $85 million in donations from 13 alumni in return for a promise not to rename the school for any donor over the next 20 years.

When Michael Knetter became dean in 2002, he looked to significantly increase the school's budget. He began by offering up the naming rights to the entire school for a one-time $50 million donation."

Name game may change at UI - Metro

Name game may change at UI - Metro: "The state Board of Regents is considering a proposal that would allow buildings, schools, and other major parts of its universities to be named for products and corporations.

The policy restates the regents' authority to approve and re-examine the naming of any major unit of a public university. The proposal states that the regents will only approve the names of commercial entities 'in rare instances,' but Regent President Michael Gartner has said the future of university philanthropy may lie in corporate donations.

The policy would require universities to conduct 'due diligence' reviews of potential conflicts of interest when accepting gifts and possible impacts on tax-free funding and UI research. The plan also encourages the use of contracts stating that a large gift won't necessarily result in a name."

Your Name Could Go Right Here! - washingtonpost.com

Your Name Could Go Right Here! - washingtonpost.com: "Naming can, however, backfire when the donor runs into trouble. The University of Missouri, after the Enron collapse, wasn't able to fill the Ken Lay Chair in Economics and is now trying to figure out what to do with the money. The prestigious Kellogg School of Management is located in Northwestern University's Arthur Andersen Hall. The DuPont Pavilion at Villanova was re-dubbed the 'Pavilion' after its namesake, John DuPont, murdered an Olympic wrestler. The tech-stock whiz Alberto Vilar, up on fraud charges after his patronage outstripped his purse, had his name pulled down at New York University, the Royal Opera in London and the Grand Tier at the Met. In 2004, the Paige Sports Arena at the University of Missouri was renamed after it was revealed that its namesake, a Wal-Mart heiress, Elizabeth Paige Laurie, had been paying her roommate to do her homework."

Barnard Offers Naming Rights on Internet - October 3, 2007 - The New York Sun

Barnard Offers Naming Rights on Internet - October 3, 2007 - The New York Sun: "n a push to raise $20 million for its largest, most costly expansion project to date, the liberal arts college is selling the naming rights for a 70,000-square-foot building currently under construction with an online ad seeking a corporate or private sponsor to foot the bill, administrators said. 'It's not typical to raise $20 million gifts by posting them online, but I think it would be a brilliant thing to do if a company wanted to demonstrate its commitment to women and higher education,' the vice president for institutional advancement at Barnard, Cameran Mason, said."

Setting rules on park name rights | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | News: Local News

Setting rules on park name rights | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | News: Local News: "With the city's downtown parks master plan beginning to unfold, corporate interest in naming rights is on the rise."