David Sears had high hopes for his first year leading the fundraising office at Loyola College.
An $80 million capital campaign had just concluded successfully, and he had all sorts of fresh plans for reaching out to alumni. Then, the stock market plummeted. Nine months later, at the end of its fiscal year, Loyola is confronting a 20 percent drop in annual fund donations. "We experienced a tough year," said Sears, Loyola's vice president for advancement. "It was very much an educational experience. For all the grandiose plans we had coming in, we were left scrambling from the start."
