| | Abstract: | James C. Hardie (1922-2009), an independent development and public relations consultant in Cleveland, Ohio. Through his professional relationship with industrialist and philanthropist Frederick Crawford (1891-1994), Hardie was impressed with the caliber of Cleveland corporations and their ability to support educational endeavors as well as with the region's pioneering work in philanthropy, most notably its creation of the first unified community fund raising campaign. Hardie became Vice President of Case Institute of Technology in 1967. He held the same office when Case merged with neighboring Western Reserve University in 1967, serving there until 1969. While at Case and CWRU he continued to develop new and innovative ideas in the development/fundraising field and was allowed by the university to consult for John Carroll University's development department. Through his work with John Carroll University and other such opportunities, he broadened his career purview and embraced new concepts. He became involved with the American College Public Relations Association, a relationship that led him to envision many more opportunities in the development field. Hardie also continued to develop new insights, ideas, and methods for development campaigns on his own. Most significant was his "top 100" philosophy which was a change from generally accepted practice in the field. Hardie proposed that 75% of any fundraising goal needed to come from the top 100 prospects, 20% from the next 400 and all the remaining gifts would only make up 5% of contributors. He first used this technique on a campaign he was asked to run at Case Western Reserve University. This strategy was highly successful and he continued to use it with almost all of his clients. After being asked to consult for St. Luke's Hospital in Cleveland, Hardie decided to leave CWRU. In June of 1969 he formed his own consulting firm to focus on assisting non-profit organizations with development including capital campaigns, general fundraising, bequests and deferred gifts programs, feasibility studies, and public relations. He also often assisted with the hiring and training of development staff for these institutions. Hardie created a very successful consulting career, working with more than sixty mostly northeastern Ohio clients, mostly cultural, educational and service institutions. His consulting work raised hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients and greatly boosted Cleveland's national reputation as a center for philanthropy. He also advised some 200 other non-profit institutions regarding their development and philanthropic needs on an unpaid basis. He was one of the founders of The Corporate 1% Program for Higher Education, a program designed to increase corporate giving to higher education, and was a trustee of the George S. Dively Foundation. The collection consists of agendas, annual reports, brochures, budgets, calendars, charts, client publications, correspondence, datebooks, financial reports, forms, grant proposals, invoices, job descriptions, lists, magazine and newspaper articles, memoranda, minutes, newsletters, newspaper clippings, news releases, notebooks, notes, outlines, photographs, presentations, reports, speeches, statistics, and studies. | |
