"[W]hat used to be a ‘wow’ is now a ‘phew.’ Now it’s a sign of relief that we made it, as opposed to a loud cheer that we vastly exceeded the goal,” said John Lippincott, president of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE)." In 2007-2008, 22 percent of colleges extended capital fundraising campaigns; in 2008-2009 it was 33 percent. And the future may not look all that rosy, in terms of the effects of the recession affecting such campaigns for some time to come:

It's understandable that this environment will force colleges to work extremely hard just to meet campaign goals, and failing to deliver has real consequences, Flessner said.

“It’s a huge issue,” he said. “You’ll start to see [donors] are much more reluctant to go into a big campaign next time. That can live with you for a decade or more, so it has lots of implications if you don’t do well.”