Calvin College has been honored by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) with a prestigious fundraising award.

Calvin is one of 25 winners nationwide of an Overall Performance award in the "CASE - Wealth ID Awards for Educational Fund Raising." Joining Calvin on the list are such well-known schools as Penn State, Virginia, Xavier and Wisconsin. Almost 1,000 institutions across the country were eligible for the award with Calvin being the lone Michigan college or university on the list.

Calvin vice president for development Robert Berkhof (above) is quick to credit Calvin's connections to the local community for their role in the recent award.

"West Michigan," he says, "is a very generous community. Philanthropy runs deep here. I know we work hard (at Calvin) to communicate our mission and to raise funds with honesty and integrity. But I also know that being part of a supportive community helps us a great deal in our work."

According to the CASE website: "An expert panel of volunteer judges selects winners based on a multitude of factors: the pattern of growth in total support (or adjusted total support if appropriate); evaluation of what contributed to the total support figure; overall breadth in program areas; pattern of growth in each program area; pattern of donor growth among alumni/ae donors and other individual donors; impact of the 12 largest gifts on total support; total support in relation to the alumni/ae base; and the type of institution."

In selecting Overall Fund-Raising Performance winners, such as Calvin, judges use the above factors to recognize institutions that show "solid program growth; breadth in the base of support; and other indications of a mature, well-maintained program."

The college and university awards are judged blindly with respect to both institution name and geography.