A Personal Cause Draws a Larger Gift

By ERIN STROUT

Jay Shaw and his wife, Debi, had always been loyal donors to Colgate University's annual fund, leaving it to the institution to decide how best to use their money.

In September, however, Murray Decock, vice president for institutional advancement, started his pitch differently than he had before. He explained that the Shaws' contributions to the fund were needed to maintain "excellence" in teaching and academics, but that to help the university go beyond the status quo, it also needed