A new applied research center announced today by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, (IU) is intended to allow nonprofits access to better data to improve their fundraising.

The soon-to-be-constructed Hartsook Institute for Applied Fundraising Research is the result of recent gifts to IU from Robert F. Hartsook, founder and chairman of the Hartsook Companies, Inc. The structured gifts total approximately $5 million with another $2 million in matching funds from other sources. According to the school, the Institute will work to move fundraising research along the continuum from initial research to its application in the field. The Institute will combine previous and new gifts from Hartsook to increase its impact on fundraising.

No timeframe was given as to when the Institute would be completed.

“Bringing [Hartsook’s] gifts to the school together as complementary elements within the Hartsook Institute for Applied Research will provide a foundation for its important mission,” said Eugene R. Tempel, founding dean of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. “We appreciate Bob’s tremendous, long-standing support, which will help us take fundraising research and education to a new level.”

Hartsook will serve as the Institute’s Chair in Fundraising and director. During a ceremony on April 29, Hartsook was presented with a key to the school. He is one of the first leaders in the nation to be accorded this honor.

“I am honored to receive this recognition from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, which is the unparalleled leader in philanthropy education and research in the U.S. and around the world,” said Hartsook. “Creating the Hartsook Institute for Applied Fundraising Research here at the school will underscore the vital role research plays in fundraising and will effectively translate and test research, developing proven practices to expand philanthropy.”

Along with being a nationally recognized fundraiser, Hartsook has made a number of significant gifts to the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy during the past 15 years. These include a donation in 1999 of the original Million Dollar List created by Hartsook and Arthur C. Frantzreb. Conceived and maintained for 33 years by Frantzreb, the list of publicly reported gifts of $1 million or more is now an inspiration for fundraisers and donors and a widely-cited national resource with its own website and searchable database. This gift, along with the others he made, will be used as the basis for the formation of the institute.