James C. Hardie (1922-2009), an independent development and public relations consultant, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received both his bachelor's (1943) and master's (1948) degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. He served in WWII as 1st Lieutenant, 4th infantry division, from 1943-1945 and received a purple heart. Mr. Hardie married Emma K. Cepko on January 28, 1956. They had two children, James and Lynne. James Hardie began his career in 1946 as a graduate and undergraduate counselor in the office of the dean of men at the University of Pittsburgh. He then worked at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in a number of capacities. After a stint as athletic publicity director for the University of Pittsburgh from 1947-1948, he took a position at Ketchum, Inc., a public relations agency and fundraising firm where he served as publicity director and campaign director from 1948-1957. In this capacity he worked on several development campaigns for colleges and universities (a relatively new field). This allowed him to sense which methods were working in the field and which were not, as well as to develop his own. Through his work at Ketchum, James Hardie was introduced to industrialist and philanthropist Frederick Crawford (1891-1994). The introduction led to a lifelong friendship and professional association. Crawford, who served as board chairman of Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland informed Hardie of the institution's need for a director of development. He took the position in 1957 and moved his family to the Cleveland, Ohio, area. The job and new locale appealed to him because he 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. Outside of his consulting business Hardie served a variety of organizations as a board member or planner. He served on the Orange, Ohio, Board of Education and as chairman of the board of The Yardstick Project, a major research project on the effectiveness of school systems throughout the nation. 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. He was a member of several professional fundraising organizations and received awards, citations, and commendations in the industry. Throughout his career his association with and fondness for Fred Crawford never waned. He wrote a book that was published in 2005 about his career and work with philanthropy entitled Fred Crawford and Fifty Golden Years of Philanthropy. James Hardie died on May 14, 2009.
From the description of James C. Hardie papers, 1952-2002. (Rhinelander District Library). WorldCat record id: 746568521
