Getting Your Name on Building Gets Cheaper as Nonprofits Compete

October 9, 2009, Bloomberg — The price of immortality is cheaper these days in the wake of the financial crisis.

Wealthy individuals for centuries seeking posthumous fame have donated money to construct hospitals, parks and college buildings in return for getting their names on projects. Nonprofits and universities may be more willing now to negotiate over how much donors have to give and how long they have to make the payments in exchange for recognition, according to Melissa Berman, president and chief executive officer of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors in New York.