Development promotes private philanthropy to support the academic priorities of the campus.  Gifts are raised in support of endowed chairs, graduate fellowships, undergraduate scholarships, and operational funding to support the teaching, research and public service mission of the university, and various capital needs. Unit-based development offices are able to draw upon expertise and support from a central staff consisting of Development Services, Stewardship, Annual Giving, Planned Giving, Major Gifts, and Corporations and Foundations.  Along with supporting individual campus units, centrally-located development personnel are engaged independently in raising significant gifts for UCSD. Development officers serve individual academic units, helping to define needs which can be met through fundraising, communicating those needs to prospective donors, recruiting and training fund raising volunteers and soliciting and administering donations.