2008 Woodie Awards
Private money flows freely to nation's universities
Matt Krupnick ; Knight Ridder Newspapers
Issue date: 2/22/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Colleges and universities in the United States received more private money than ever last year, bringing in $25.6 billion in donations.
The figure, reported Thursday by the Council for Aid to Education, was boosted by corporate and foundation contributions that amounted to tens of millions of dollars in some cases. The total was more than double the amount given a decade earlier.
Alumni also contributed a large chunk, but the report noted the latest drop in a 15-year-long decline in the percentage of alumni who gave to their alma maters. An all-time low 12.4 percent of alumni donated money last year, down from the high of 18.6 percent in 1990.
"We've only really hit the tip of the iceberg, as far as alumni giving," said Ann Kaplan, who directs the annual donation survey. "The potential for support is larger than what's there now."
Kaplan and some college fund-raisers say the reason for the decline could be as simple as better record-keeping systems that have dramatically expanded the number of alumni counted by institutions. In that case, even a steady increase in the number of alumni gifts wouldn't be able to keep pace with the growing pool of potential donors.
But others say the decline could signal a more troubling trend.
"Undergraduate education is not as special as it once was," said Brad Barber, assistant vice president for institutional advancement for the 10-campus University of California system. "It's more of a commodity now."
At UC Berkeley, fund-raisers say they're happy they have been able to attract donations from a steady 9 percent of their alumni per year, even as that group has increased by several thousand each year. About half of all alumni have made at least one donation to the university, said Lishelle Blakemore, director of annual giving at the Berkeley campus.
Many alumni don't realize only about one third of the university's budget is paid by the state, she said.
"We have a huge educational hurdle because many of our alumni still believe the state pays for everything," Blakemore said.
Several public universities, including UC Berkeley, have conducted $1 billion fund-raising campaigns as state support has dwindled. Alumni gifts comprised the largest percentage of total donations last year, even as schools have struggled to reach alumni.
At Mills College in Oakland, Calif., administrators watched as 27 percent fewer alumni donated money in 2005 than in 2004, but they said they expect the number to increase significantly this year.
Like many schools, Mills has spent much of its efforts recruiting major donations to fund campus construction, said Adam Blum, associate vice president of institutional advancement.
"The five-, six- and seven-figure gifts have really taken off, but the $25 gifts have declined," he said.
The figure, reported Thursday by the Council for Aid to Education, was boosted by corporate and foundation contributions that amounted to tens of millions of dollars in some cases. The total was more than double the amount given a decade earlier.
Alumni also contributed a large chunk, but the report noted the latest drop in a 15-year-long decline in the percentage of alumni who gave to their alma maters. An all-time low 12.4 percent of alumni donated money last year, down from the high of 18.6 percent in 1990.
"We've only really hit the tip of the iceberg, as far as alumni giving," said Ann Kaplan, who directs the annual donation survey. "The potential for support is larger than what's there now."
Kaplan and some college fund-raisers say the reason for the decline could be as simple as better record-keeping systems that have dramatically expanded the number of alumni counted by institutions. In that case, even a steady increase in the number of alumni gifts wouldn't be able to keep pace with the growing pool of potential donors.
But others say the decline could signal a more troubling trend.
"Undergraduate education is not as special as it once was," said Brad Barber, assistant vice president for institutional advancement for the 10-campus University of California system. "It's more of a commodity now."
At UC Berkeley, fund-raisers say they're happy they have been able to attract donations from a steady 9 percent of their alumni per year, even as that group has increased by several thousand each year. About half of all alumni have made at least one donation to the university, said Lishelle Blakemore, director of annual giving at the Berkeley campus.
Many alumni don't realize only about one third of the university's budget is paid by the state, she said.
"We have a huge educational hurdle because many of our alumni still believe the state pays for everything," Blakemore said.
Several public universities, including UC Berkeley, have conducted $1 billion fund-raising campaigns as state support has dwindled. Alumni gifts comprised the largest percentage of total donations last year, even as schools have struggled to reach alumni.
At Mills College in Oakland, Calif., administrators watched as 27 percent fewer alumni donated money in 2005 than in 2004, but they said they expect the number to increase significantly this year.
Like many schools, Mills has spent much of its efforts recruiting major donations to fund campus construction, said Adam Blum, associate vice president of institutional advancement.
"The five-, six- and seven-figure gifts have really taken off, but the $25 gifts have declined," he said.