How donors give to higher education: Research report

Abstract

This investigation of U.S. higher education philanthropy examines 30-year trends in higher education philanthropy, specifically exploring the questions: How have the purposes that donors support changed over time? How and for what purposes do different groups of donors give across institutions? We used a longitudinal national sample (1988-2018) of approximately 400 public and private institutions from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education's (CASE) Voluntary Support for Education survey (VSE). In the sample, constituted primarily of 4-year institutions, giving increased by an inflation- adjusted average of 3.6% annually and 175% overall, from $9.1 billion to $25.1 billion during the study period. Donors showed an increasing desire to limit their gifts through restricted giving and supporting current operations rather than capital/endowment purposes. Research was the largest recipient of the restricted current operations dollars. The proportion of current operations dollars for student financial aid declined. All donor types gave more over time. However, organizational donors' contributions increased more as foundation donations surpassed alumni donations. Corporations’ share of the giving declined the most. Organizational donors ultimately gave more to public colleges and universities in comparison to individual donors who gave more to private institutions. Consequently, support for public institutions rose during the study and, by 2018, public institutions received more dollars than did private ones. Adapting to ongoing changes in donor behavior, like those discovered in this study, will require institutions to be increasingly tactical and data-driven. Public approval and higher education revenue models are changing substantially, and institutional leaders must attend to complex external forces while also maintaining mission-driven philanthropic strategies.