Annual gifts to UK universities pass 1bn mark for first time

 Income boosted 23%, Ross-Case survey of UK higher education philanthropy finds

The success of London Business School’s £100 million campaign is part of a wider trend in philanthropic giving that saw annual donations to UK universities rise above £1 billion for the first time, according to a new survey. The School is one of 110 institutions in the survey carried out for the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (Case) Europe. It was one of only four institutions whose activity was singled out in the report summary to illustrate what the survey’s authors called a ‘landmark’ moment in the sector. “Philanthropic giving is now at the heart of UK university culture,” said Case’s global vice president, Tricia King. The £1.06 billion recorded remains very small in relation to US institutions (US$40.3 billion or £31.1 billion in 2015).

However, Case said it now takes just one year to raise what used to take five years to achieve. The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge together accounted for 46% of new funds secured and 34% of new donors.T here was a 27% increase in the number of donors pledging gifts worth £500,000 or more (to 240 from 189 the previous year). Larger gifts and pledges offset a slight decrease in the overall number of donors year-on-year. Trusts and foundations donated the most (£442 million), with alumni accounting for the next single biggest group of donors (£322 million).

The 2017 Ross-Case report, Giving to Excellence: Generating Philanthropic Support for UK Higher Education, found that individual donations grew – with 80% of these coming from alumni to their institutions.