U.S. top colleges raised $46.7 billion in donations during the 2017-2018 academic fiscal year, the ninth straight record year, according to 2018 Voluntary Support of Education annual survey by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. It is 7.2 percent more than the previous period and the highest amount ever raised by higher education institutions in the United States.
“This year’s VSE again illustrates the value placed in higher education institutions by their donors, alumni and communities. These constituents understand the important research, teaching and service provided by colleges and universities, and the results indicate unwavering commitment to the vital role these institutions play in transforming lives and society,” said Sue Cunningham, CASE CEO and president.
Harvard raised the most of any university in the country, raising Harvard $1.42 billion in fiscal year 2018, the University’s largest-ever annual fundraising sum, and a higher education record. The total represents a more than 10 percent growth over its fiscal year 2017 donation income.
Standford University followed in second attracted $1.1 billion with Columbia raising $1 billion.
The top 20 colleges that received the most money in donations during the last fiscal year accounted for about 28 percent of the total $46.73 billion donated to universities during that period. They serve just 1.6 percent of the nation’s 19.9 million undergraduate students.
The S&P 500 index’s 14 percent return in the period may have helped encourage giving from a variety of donors.
“At that time, the stock market fared well,” said Ann Kaplan, senior director of the survey. “The assets invested in donor-advised funds likely increased due to the strength of the stock market and gifts from them would have increased in any tax climate.”
Among other key findings from the 2018 survey data:
- Gifts from every type of donor increased. Notably, gifts from the category “other organizations” increased 13.5 percent, nearly double the increase from any other type of donor. This category includes fundraising consortia, religious organizations, and, significantly, donor-advised funds (DAFs).
- A sample of 404 institutions reported on receipts from DAFs. They reported a 65.8 percent increase in amounts received from DAFs, which suggests that such increases contributed to the substantial increase in gifts from the broader category called "other organizations."
- Giving to current operations rose 6.2 percent while giving for capital purposes rose 8.6 percent, both represent sizable increases over the previous survey period
- Seven different institutions received gifts of $100 million or more. While several gifts were payments on previous multi-year commitments, such nine-digit gifts are rare and noteworthy.
The index totaled approximately 927 schools.
