Charitable Giving to Universities in Australia and NZ

Charitable Giving to Universities in Australia and New Zealand Grew in 2014

Universities in Australia and New Zealand reported significant growth in the number of donors in 2014, according to a report on higher education philanthropic giving in the two countries.

The total number of donors giving to the surveyed Australian and New Zealand universities increased from 41,511 in 2012 to 51,357 in 2014, while the total number of alumni donors at these surveyed institutions grew from 23,896 in 2012 to 31,296 in 2014.

Universities participating in the survey, conducted earlier this year, had more than 2.5 million contactable alumni in 2014. This represents a 12 percent increase from nearly 2.3 million contactable alumni in 2012.

Over the three years, the total new funds raised rose by 65 percent from 2012 to 2013.

The Ross-CASE report reveals that the total amount raised by the [1]Annual Fund in new funds raised in Australian and New Zealand universities reached $10.8 million in 2014, an increase of 12 percent compared to 2013.

Ms Sue Cunningham, President of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, says the fundraising progress that institutions in Australia and New Zealand have made during the past three years is significant.

“It is hugely heartening to see a rise in the total number of donors and alumni donors,” said Ms Cunningham. “There is an opportunity to reach out to these alumni and build a strong and sustainable donor-centric relationship with them.”

Ms Clare Pullar, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Advancement) of The University of Queensland, and Chair of the Committee of Chief Advancement Officers of the Group of Eight, Deakin, RMIT and Auckland universities, agrees that the results are encouraging and says there is reason for optimism among institutions.

“Vice Chancellors should be encouraged by these results. In a climate where diversification of funding sources is crucial to the future standing of universities, the role philanthropy can play in enriching the student experience for all students and supporting teaching and research is of increasing significance,” said Ms Pullar. “Universities are proving to be very worthwhile places to invest and donors are seeing the impact they make in learning, teaching and research ripple out positively to communities globally.”

Ms Chua Beng Hwee, executive director of CASE Asia-Pacific, says the Ross-CASE report is a valuable resource for universities that want to build their advancement operations.

“We continue to grow participation in the survey as institutions realize its value and return on investment,” said Ms Chua. “We hope to see even greater participation next year with the goal to extend the survey to the entire Asia-Pacific region in the future.”

The report also highlights trends in philanthropic giving within the sector, based on analysis done on data provided for each of the three years (i.e. 2012, 2013 and 2014):

• The total [2] new funds raised in 2014 amounted to AUD$408.5 million, a 36 percent increase over the 2012 total of $300.5 million. Total new funds raised did spike to $495.3 million in 2013, which can partly be attributed to several universities publicly launching major institution-wide philanthropic campaigns with major gifts.
• The institutions collectively received 54 confirmed pledges over $1 million, the highest in the three-year period.
• The number of cash gifts over AUD$1 million reached its highest point at 42 in 2013, a rise from the 33 cash gifts over AUD$1 million in 2012. However, figures dropped again in 2014, reaching 35 cash gifts over AUD$1 million.
• The total number of donors and total number of alumni donors grew from 46,769 and 27,316 in 2013 to 51,357 and 31,296 in 2014 respectively.
• Total annual fund and total [3] cash income received by the annual fund both reached their highest points in 2014 at AUD$10.8 million and AUD$10.3 million respectively.
• The total investment in fundraising was $53.4 million in 2014, fundraising staff costs and non-staff costs were $40.5 million and $13 million, respectively.

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Notes to editors

Definitions

[1] Annual fund is defined as gifts obtained through mass participation often directed to general operations and/or designated university priorities.

[2] New funds secured in a year comprises both new single cash gifts and the full value of confirmed new pledges (but excludes any cash payments against pledges secured in previous years). It is often regarded as the best measure of the success of a fundraising programme in any particular year since it captures pledges that will typically be paid up over an agreed period of time (this is very characteristic of larger gifts, in particular).

[3] Cash income received in a year includes new single cash gifts and cash payments received against pledges secured in previous years.

Infographic: ROSSCASE_Survey_AsiaPacific_Infographic.pdf
Report foreword: ROSSCASE_Survey_AsiaPacific_Foreword.pdf

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