Charitable contributions to colleges and universities reached an all time high in the 2008 fiscal year, according to a report by the Council for Aid to Education.
Data from the council’s annual “Voluntary Support of Education” survey revealed 1,052 higher-level institutions were granted a total of $31.6 billion in private donations, an increase of 6.2 percent from the 2007 fiscal year.
This is the fifth consecutive year charitable contributions have increased, according to Ann Kaplan, voluntary support of education survey director for the Council for Aid to Education.
Kaplan said the University of Wisconsin was the eighth largest fundraising university in the country, raising a total of $410 million.
However, based on the state of today’s economy, the council is not confident the trends in increased contributions will continue, Kaplan added.
“The contributions were made before the economy was in the bad shape it is in now,” Kaplan said. “There is nothing in our research that can tell you what will happen, but if you ask anyone walking on the street, they will tell you they don’t expect to have a good year.”
Though the council is not certain about future trends in private donations, historical research showed a correlation between the stock market and economy and the amount of charitable contributions to colleges and universities, according to Kaplan.
The data from the analysis showed the decline in the stock market in the ’70s paralleled a decrease in collegiate donations, while contributions increased with the stock market as the economy became more stable in the past 15-20 years, according to Kaplan.
“[Researching data] isn’t the same as predicting the future,” Kaplan added. “It just takes a snapshot of the past and it shows historic trends.”
Kaplan also said the number and size of donations to UW has already seen a decrease within the past several months.
“A lot of economists are trying to predict [future trends] and you’ll see a lot of different scenarios,” Kaplan added. “But no one really knows.”
UW System Board of Regents Vice President Chuck Pruitt agreed the future of UW fundraising is unpredictable and people are appropriately concerned about the possibility of decreasing levels of fundraising and other possible backlashes from the current economic climate.
“I think we are really in uncharted waters,” Pruitt said. “It’s always hard to predict what will happen, and I’m sure the level of work and energy is going to continue. There is a large number of extraordinarily generous alumni, and the success they have is really a tribute to the hard working people on the campus who are going every day to find sources to support the university.”
Pruitt added campus leaders and chancellors will continue to channel their efforts to support high levels of donations and work to raise money for the university.
He is confident UW alumni and other generous donators will to some extent continue to contribute to all UW campuses.
