While colleges and universities are looking to cut back due to serious budget deficits, a new study revealed the increasing importance of maintaining staff within the fundraising department, noting they should be the last to go.

Over the course of the past year, the Managing Returns on Staffing and Budget Investments report conducted by Eduventures gave institutions an idea of what kind of investment levels in staff they needed to raise their desired amount of money.

“Maintain fundraising staffs” was the key message derived from the study, Alicia Reed, senior analyst at Eduventures, said.

According to Reed, 75 percent of public institutions have seen budget cuts in their fundraising department in fiscal year 2009, while the remaining 25 percent anticipate budget cuts in fiscal year 2010, she added.

Forty-five percent of private institutions have made fundraising cuts in 2009, and 20 percent more expect cuts will be made in 2010.

Of the cuts being made, only 13 percent of the schools reported staffing cuts or layoffs. The remainder reported eliminating or scaling back on travel, reducing print publications and canceling costly events, Reed said. The majority of institutions are also instituting a hiring freeze, she added.

While cuts to these areas within the fundraising department won’t hurt the institution’s fundraising efforts as directly as a decrease in staff, Reed said it is still important to maintain these areas.

“If you don’t have to scale back in terms of fundraising, now would be the time you would want to travel and see donors and continue conversations with them,” Reed said. “This is an essential time to build relationships and sustain relationships.”

Russell Howes, vice president for legal affairs for the University of Wisconsin Foundation, said UW has put a temporary freeze on hiring and is working to maintaining travel.

“Certainly in a climate like this, we’re seeing contributions drop off and the first quarter of the year has not been terribly good in terms of numbers,” Howes said. “It’s absolutely an essential time to stay in touch with alumni … to keep our presence out there.”

Howes added the university is not seeing the large gifts they have seen in the past.