Charitable contributions to the nation's colleges and universities totaled about $28 billion in 2010, a rise of 0.5 percent over the previous year. The total is impressive, but a careful examination of the numbers indicates that continued economic woes have had a direct and negative impact on the individuals, the businesses and the foundations that contribute to the nation's college and universities.
Measured in total dollars, support for higher education in 2010 was at the same level as it was in 2006, according to the annual report issued this week by the Council for Aid to Education. Adjusted for inflation, total contributions were 8 percent lower than in 2006. "We're still not out of the woods," said Ann E. Kaplan, director of the survey. "Charitable contributions to education are recovering very slowly."
The survey also shows that a handful of schools receive the bulk of the billions contributed last year. The top 20 schools represent just 2 percent of the 996 schools that participated in the survey. Contributions received by the 20 schools, however, account for 25.5 percent of all 2010 contributions to U.S. institutions of higher learning. A quick perusal of the top 20 list gives meaning to the phrase that the rich get richer.
Stanford tops list
Stanford University raised the most in 2010 - about $599 million. Next were Harvard (about $597 million), and Johns Hopkins University (about $$428 million), the University of Southern California (about $426 million) and Columbia University (about $402 million). The University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, New York University, Duke University and Indiana University complete the top 10. All is not rosy, though. Thirteen of the current top 20 schools reported lower contributions last year than in 2009.
As is the case with most top 20 lists -- whether it be charitable giving, sports teams or car sales - most of the attention is focused on the names at the top. In the case of gifts to universities and colleges, a study of the names below the highest level is instructive - and surprising. There is, obviously, some correlation between the academic reputation of the school and the number and amount of gifts it receives. Fair or not, many academically elite institutions attract students from wealthy families. Graduates of those schools, too, often earn high incomes and willingly share their financial success with the institutions that they feel nurtured their success. That seems to be the case in many states. Tennessee and Georgia certainly fit that pattern.
Vanderbilt University, a relatively small private institution in Nashville with a strong academic reputation, received gifts totaling almost $124 million last year. The University of Tennessee, a popular public university with a large number of alumni, reported gifts of about $95 million in the same period. Only five other schools in the state - the University of Memphis, the University of the South, East Tennessee State University, Southern Adventist University and Rhodes College - reported total gifts of $10 million or more in 2010. Giving patterns in the state mirrored the national report. Many schools reported declines in the number of donors and the amount of the gifts received.
Georgia followed much the same model, but with a slight twist. The Georgia Institute of Technology, a well-regarded public institution with strict entrance requirements and a rigorous curriculum, reported about $108 million in gifts last year. Emory University, a private school with a sterling academic reputation, received about $106 million The University of Georgia, the state's flagship of higher education, reported gifts totaling about $69 million. No other school in the state reported more than $18 million in donations.
Charitable donations to the nation's colleges and universities are not limited, of course, to the handful of schools in the top 20 or even top 50 lists. Many schools barely known beyond the region they serve reported significant donations as well. That's certainly true here.
Spans all levels
In Tennessee, Carson-Newman College and Union University round out the top 10. Each reported gifts in the $8 million-$9 million range. Tennessee State University and the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, with gifts in the $6 million-$7 million range, were not far behind. In Georgia, Dalton State College, a relatively new four-year institution, ranked 14th in Georgia with about $4.5 million in gifts. Loyalty to a school, and a willingness to contribute to it, obviously spans all economic and educational levels.
Most colleges, large and small, depend heavily on charitable donations to supplement traditional funding sources. Most use the gifts to build their endowment, investing the capital and using the interest generated for a variety of purposes. That tried-and-true formula is being threatened by present-day economic reality.
Many endowment funds, even the best managed of them, have suffered loses in the recent economic turmoil. In addition, once reliable donors have suffered their own financial reverses, requiring them to reduce or eliminate contributions. There's no quick fix, but school ties are strong. The small increase reported last year in overall gifts to schools suggests that charitable giving, like the rest of the economy, is on the rebound. For many colleges and universities, a return to once normal levels of gift giving can't come soon enough.