Joanna Motion

CASE
+44 20 7398 4404
motion@case.org

Feb. 15, 2007

UK Government Challenge Set to Double University Fundraising

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) today welcomed the matching gifts programme announced by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair as part of an ongoing strategy to build a culture of private donations to universities in England.

The prime minister today outlined his vision for greater involvement by university alumni and other philanthropists in higher education funding by matching donations to universities in England with public funds.

“An injection of new money into our universities on this scale will be invigorating,” said Joanna Motion, CASE’s vice president for international operations, based in London. “It could double the current level of fundraising by universities within three years.

“The link between a university’s ability to attract external support and its reputation is increasingly evident,” Motion added. “The government is giving a timely boost to the international competitiveness of universities in England through this imaginative proposal.”

A recent CASE report on matched funding programmes around the world, commissioned by the Sutton Trust, showed that ‘challenge funding’ can galvanise the readiness of donors to give to universities and increase the professionalism and effectiveness of the institutions in asking for support.

In the past ten years universities in the UK have shown renewed commitment to fundraising, investing in development offices staffed by professionals and raising expectations of what can be achieved through the support of alumni and friends. Universities of all kinds and missions are now attracting support for projects such as scholarships in support of widening participation, cutting-edge laboratory facilities and endowed professorships.

“UK universities compete globally for students, staff and reputation,” said Peter Slee, deputy vice-chancellor of Northumbria University and chairman of CASE Europe’s Board of Trustees. “This welcome initiative will make an important contribution to those projects and programmes that make a university distinctive and able to compete internationally.

“Further consultation within the higher education sector to fine-tune the proposals will enhance this scheme to help change donors’ attitudes, create greater focus within universities in their fundraising activities, and revitalise the overall philanthropic culture,” Slee added. “CASE will actively support this initiative as Europe’s leading provider of professional education for university fundraising.”

The president of CASE, a worldwide organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., in the United States, applauded the prime minister’s announcement.

“Educational institutions around the world rely on the generosity of donors to create access, expand research, build facilities and grow the economies of their regions,” said John Lippincott.

"By launching this programme, the UK government has made a clear and strong commitment to the principle that both public and private resources are essential to ensuring educational quality, access and affordability,” added the CASE president. “Other nations will undoubtedly take note of this bold and strategic effort.”

About CASE

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in London, Singapore and Mexico City, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education is the professional organization for advancement professionals who work in alumni relations, communications, fundraising, marketing and other areas.

CASE is one of the largest nonprofit education associations in terms of institutional membership. Its membership includes more than 3,400 colleges, universities, independent elementary and secondary schools, and educational associates in 74 countries around the world. It serves nearly 65,000 advancement professionals on the staffs of its member institutions.

CASE helps its members build stronger relationships with their alumni and donors, raise funds for campus projects, produce recruitment materials, market their institutions to prospective students, diversify the profession and foster public support of education. CASE also offers a variety of advancement products and services, provides standards and an ethical framework for the profession, and works with other organizations to respond to public issues of concern while promoting the importance of education worldwide.

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