Skip to main content

CASE

CASE

Main Menu

  • Conferences & Training
  • Resources & Articles
  • Trending
  • Awards
  • Connect
  • Talent
  • About
  • Districts
    • Membership
    • Log in
    • Search
    • Shopping Cart

    Breadcrumb

    1. Home
    2. CASE Awards

    2019 Educational Fundraising Award Winners

    Year: 2019
    Award: Educational Fundraising Awards

    Read the news release about the 2019 awards >

    Sustained Excellence Awards

    Colby College
    Creighton University
    George Mason University
    Harvard University
    Northampton Community College
    Northwestern Michigan College
    Phillips Academy
    Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
    The Citadel
    The Thacher School
    University of California, Los Angeles
    University of California, San Francisco
    University of Nevada, Las Vegas
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
    University of Portland
    University of Texas at Austin
    Villanova University
    Williams College

    First-time Winners

    Bridgewater State University
    Buena Vista University
    California State University, San Bernardino
    California University of Pennsylvania 
    Carson-Newman University
    Central Washington University
    Clayton State University
    Dutchess Community College
    Earlham College
    Ferris State University
    Fordham University
    Grove City College
    Marietta College
    Otterbein University
    Portland Community College
    Portland State University
    Ringling College of Art and Design
    SUNY at New Paltz
    SUNY Potsdam
    The Gunnery School
    The University of Findlay
    University of Arizona
    University of California, Davis
    University of Central Florida
    University of Houston - Downtown
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    Vanguard University of Southern California
    Walters State Community College
    West Texas A&M University
    Westfield State University
    Worcester State University

    Winners by Category

    Endowments Under $1.2 Billion

    Overall Performance
    Fordham University (NY)
    University of Tulsa (OK)
    Villanova University (PA)

    Overall Improvement
    Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ)

    Endowments Over $1.2 Billion 

    Overall Performance
    Dartmouth College (NH)
    Harvard University (MA)
    Stanford University (CA)

    Overall Improvement
    University of Notre Dame (IN)
    University of Pennsylvania (PA)
    Wake Forest University (NC)

    Endowments Under $350 Million

    Overall Performance
    George Mason University (VA)
    Portland State University (OR)
    University of Montana (MT)
    University of Nevada, Las Vegas (NV)
    University of Northern Colorado (CO)

    Overall Improvement
    East Tennessee State University (TN)
    Florida Atlantic University (FL)
    University of Central Florida (FL)
    University of Nevada, Las Vegas (NV)

    Endowments Over $350 Million

    Overall Performance
    University of California, Berkeley (CA)
    University of California, Davis (CA)
    University of California, Los Angeles (CA)
    University of Florida (FL)
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (NC)
    University of Texas at Austin (TX)

    Overall Improvement
    University of Arizona (AZ)
    University of California, Irvine (CA)
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (IL)
    West Virginia University (WV)

    Endowments Under $72 Million 

    Overall Performance
    Bellarmine University (KY)
    Carson-Newman University (TN)
    Eastern Mennonite University (VA)
    Saint Mary's University of Minnesota (MN)

    Overall Improvement
    Concordia University (CA)
    The University of Findlay (OH)

    Lynn University (FL)
    Vanguard University (CA)

    Endowments Over $72 Million 

    Overall Performance
    Abilene Christian University (TX)
    Creighton University (NE)
    North Central College (IL)
    University of Portland (OR)

    Overall Improvement
    Abilene Christian University (TX)
    King's College (PA)
    Otterbein University  (OH)
    University of New Haven (CT)

    Endowments Under $35 Million 

    Overall Performance
    California University of Pennsylvania (PA)
    University of Northern Iowa (IA)
    Western Kentucky University (KY)
    Western Washington University (WA)

    Overall Improvement
    Bridgewater State University (MA)
    California State University - San Bernardino (CA)
    Central Washington University (WA)
    Ferris State University (MI)
    Longwood University (VA)
    Westfield State University (MA)
    West Texas A&M University (TX)

    Endowments Over $35 Million 

    Overall Performance
    The Citadel (SC)
    SUNY at New Paltz (NY)
    SUNY Potsdam (NY)
    Worcester State University (MA)

    Overall Improvement
    Clayton State University (GA)
    SUNY at New Paltz (NY)
    University of Houston-Downtown (TX)

    Endowments Under $100 Million 

    Overall Performance
    Cornell College (IA)
    Grove City College (PA)
    Northwestern College (IA)
    Oglethorpe University (GA)
    Wells College (NY)

    Overall Improvement
    Houghton College (NY)
    Marietta College (OH)
    Oglethorpe University (GA)

    Endowments Over $100 Million 

    Overall Performance
    Colby College (ME)
    Gustavus Adolphus College (MN)
    Kenyon College (OH)
    Vassar College (NY)
    Washington & Lee University (VA)
    Williams College (MA)

    Overall Improvement
    Buena Vista University (IA)
    Carleton College (MN)
    Dickinson College (PA)
    Earlham College (IN)
    Kenyon College (OH)
    Lafayette College (PA)
    Randolph-Macon College (VA)

    Overall Performance
    University of North Carolina at Asheville (NC)

    Overall Improvement
    University of Maine at Farmington (ME)

    Overall Performance
    Ringling College of Art and Design (FL)

    Overall Improvement
    Rose-Hulman Institution of Technology (IN)

    Overall Performance
    University of California, San Francisco (CA)

    Overall Improvement
    Medical University of South Carolina (SC)

    Overall Performance
    Clark College (WA)
    Cuesta College (CA)
    Northampton Community College (PA)
    Westchester Community College (NY)
    Walters State Community College (TN)

    Overall Improvement
    Dutchess Community College (NY)
    Northwestern Michigan College (MI)
    Portland Community College (OR)
    Reynolds Community College (VA)
    Tyler Junior College (TX)

    Awards for Excellence

    Endowments up to $25 million
    The Gunnery School (CT)

    Endowments up to $50 million
    Tabor Academy (MA)
    The Webb Schools (CA)

    Endowments up to $100 million
    The Madeira School (VA)
    Montgomery Bell Academy (TN)

    Endowments up to $250 million
    Thacher School (CA)

    Endowments up to $350 million
    Mercersburg Academy (PA)

    Endowments of $350 million and up
    Phillips Academy (MA)

    From the Judges (Higher Education)

    Fundraising success is measured in much more than who raises the most money. Again this year we recognize institutions that showed not just measurable growth, but also breadth and depth in terms of diversity of sources from which funds were raised. Judges also recognized institutions that over-performed, by ranking lower in terms of institutional budgets and enrollment, while ranking higher in terms of funds raised. 

    Among the trends we noticed in this year’s judging was a general increase in support from parents across all categories and that institutions from the west coast appeared to dominate in several categories. We were especially pleased to see what we believe is a maturing of fundraising among community colleges. There are many examples of community colleges who have not only achieved steady growth, but a diversification of fundraising among a variety of sources. It was a very competitive cohort that was difficult to judge this year.
     
    We also noted that alumni participation continues to decline, although the amount of money given by alumni continues to increase. This trend has held steady for the last several years, leading us to believe it is time to revisit how much weight we give to alumni participation in determining high-performing programs. 
     
    We were delighted to welcome several “new faces” to the list of those being recognized. The beauty of this awards program is that we look at the data not knowing what institution is being represented. In showcasing these best-of-the-best programs, CASE helps its members identify institutions doing smart and innovative work from which everyone can learn. We not only encourage–we highly recommend–that you spend some time in the CASE VSE Data Miner to dive into details about what makes these programs aspirational.

    From the Judges (Independent Schools)

    The financial sustainability of independent school education depends on highly productive and efficient advancement programs. Fundraising success is measured by many variables, not only by which schools raise the most money. The CASE Voluntary Support of Education survey provides many different data points for measuring a school’s fundraising program over a three-year period.  Thank you to all of the schools that submit data, providing useful comparisons for improving all independent school development programs.

    Again this year we recognize schools that showed not just measurable growth in dollars raised, but also breadth and depth in terms of diversity of sources from which funds were raised. The independent school chief advancement officers who served as judges recognized schools for excellence over a three-year time period. Each cohort (by endowment size) was very competitive.

    Among the trends we noticed in this year’s judging was a general increase in total support from parents and alumni across all categories. We were especially pleased to see what we believe is a maturing of sustained and ongoing major gift fundraising. We were concerned about declining enrollments at more schools than usual. We also noted that alumni participation and the number of alumni donors continues to decline, although the amount of money given by alumni continues to increase. This trend has held steady for the last several years.

     In showcasing these best-of-the-best programs, CASE helps its members identify schools that excel in their outcomes and do so efficiently so that we can all learn from their best practices. We encourage and highly recommend that you submit your own school’s information next year and spend some time in the CASE VSE Data Miner to dive into details about what makes these programs worthy of recognition.

    About the Awards

    Learn from the successes and best practices of past award winners.
    Search all winners
    2018

    2018 Educational Fundraising Award Winners

    Educational Fundraising Awards
    Read more
    CASE

    CASE

    CASE
    • CASE Communities
    • Member Login
    • Careers at CASE
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Privacy Statement
    • Staff Intranet
    Connect with CASE
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    CASE Member Support
    +1-202-328-CASE [2273]
    support.case.org

    CASE

    CASE
    Close

    Search

    Popular Searches
    Book Advancement events Articles Fundraising Resources AMAtlas Resources Awards CASE Library