The Council for Advancement and Support of Education released findings from an annual survey of fundraising by 26 universities in Australia and New Zealand documenting the second highest total in philanthropic funds secured (AUD630 million) since the survey began in 2012.

While the total amount of philanthropic income secured in new funds¹ across participating universities decreased by 6 percent from 2017, such year-over-year variations are not uncommon among maturing fundraising programmes and may reflect the impact that a handful of very large gifts can have on any given year’s total. Looking back, philanthropic funds secured increased by 9 percent from 2016 to 2018. Other highlights from the report include:

• The total number of cash gifts of AUD1 million or more increased by 10 percent for non-Go8 institutions and 18 percent for Go8² institutions from 2017 to 2018.

• Annual fund income secured increased by 14 percent at non-Go8 institutions from 2017 to 2018, while Go8 institutions saw a decrease of 3 percent in annual fund income secured during the same period.

• The total number of donors increased by 3 percent and the number of non-alumni donors increased by 9 percent.

• Total cash income from bequests³ was AUD78 million in 2018, 40 percent higher than in 2017, though the number of bequest intentions dropped by 20 percent from 2017 to 2018.

“Since its inception, this survey has charted the growth of advancement programmes at universities in Australia and New Zealand and demonstrated the impact advancement has on both institutions and the students they serve,” said Sue Cunningham, President and CEO of CASE. “The continued growth in annual fund giving and donor counts is particularly encouraging; while major gifts account for a large proportion of total funds raised, the growth in donors at all levels bodes well for future growth in giving to higher education in the region. In some key areas there are negative trends. It is important to note that one year’s data does not always reflect the overall growth and impact of advancement in the region, which has been on an upward trajectory since our reporting began. Sustained investment in fundraising and alumni relations is critical to institutions’ ability to grow their philanthropic capacity going forward. CASE’s new Alumni Engagement Metrics⁴ will provide a valuable complement to the Support of Education Survey, enabling institutions to measure and benchmark alumni engagement in addition to charitable giving.”

Next year’s CASE Support of Education Survey, Australia and New Zealand is scheduled to be administered in the first half of 2020.

Notes to editors

Definitions

¹ New funds secured: New funding secured by the institution, including new donations received and new confirmed pledges not yet received but excluding payments of pledges made in previous years. This does not include bequest pledges but includes bequests received.

² Group of Eight: The Group of Eight (Go8) is a coalition of research-intensive Australian higher education institutions (refer to the Go8 website for further information). Out of the 26 participating institutions, 8 are from Go8.

³ Bequest: A commitment (pledge) that a transfer of wealth will occur upon a donor’s death. Within the survey bequest, gifts are counted only in either new funds secured or cash income received (depending on the type of gift) when they are received. Committed bequests (whether received in year or not) are included in the committed bequests question within the survey.

⁴ Alumni Engagement Metrics: The Alumni Engagement Metrics survey is a global industry-wide framework to measure alumni engagement, enabling institutions to understand the varied ways alumni engage with them to build meaningful and sustainable relationships. For more information, please visit this link.