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News Release
FOR RELEASE
March 22, 2002
PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS TO HIGHER EDUCATION RISE
DESPITE STOCK MARKET DECLINE;
USC TOP FUNDRAISER IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, 11TH IN NATION
New York -- RAND's Council for Aid to Education (CAE) reported today that private contributions to America's colleges and universities reached $24.2 billion, an increase from last year of $1 billion, in fiscal-year 2001 (July 1, 2000 -- June 30, 2001). The total, based on the results of CAE's annual Voluntary Support of Education (VSE) survey, is surprisingly large in light of the overall sharp decline in stock market values over this period. The total amount of private giving this year to U.S. colleges and universities represents a 4.3 percent increase over the 2000 figure and is the largest ever recorded by CAE. In addition, Harvard University, at $683 million, regained its position as the top-funded university in the nation by surpassing by more than $200 million last year's top-ranked Stanford University ($469 million).
The University of Southern California (USC) is the top-funded university in Southern California and ranks 11th overall in the nation. USC, which raised almost $281 million in 2001, edged out UCLA, which received close to $264 million. The University of California, San Francisco, for the first time ever is the top-funded public university in California at $272 million; the institution ranks 12th in the nation and 3rd among public universities. UCLA ranks 14th in the nation and 4th among all public universities. The University of California, Berkeley ($203 million) ranks 19th in the nation and 9th among public universities. [See tables (PDF).]
Bear Market Fails to Suppress Most Higher Education Giving
Almost all the growth in giving is attributable to an 18.1 percent increase in giving by non-corporate foundations. The growth in foundation assets in the mid- and late-1990s is still fueling foundation grantmaking, and education receives the largest share of foundation dollars. The Foundation Center, for example, reported that giving by these sources to higher education in calendar year 2000 increased by more than 33 percent. As a result, foundations now account for 25 percent of the voluntary support to higher education, up from 20 percent five years ago.
Alumni contributions, the largest source of support with 28 percent of the giving, reached $6.83 billion, a 0.4 percent increase over 2000. Foundation support, at 25 percent of the total, rose to $6.0 billion, an 18 percent increase. Non-Alumni giving, at 21 percent of the total, declined by 4.1 percent to $5.2 billion. Corporate support, at 18 percent of the total, increased by 4.8 percent to $4.35 billion. Eight percent of giving came from religious and other organizations. This category, though small in dollar amount relative to other sources -- $1.82 billion, increased by 4.0 percent. [See table (PDF).]
Current Operations Giving Grows; Capital Purposes Giving Is Flat
Giving for current operating purposes increased by 8.3 percent to $12.2 billion, while gifts for capital purposes, such as buildings or endowments, grew by only 0.6 percent to $12 billion. [See enclosed table.] This contrasts with recent trends in which gifts for capital purposes had been increasing much faster than gifts for current operating expenses. Between 1995 and 2000, gifts for current operations increased by 43.6 percent, whereas those for capital purposes increased by 86.4 percent.
In addition, the value of gifts of appreciated property, generally gifts of stock, declined by 8 percent. This decline is mirrored by, and likely caused by, declines in the value of stocks over the academic fiscal year, July 1, 2000, through June 30, 2001. Over that period, the New York Stock Exchange Index dropped 3.4 percent; the Standard and Poor's Composite Index fell 15.9 percent, and the NASDAQ declined by 47.4 percent.
Top Fundraising Universities
The nation's top ten fundraising universities in 2001, in order of dollars received, are: Harvard University, Stanford University, Columbia University, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University, Indiana University, Emory University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Pennsylvania. [See table (PDF).]
About the Council for Aid to Education
The Council for Aid to Education, a New York-based nonprofit organization and a part of RAND since 1996, was established in 1952 to advance corporate support of higher education. It has tracked private giving to colleges and universities through its Voluntary Support of Education (VSE) survey since 1952. CAE today provides analytical services to educational institutions, makes policy recommendations based on RAND research, and is the nation's leading source of data on private giving to education. CAE's Value Added Assessment Initiative seeks to address the disturbing falloff in quality at many institutions by developing a value-added, performance-based test to measure the quality of classroom teaching in undergraduate education. Also, its annual Leaders for Change Award recognizes and promotes the best corporate grants supporting education reform.
The published 2001 Voluntary Support of Education report will be available for purchase in June 2002.
About the RAND Corporation
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world.
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