U.S. colleges, universities see record contributions in 2017

• Date: 01 March 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30421
• Published date: 01 March 2018

MARCH 2018

3

NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR

© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

“Funders need to gure out some formula where

they give sufciently to address needs before and long

after a disaster—not just during and immediately

after,” he said.

Ottenhoff said he is encouraged by a trend among

major corporations to put their products, services,

expertise and employees to use in disaster response.

He noted the efforts of UPS, which draws on its vast

transportation capabilities and logistics expertise

to move supplies to disaster zones and help distrib-

ute them to those who need them most, as well as

Walmart’s partnerships with relief agencies, under

which the global retailer delivers an array of much-

needed food, beverages, medical supplies, clothing

and other goods—leveraging both employee volun-

teers and on-the-clock workers.

“Companies and nonprots need to establish simi-

lar partnerships now, so that they have things lined up

well in advance of the next disaster,” he said.

Prepositioning resources—including disaster relief

supplies and staff—in areas prone to such events is

one way to ensure that responses are efcient and well-

coordinated, and helps lessen the long-term impacts.

And evaluating ways in which new technologies

can be put to use to help in all stages of planning,

response and recovery will also pay off, he said.

“There needs to be more use of technology—for

example, to manage supplies and resources and iden-

tify who’d been impacted and needs help,” he said.

Keeping the public informed of the continued

need for donations and support in the months after

a disaster may also help—after all, individual dona-

tions account for more than foundation grants and

corporate contributions combined.

“Everyone needs to work together to ensure that

nonprot relief agencies are well-funded, organized

and have the capacity to effectively respond to disas-

ters,” he said.

For more information

Bob Ottenhoff is president and CEO of the Center

for Disaster Philanthropy, which is dedicated to helping

donors make more thoughtful disaster-related giving de-

cisions and maximize the impact of their gifts. Ottenhoff

can be reached at (202) 595-1026 or bob.ottenhoff@

disasterphilanthropy.org. For more information, visit

http://www.disasterphilanthropy.org. ■

U.S. colleges, universities see record contributions in 2017

Charitable contributions to U.S. colleges and

universities hit a record high of $43.6 billion in 2017,

new research shows, an increase of 6.3 percent over

the year before.

The data from the Voluntary Support of Educa-

tion survey, conducted annually by the Council for

Aid to Education, shows the highest level of dona-

tions since the survey’s inception in 1957.

According to the survey data, the top 20 fundrais-

ing institutions are as follows:

1) Harvard University ($1.28 billion)

2) Stanford University ($1.13 billion)

3) Cornell University ($743.50 million)

4) Massachusetts Institute of Technology

($672.94 million)

5) University of Southern California ($668.33

million)

6) Johns Hopkins University ($636.91 million)

7) University of Pennsylvania ($626.49 million)

8) Columbia University ($603.08 million)

9) Yale University ($595.89 million)

10) Duke University ($581.05 million)

11) New York University ($567.12 million)

12) University of Washington ($553.89 million)

13) University of California, Los Angeles

($550.93 million)

14) University of Chicago ($483.47 million)

15) University of Michigan ($456.13 million)

16) University of Notre Dame ($451.43 million)

17) University of California, San Francisco

($422.17 million)

18) University of California, Berkeley ($404.59

million)

19) Ohio State University ($401.85 million)

20) Indiana University ($398.26 million)

Giving from individuals accounted for the bulk

of the increase for the year. Gifts from alumni

increased 14.5 percent, and gifts from nonalumni

individuals grew 4.5 percent, the data showed.

That stood in contrast to the relatively stagnant

contributions from corporations and foundations.

Per the survey, contributions from corporations

remained at compared to 2016, while gifts from

foundations increased a modest 5.5 percent. Gifts

from other organizations—a category that includes

donor-advised funds—increased 3.1 percent, the

data showed.

For more information, visit http://www.cae.org/. ■