Giving to community colleges and historically Black colleges and universities soared last year, thanks largely to big gifts from MacKenzie Scott and Michael Bloomberg, according to a new report.
Giving to community colleges rose 53 percent, according to the annual survey by the Voluntary Support of Education program at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. The 18 historically Black colleges and universities that participated in the study reported a 322 percent increase in giving in 2021. However, Ann Kaplan, senior director at the program, noted that the number of HBCU respondents is too small to provide statistically significant data.
Over all, giving to higher education rose 6.9 percent to $52.9 billion in the fiscal year ending June 10, or an inflation-adjusted 5.1 percent. Inflation was 7 percent in calendar year 2021, but the survey notes that most of the increase in giving occurred before inflation started to increase sharply.
The results were drawn from 864 participating institutions representing about a quarter of the colleges and universities in the United States. Those institutions raised 84 percent of total voluntary support of U.S. higher education institutions in the 2020–21 academic fiscal year, according to the report.
Familiar names continue hold the top fundraising honors, with Stanford University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and Yale University heading the list.
Other results from the survey:
- Giving by alumni rose 8.9 percent after inflation. It accounts for 23 percent of all giving.
- Giving by foundations rose 4.7 percent after inflation. It accounts for 33 percent of all giving.
- Gifts with no restrictions surged 30 percent but remain a small share of the total at 7 percent.
