An annual survey of donations to UK universities has revealed that Oxford and Cambridge received around £357 million in donations during the 2012-2013 financial year.
The results of the Ross-CASE Survey show that, between them, the Oxbridge institutions received just over half of the income generated
from the £660 million donated to all of the universities
surveyed.
The gap between Oxbridge donations and other universities is shown to be widening. The median largest donation to the two universities
was recorded as being a massive £19.5
million.
In contrast to Oxbridge, which was described by the report as having “elite fundraising programmes” and where income from philanthropy
has shown an increase on the previous year, the wider Russell Group has experienced a decrease in donations. Universities in the “University Alliance” group, such as Oxford Brookes and Manchester Metropolitan, had an average donation income of just £772,000.
Across all universities, 59% of donations were received from organisations, the vast majority being charitable trusts and foundations, with under a third of these being from companies. The rest were from individuals, mostly alumni.
The survey suggested that the success of Oxbridge philanthropy can be largely attributed to the large amount of money invested in fundraising. It found that every pound received in donations costs 7 pence in fundraising costs.
A University spokesperson told Cherwell, “We are delighted that philanthropic support for higher education is showing an upward trend and that fundraising at Oxford is helping to lead the way. In 2012-13 almost £220m was raised in philanthropic support for the Oxford Thinking campaign, which reflects fundraising activity across the collegiate University.
“The support received throughout the course of the Oxford Thinking campaign is having real, demonstrable impact – from providing scholarships and other support for students, to expanding research programmes across a wide range of academic disciplines and helping enable the construction of new buildings which benefit staff and students alike.”
