# Tax breaks for alumni could build university endowments

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2003/05/28/tax-breaks-alumni-could-build-university-endowments/
- Published: 2003-05-28T23:00:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

A report on university endowment funds calls for tax breaks for graduates to help
establish and increase endowment funds for UK universities.
The report “University
Endowments” by the Sutton Trust points out that only five UK universities have endowments
worth £100 million or more, compared to 207 universities in the USA.

Chair of the Sutton Trust Peter Lampl also called for grater professional fundraising
within UK universities to improve the endowment position. In particular he recommended
devoting greater effort at targeting the right alumni to secure the biggest gifts.
The trust’s report called for “vice-chancellors and senior managers need to be involved
at this level.”

The report also argued that the current Gift Aid system for tax-efficient giving
was too complicated. Instead, like the USA, donors should be able to claim all the
tax back on their donation, rather than sharing the reclaim with the charity.

## Advertisement

Read “Tax breaks could attract university donors, says trust” by Donald MacLeod 
at The Guardian.

 * **[Moorfields Eye Hospital's capital appeal raises over £10 million](https://fundraising.co.uk/2004/03/31/moorfields-eye-hospital039s-capital-appeal-raises-over-10-million/)**(
   31 March 2004)
 * **[Amnesty International capital appeal reaches target](https://fundraising.co.uk/2004/06/02/amnesty-international-capital-appeal-reaches-target/)**(
   2 June 2004)
 * **[RHS appoints Whitewater for capital appeal launch](https://fundraising.co.uk/2004/07/15/rhs-appoints-whitewater-capital-appeal-launch/)**(
   15 July 2004)