# Government to match private donations to universities

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2004/12/24/government-match-private-donations-universities/
- Published: 2004-12-24T00:00:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

The government is to provide up to £7.5 million over the next three years to match
individual and corporate gifts to English universities.
The government says that
the matched funding scheme has been introduced “to help English institutions build
their capacity to raise income”.

 

 

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It is likely that some of the government funding will be used to build up fundraising
or development departments at universities, in order to diversify income sources
and grow income. Indeed, Professor Eric Thomas, vice-chancellor of Bristol University,
told FT.com that the new funds should be used to build up professional fundraising
offices. Professor Thomas had previously published a report which claimed that, 
without government matched funding, universities were missing out on around £600m
a year.

 

 

The funding announcement followed the publication of research by educational charity
The Sutton Trust which found that in the USA matched-funding schemes for universities
gave a return on public funding of 300%. The trusts’s chairman Sir Peter Lampl said:“
There is the potential to raise millions of pounds for UK universities if the government
provided matched funding.”

 

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