# Ross-CASE survey reveals scale of UK university fundraising in 2006/07

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/01/12/rosscase-survey-reveals-scale-uk-university-fundraising-200607/
- Published: 2009-01-12T12:54:51+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

UK universities raised £548 million from alumni, other supporters and charities 
during 2006/2007, according to the latest Ross-CASE survey of Gifts and Costs of
Voluntary Giving.

This included £413 million in cash, with the remainder in the form of pledges or
gifts-in-kind. The total amount raised has increased by £168 million in two years,
having grown consistently since 2004/5 when universities between them raised £380
million.

The survey collected data from 144 universities in the UK, including nearly all 
of the largest and oldest institutions.

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### Established fundraising programmes

Universities with established fundraising programmes raised the bulk of the sector’s
total. Oxford and Cambridge raised £279 million, just over half of the overall total.
They and 27 other universities that had been operating a fundraising programme for
more than ten years accounted for 75% of funds raised in the year.

It was the established fundraising universities that secured the highest cash gifts.
Of the larger cash gifts, the median value was £115,000. The most common sources
of the largest gifts were trusts and foundations, followed by individual donors.

### Costs, income, and staffing

Overall UK universities spent £55 million on fundraising activities. Universities
that had been fundraising for more than ten years had median costs of £500,000, 
while those that started in 2003 or later had median costs of under £100,000.

The median value of funds raised was £376,000. Universities that had operated a 
fundraising programme for more than ten years enjoyed a median value of £3.1 million,
while those that started fundraising in 2003 or later achieved a median value of
just over £140,000.

The Ross-CASE survey reports that 871 staff were engaged in fundraising during 2006/
2007. The median number of fundraising staff at a university was three, with the
median figure for universities that had been fundraising for more than ten years
rising to ten.

### New matched funding scheme

Publication of the findings coincides with the start of the new matched funding 
scheme for voluntary giving (2008-2011) which is being managed by the Higher Education
Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

Funding is available to match eligible gifts raised by English universities and 
directly-funded further education colleges (FECs).

Mary Blair, Director of Development and Alumni Relations at The London School of
Economics and Political Science, said: “This survey is crucial for capturing an 
accurate picture of the state of fundraising in the UK. As you see, it reflects 
a rapidly growing sector achieving significant success”.

[The Ross-CASE Survey of Gifts and Costs of Voluntary Giving to Higher Education in the UK](http://www.natcen.ac.uk/rosscasesurvey/documents/Ross-CASE-Final-2006-7.pdf)
is carried out on behalf of the Ross Group of university development directors by
the [National Centre for Social Research](http://www.natcen.ac.uk).

The study is supported by the Ross Group, the Council for the Advancement and Support
of Education (CASE), the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and
the Sutton Trust.

www.rosscasesurvey.org.uk

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