Universities seek wealthy donors
An American style scheme which offers to match private donations to higher education with public money is to be trialled in the UK.
£2.5 million will be made available each year for the next three years for the matched-funding scheme in England.
The full details of how the scheme will operate are not yet clear, with the Government awaiting proposals from Universities UK on how the scheme should be administered.
Research by the Sutton Trust recently suggested that a matched funded scheme in the US raised £191 million in three years – with £145 million of that coming from private donations.
Giving to higher education establishments in the US is relatively common among big business, partly for the tax-breaks that are available for such donations. Though the tax regime will not be changed here, ministers hope that offering matched funding will encourage more individuals to donate.
The announcement comes as part of the Government’s response to Professor Thomas’s report on voluntary giving, published this autumn. In it he warned that universities could be missing out on up to £600 million a year through lack of fund raising, and called on the Government to “pump-prime” fund raising schemes.
Announcing the pilot scheme, Higher Education Minister Kim Howells, said: “A report published just this week showed that in three years matched funding schemes in the USA raised £191m, of which £145m came from private sources. I am keen to develop a culture of giving in this country and see our universities increase their ability to tap into private donations.
“The Government is increasing the amount of funding given to Higher Education Institutions by £2 billion between 2004-05 and 2007-08. Income raised through donations provides the sector with an additional source of income and can support projects and activities which advance their excellence. Matched-funding is just one of the steps we are taking today to help support Higher Education Institutions to increase their fund-raising capacity.”
The Government has also announced a number of other measures designed to increase donations to universities, including commissioning a survey on attitudes to giving and encouraging the provision of training in fund-raising.
