CASE recently released key findings from the Voluntary Support of Education survey that show voluntary support of U.S. higher education institutions totaled $49.5 billion in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2020. 

While support edged slightly down from $49.60 billion in 2019, nearly half—48.6%—of responding institutions reported that giving increased. 

“In a year marked by uncertainty due to COVID-19 combined with a renewed passion for the power of community as seen in social justice movements across the globe, it is gratifying to see that giving to colleges and universities continues to play an integral role in transforming lives and society," CASE President and CEO Sue Cunningham said. “Advancement professionals, working with institution leaders and colleagues, have demonstrated an impressive response to unprecedented circumstances realizing philanthropic support for their institutions and for advancing education at a time when it was most needed.” 

The largest percentage increase in giving—7%—came from “other organizations.” This category of donors, while smaller than others, has grown the most in the past decade—53.2%—since 2011. Donor-advised funds represented 73.9% of the funds contributed from “other organizations” in a sample of a subset of 400 institutions. In 2020, “other organization” giving surpassed corporate support for the first time. Giving from non-alumni individuals rose 4% in 2020. All other sources reduced giving in the aggregate. 

In March 2021, CASE will publish the first edition of the CASE Global Reporting Standards (previously CASE Reporting and Management Guidelines). The VSE survey will adopt the global reporting standards for the 2022 VSE survey collection. This will not greatly affect what is counted, but it will clarify how to value certain transactions.  

The new standards are anchored by the following principle: Educational philanthropy is the voluntary act of providing private financial support to nonprofit educational institutions. To be categorized as philanthropy in keeping with CASE standards, such financial support must be provided for the sole purpose of benefiting the institution’s mission and its social impact, without the expressed or implied expectation that the donor will receive anything more than recognition and stewardship as the result of such support. 

For more information on the CASE Global Reporting Standards, contact standards@case.org.

For more information on the VSE, contact Ann Kaplan at akaplan@case.org.