Australian and New Zealand Universities’ Continued Investment in Fundraising Reaps High Returns on Philanthropic Giving
in 2019Total New Funds Secured Grew From 2018 to 2019, With Median Value AUD8.3 Million
AUSTRALIA—The Council for Advancement and Support of Education released findings from an annual survey measuring philanthropic
impact on the higher education sector, based on data from 33 universities in Australia and New Zealand, the highest
participation rate in eight years since the survey began. This increase in participation amounted to a rise in
philanthropic funds secured, peaking at AUD783 million. The CASE Support of Education Survey, Australia and New Zealand shows new funds secured grew by 15 percent from 2018 to 2019, with a median value AUD8.3 million, while cash income
which typically corresponds to and follows the new funds secured, grew by 11 percent from 2018 to 2019 with a median
value of AUD8.1 million.
Notably, continued investment in fundraising reaped remarkable returns on fundraising activity. Institutions invested a
median value of AUD124 thousand per full-time equivalent (FTE) fundraising staff member, resulting in a five-fold return
on new funds secured and a six-fold return on cash income received per fundraising staff member.Other key findings from the 2019 survey data include:101 cash gifts of AUD1 million and above were received by 23 institutions in 2019, with more than half of these received
by just four institutions. For a consistent cohort of 30 institutions[1], the cash gifts of AUD1 million and above showed an increase of 20 percent over 2018 figures.New bequest intentions confirmed increased 36 percent1 from 2018 to 2019, up from a 28 percent decrease during 2017 to
2018. Go8e and non-Go8 institutions saw increases of 37 percent and 34 percent respectively.Production and distribution costs of an alumni magazine saw a reduction of 8 percent from 2018 to 2019, following a 13
percent decrease from 2017 to 2018.While the number of contactable alumni has grown by 11 percent from 2017 to 2019, alumni donors are on an overall
downward trend with a decrease of 16 percent during the same time period.
Professor Margaret Gardner AC, president and vice-chancellor of Monash University, chair of the Group of Eight and chair
of the CASE Council for Asia-Pacific comments, “Universities are central to the education system that supports our
aspirations of being at the forefront of innovation. A great university imparts not only foundational knowledge and
skills, but also a profound set of skills for life, informed by robust research and scholarship. Philanthropic funding
is becoming more critical in supporting universities’ goals, including enabling researchers to work on life-changing
breakthroughs and helping students from different backgrounds achieve their potential. This demonstration of continued
support through philanthropic giving to universities is encouraging, especially as we navigate strategic engagement of
our stakeholders in the midst of crises.”
“The results of the survey demonstrate the depth of value that donors and supporters of higher education continue to
place in universities in the region. The work of advancement, of engaging stakeholders throughout the community in the
work of universities, has become embedded and recognised as key to the strategic progress and vision for institutions
across Australia and New Zealand. This will only become more important in the coming years,” CASE President and CEO Sue
Cunningham says.
Next year’s CASE Support of Education Survey, Australia and New Zealand will be administered in the first half of 2021.
[1] The year-on-year trends were calculated for a consistent cohort of 30 institutions that provided information for a key
set of variables for all three years – 2017, 2018 and 2019.