Philanthropy up in universities
A study reveals an increase in donations but highlights disparities in who gets the funding. By
Funds from philanthropists provide infrastructure, student funding and much-needed teaching and learning materials for universities, according to a survey of philanthropy in higher education.
The survey, commissioned by the nonprofit trust Inyathelo South African Institute for Advancement, has revealed a significant increase in philanthropic funding.
This is its eighth annual survey of philanthropy in higher education. Data that covered the 2020 calendar year was used and 10 universities took part: Durban University of Technology, Tshwane University of Technology, University of Cape Town, University of the Free State, University of Johannesburg, University of Kwazulu-natal, University of Pretoria, Stellenbosch University, University of the Western Cape and University of the Witwatersrand.
Comprehensive data
For the 2020 period, the report states that infrastructure was awarded the most money at 40%, whereas 29% went to student funding, 12% to teaching and learning, 8% to community engagement, 7% to research and 4% to other initiatives.
This type of information was not available until the first survey was undertaken in 2013, said Inyathelo acting executive director Feryal Domingo.
“Few universities collected comprehensive data on this kind of funding and its costs for internal purposes, and no reliable national perspective existed.”
The report reveals that the total philanthropic income reported by the 10 participating universities was R2.31-billion, a significant increase on 2019, when R1.55-billion was brought in.
“The mean income per institution was R231-million, again much higher than R155-million in 2019,” Domingo writes.
When Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) funding is also included, philanthropic income totalled R2.66-billion in 2020 – yet another increase on the previous two years.
Setas are responsible for supporting and overseeing skills development and training in South African industry sectors.
“This income received from Setas was initially excluded from ... research, as some [universities] view philanthropic income generation as their sole preserve and do not work with Setas.
“However, incomes of universities improve when Seta funding is added to the mix, and some universities, particularly those which offer diplomas and degrees oriented to vocational work, tend to be more successful at attracting this form of income,” Domingo writes.
The 2020 increase in total philanthropic support can partly be attributed to fluctuations in the value of the rand and its impact on income from abroad, she states.
It can also be attributed to greater support of universities by South African, international philanthropic organisations and individuals during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Attracting income
The numbers, Domingo states, suggest that the more an institution spends on attracting philanthropic income, the higher it is.
“Universities have over time improved their systems for recording and administering this income and through that benefited from the growth in donor and grant funding available to universities,” the report reads.
Some universities are focusing on growing their philanthropic income streams and fundraising machinery.
“The total income of R2.31-billion for 2020 is distributed across 11,244 donors, while the total income for 2019 was distributed across 12,554 donors.”
This means that there were fewer donors but they gave significantly more. There has been an almost threefold increase in the number of donors from 2013, when it was 4,355.
Donor distribution
The distribution of income from local versus international sources used to be nearly even when this was first assessed in 2013. Then the pattern changed.
From 2016 the bulk of support came from local donors. This trend remained in place until 2020, when it again became evenly spread.
There were significant contributions from donors for Covid-19 relief efforts and medical research interventions.
“The trend of giving was towards emergency funds for personal protective equipment, medical research and, with the rapid shift towards digital technology, much-needed support for learning devices.”
Disparities in funding
The highest amount of philanthropic support received by a single institution in 2020 was R766-million, whereas the lowest was R8.5-million. The report does not rank the 10 participating institutions in terms of the most and the least donor funding received.
“The survey results have, since the first year, 2013, pointed out the extreme inequality in philanthropy income across the sample of universities that participated over the years,” the report reads.
The highest amount of philanthropic support
received by a single institution in 2020 was R766-million and the lowest was R8.5-million