CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021 - Generating Philanthropic Support for Higher Education

 
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CASE-Ross Support of Education:
United Kingdom and Ireland 2021
Generating Philanthropic Support
for Higher Education
Findings from data collected for 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2019–2020
© 2021 Council for Advancement and Support of Education
Original publication date: April 2021

All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright may be reproduced or used in any
form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer: While the publisher has used its best efforts in preparing this document, it
makes no representations or warranties in respect to the accuracy or completeness of its contents. No
liability or responsibility of any kind (to extent permitted by law), including responsibility for negligence is
accepted by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, its servants or agents. All information
gathered is believed correct at publication date. Neither the publisher nor the author is engaged in
rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is
required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

CASE-ROSS EDITORIAL BOARD
The Editorial Board members helped manage the project by contributing their time and
expertise at each stage of developing this report. They were involved with survey review, script
creation, survey promotion, data collection, data verification, analysis, report writing and
dissemination.
The 2019–2020 Editorial Board consisted of:
l Sandra Jackson, Deputy Director and Head of Development Services, University of Bristol
l Tania Jane Rawlinson, Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Cardiff University
l Frances Shepherd, Director of Development and Alumni, University of Glasgow
l Tom Smith, Prospect Research and Database Officer, Loughborough University
l Martin Wedlake, Deputy Director of Strategy and Operations, University College London

AUTHOR
Divya Krishnaswamy, Senior Research Analyst (Project Lead), CASE

CASE STAFF
Bruce Bernstein, Executive Director, Global Engagement (Europe and Africa)
Leigh Cleghorn, Deputy Director (Europe)
David Bass, Senior Director – Research

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, we would like to thank the institutional staff who gave their time to provide
information about the philanthropic income of their institutions and those who submitted case
studies to support the publication of this report. A special thanks to all the new institutions
participating in the study for the first time. We are grateful to the CASE-Ross Editorial Board for
their continued guidance and support.

COVER ART CREDIT
© yuoak, Getty Images

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Divya Krishnaswamy
Senior Research Analyst
CASE
dkrishnaswamy@case.org or europe@case.org
+44 (20) 3752 9726

              COUNCIL FOR ADVANCEMENT
              AND SUPPORT OF EDUCATION

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CONTENTS
PRESIDENT’S NOTE. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 4
FOREWORD .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 8
   Key Findings. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 8
INTRODUCTION.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 10
   Cluster analysis.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 10
   Interpreting the charts and tables .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 11
KEY INDICATORS .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .          12
   New funds secured.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .                    14
   Cash income received.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .                          18
   Alumni and donors.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .                    22
   Fundraising and alumni relations investments .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .                                                                         25
   Fundraising and alumni relations staff .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .                                                       28
TRENDS IN KEY INDICATORS.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .                                     29
   Philanthropic income. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .                        29
   Alumni and donors.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .                    30
   Fundraising and alumni relations investments .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .                                                                         31
   Fundraising and alumni relations staff .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .                                                       32
   Trends by cluster .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .             33
FINDINGS BY MISSION GROUPS .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 35
FINDINGS BY OTHER GROUPS .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 36
FINDINGS BY PEARCE REVIEW GROUPS .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 37
APPENDIX.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 38
   Response rate.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 38
   Participating institutions. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 39
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

PRESIDENT'S NOTE
For almost 20 years the CASE-Ross Survey has documented the growth and evolution of higher education
advancement in the United Kingdom and Ireland. As the Editorial Board’s Foreword demonstrates, CASE-
Ross data is a valuable tool providing insights into the impact of external factors, like the ongoing pandemic,
institutional practice, notably sustained investment in advancement functions, and program level strategy on
fundraising outcomes.
     Throughout the past year educational leaders and advancement professionals have proven themselves
innovative and nimble. They have rapidly adapted primarily in-person alumni engagement and fundraising
programs to online activities that have proven successful in sustaining relationships. They have also been
successful in newly engaging previously uninvolved alumni and stakeholders who are motivated by insti-
tutional missions and vision. Fundraisers have adapted their appeals in many contexts to raise support for
students impacted by the crisis and the scientific research that has helped to pave a pathway beyond.
     Institutional strategy has also played a critical role in sustaining and growing fundraising capacity.
Findings from this survey, as well as AMAtlas surveys of higher education fundraising in the US and Canada,
demonstrate that even in years when overall giving declines as a result of economic and other external factors,
many institutions sustain or grow fundraising. This reflects the importance of unstinting institutional support
of advancement programs. While the pandemic has posed many challenges, the CASE-Ross survey demon-
strates the resilience of philanthropic relationships sustained through consistent engagement and stewardship.
     The CASE-Ross survey has long been a critical resource for UK educational leaders and advancement
professionals and has become an important model for the global advancement profession. In March of 2021,
CASE published the first CASE Global Reporting Standards, an internationally applicable set of reporting
standards informed by fundamental ethical and professional principles. Members of the CASE-Ross Editorial
Board as well as other dedicated volunteers from the UK and Europe provided invaluable guidance and
support in the development of the new Standards. They include the CASE-Ross methodology of counting
new funds secured along with cash income as a central element.
     Over the next two years, CASE will be engaging with volunteers and industry partners to align our estab-
lished regional fundraising surveys with the new Standards and define a set of core metrics, across advance-
ment roles, while preserving valuable longitudinal and regional data. This work will enable benchmarking
across national borders while ensuring that all CASE members have access to transparent, industry standard
data and can benefit from the metrics, analytics, and reporting resources provided by CASE’s AMAtlas team.
     With sincere thanks to the members of the CASE-Ross Editorial Board and the dedicated advancement
professionals who contributed to this year’s survey and who do so much to advance education to transform
lives and society.

With much gratitude,
Sue Cunningham
President and CEO
CASE

                                                      •4•
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

FOREWORD
2020’s global Coronavirus pandemic turned 2019–2020 into an unprecedented and difficult year for every-
one, including universities, and their development and alumni relations programmes and teams. The fortitude,
commitment, flexibility and care shown by advancement professionals across the UK and Europe, in the face
of the pandemic, was wholly admirable. Many professionals helped support key aspects of university “pivots”
to address issues which the pandemic exacerbated.
     The pandemic meant that 2019–2020 was a year of two (unequal) halves – one pre-COVID, and one
which tracked the pandemic’s early months. The CASE-Ross report for the 2019-2020 year does not distin-
guish between those two distinct timeframes, though the pandemic’s impact is evident across many of the data
points we track.
     The overall story of the year, including those challenging early months of the pandemic, is strongly
positive. The sector delivered more than £1 billion of New Funds Secured from philanthropic sources for the
third year running. Strong momentum would seem to have been maintained, even as other sectors saw their
income from giving [or fundraising income/voluntary income] decimated.
     That said, the story seems to be bifurcated in some areas of higher education advancement. Maturity, and
institutional commitment to development and alumni relations, mattered more than ever.
     Mindful of this split, we reviewed our cluster analysis closely this year. Notably, initial cluster analysis left
us with a large emerging cluster, where we saw widely varied performances. Further analysis showed that this
cluster divided naturally into a group of 22 Emerging, and 11 Fragile institutions. (Last year’s Emerging cluster
might have benefitted from a similar approach, so we recommend that this year’s charts are read on their own;
they are perhaps more finely tuned and accurate, rather than representing a significant sector shift to more
“fragile” institutions.)
     The more mature five of the six “clusters”: Elite, Established, Moderate, Developing and even Emerging
reported relatively consistent results and appear to have weathered the start of the pandemic. The Elite,
Moderate and Emerging clusters have all posted fundraising results that are slightly down on last year, but
this is in the context of a particularly strong 2018-19 and is not necessarily a cause for concern. Because these
institutions are responsible for more than 95% of gifts, this strong performance means that an overall New
Funds Secured remained above the £1 bn mark for the THIRD year in a row. The fall of £236 million from
last year is a return to 2017–18 performance levels, and it is worth remembering that the 2018–19 all-time
high included a single new pledge of £150m for one elite institution.
     The sector’s focus on the long-term relationship based major gift model appears to have paid strong
dividends. Unlike transactional or product-based fundraising, UK higher education’s approach seems to
have nurtured and maintained long-term donor affinity and momentum. Universities’ willingness to invest
in asking, and donors’ ongoing willingness to give, does not seem to have been affected materially by the
pandemic in the last quarter of the 2019–2020 financial year.
     News and analysis of the broader charity sector has frequently included reports of dramatic losses in
fundraising success, with attendant reductions in expenditure on fundraising. Our figures show that whilst
many universities reduced overall expenditure in 2019–2020, staffing numbers did not decline much. We
deduce – and anecdotal evidence also tells us – that reduced spend was the result of pausing on visits and
events (including overseas travel), rather than significant staffing cuts.
     But at the very Fragile end of the spectrum (which now includes a number of institutions classed as
Emerging in previous years), there have been advancement team closures and reductions. Notably, fewer
institutions since the mid-2000s participated in the CASE-Ross survey. (Even some relatively mature offices

                                                       •5•
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

were unable to complete the survey, or provide all its data points, due to staff pressures. We hope to welcome
them back to the full survey next year.) In 2019–2020, it seems, institutional commitments to fundraising
suffered for some institutions with the least mature programmes.
      Stop-start investment in fundraising is a dangerous game. It can lead to damaged relationships and in
turn to philanthropic income languishing and failing to recover when it is felt investment can again be made.
Consistent investment, appropriately tailored to institutional needs and opportunities, has proven time and
again to lead to success – as the continued growth in all the other clusters demonstrates.
      Where there was success, what was it that counted? Institutions that showed impressive results have told
us their success relied on strong donor relationships, on institutional agility, and/or being well aligned with
strategic planning in their institutions. When some or all of those factors were in play, advancement teams
could respond to the crisis even as institutional needs evolved rapidly. They could demonstrate authenticity
of need to donors who knew them well already and could showcase real impact to donors. Some universi-
ties found success through fundraising for research efforts associated with the pandemic and vaccine. Others
moved rapidly, and successfully, to appeals which focused on new and urgent student needs during the crisis.
      Of course, we will also be watching carefully for the pandemic’s impact on the 2020–2021 year. At this
stage it is very difficult to predict. Some institutions seem to be faring well. We know that non-salary spend
may be far lower than in previous years, with no travel and few events possible. Telethons were more complex to
run. But we have heard that online engagement with alumni is opening up new territories and opportunities –
fertile ground for global engagement of a mobile, agile alumni community. Case studies of successes, and
failures, will be important for the sector to share in the coming months.
      The CASE-Ross Survey continues to highlight sector trends and patterns we have observed over time.
Some longer-term trends have continued during 2019–2020:
• Investment in alumni magazines declined for the third year in a row;
• Contactable alumni numbers continue the long-term trend of inexorable rise;
• Very large gifts continue to contribute significantly to the sector’s success.
Some trends we are watching were more difficult to chart in a tumultuous year:
• Telethons seem to have slowed for the second year running for the subset of institutions who report
   on this data, though it is unclear whether this was due to strategic choices, or to lockdown pauses.
• Crowdfunding continues to grow donor numbers, but again the pandemic may be a factor. Did
   emergency appeals open doors to new audiences?
• While total staff numbers dipped very slightly (both in fundraising and alumni relations), a few
   significant institutions did not report staff – and median staff numbers held largely constant. The
   2020–2021 numbers may offer a better picture of pandemic impact.
      We also observe fluctuations in “contactable” alumni with interest; we aim to consult with the sector
about the causes here, and significance of this fluctuation.
      More generally, both our Editorial Board and CASE remain committed to keeping colleagues in Europe
informed and consulted, whilst CASE globally updates its surveys and programmes. (See Sue Cunningham’s
notes above about the wider landscape). We feel real pride that the CASE-Ross Survey, now passing its 20th
year, has helped provide much of the context for the recently revised Global Standards, and for data collection
in the forthcoming CASE “core metrics” programme.
      Our goal as an Editorial Board together with CASE is to ensure that European colleagues have the data
and tools they need to enable benchmarking, inform their programmes, and identify communities of best
practice. We will do our best to provide early information about, and consultation on, updates and changes in
the CASE-Ross Survey. We will stay in touch, and continue the discussion at CASE events and programmes,
in the months and year to come.

                                                      •6•
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

     Most of all, we are full of appreciation for the outstanding commitment which advancement colleagues
have shown to their universities, to their students and colleagues, and to their donors and alumni over the past
year. Our work is valuable, is valued, and truly changes lives. This survey gives an idea of the financial impact
which our work has – and all of us can be proud of the positive impact we have on people, on places, and
on learning and discovery at our institutions. Thank you to all of the institutions who participated in the
CASE-Ross Survey 2019–20!

With thanks,
CASE-Ross Editorial Board

                                                      •7•
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The CASE-Ross Survey Supporting Document                                TOTAL NEW FUNDS SECURED IN
prescribes definitions for recording philanthropic                      2019–2020 WAS £1.09 BILLION
income, guidance on eligible funding and provides                       • The total new funds secured in 2019–2020 was
general guidance on completing the survey. Philan-                        £1.09 billion.
thropic income includes gifts/donations or grants                       • The mean philanthropic funds secured in
that are eligible and fall within the boundaries                          2019–2020 decreased by 17% since 2018-19.
of philanthropic intent. Philanthropic support is                       • On average, institutions sourced 66% of their new
reported in two ways:                                                     funds from organisations (including companies,
• New funds secured in a year includes the value                          trusts and foundations and lottery) while the
  of new gifts/donations received and new pledges                         remaining 34% was contributed by individuals.
  confirmed in the year at their value for up to five                   • Amongst 79 institutions that provided the data,
  years; it excludes legacy payments and cash pay-                        219 donors made gifts or pledges of £500k or
  ments made against pledges secured in previous                          more during 2019–2020 (excludes elite and fragile
  years. New funds secured reflect the success of                         institutions).
  current fundraising activity.
• Cash income received includes all cash income                         TOTAL CASH INCOME RECEIVED IN
  received during the year and includes new single                      2019–2020 WAS £1.03 BILLION
  cash gifts, cash payments received against pledges                    • The total cash income received in 2019–2020
  secured in the current or previous years and cash                       was £1.03 billion.
  from legacies; it excludes new pledges where                          • The mean cash income received in 2019–2020
  payment has not been received. Cash income                              decreased by 0.1% since 2018–19.
  reflects the success of the current and past years’                   • On average, institutions received 63% of cash
  fundraising activity.                                                   income from organisations (including companies
                                                                          and trusts and foundations), while individuals
Key Findings1                                                             contributed 37%.
                                                                        • Total cash income from legacies was £85m in
For 2019–2020, overall average new funds secured
                                                                          2019–2020 from 986 legacy donations.
decreased by 17% over those received during
2018–19. Average cash income also decreased                             AVERAGE NUMBER OF DONORS GREW
slightly, by 0.1% over 2018–19 figures.                                 BY 3.6%
     The average value of the largest new gifts/
                                                                        • 94 participating institutions reported a total of
pledges and average value of the largest cash gifts
                                                                          214,115 donors.
received by institutions decreased by 24% and 4%
                                                                        • Average donors increased by 3.6% since 2018–19
respectively. Average donor numbers have increased                        and average alumni donors increased by 5% since
by 3.6% while the average number of alumni                                2018–19.
donors has increased by 5% since 2018–19.                               • Among institutions that provided breakdowns of
     Average figures for investments in both                              donor types2, 97% were individuals and 3% were
fundraising and alumni relations have decreased                           trusts and foundations, companies, lotteries or
by 9% and 16% over 2018–19 levels.                                        other organisations.
                                                                        • 1% or 149,715 of the reported 10.8m contactable
                                                                          alumni made contributions during the year.

All average trend figures are for institutions that participated in the survey for all four years 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2019–2020.
1

Not all participating institutions provided a break down of total donors into sub-categories.
2

                                                                •8•
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

AVERAGE INVESTMENTS IN FUNDRAISING
AND ALUMNI RELATIONS DECREASED BY
9% AND 16% RESPECTIVELY
• In 2019–2020 the total expenditure on alumni
  relations was £46m and the total expenditure on
  fundraising was £107.5m.
• Average fundraising investment decreased by 9%
  and average alumni relations investment decreased
  by 16% over the previous year.
• Staff costs accounted for 79% of average fund­
  raising expenditures and 73% of average alumni
  relations expenditures.

                                                      •9•
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

INTRODUCTION                                                   Cluster Analysis
                                                               Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was first conducted
The first CASE-Ross Support of Education Survey
                                                               in 2013 on data from the CASE-Ross surveys in
(as it is now known) was carried out in 2002 and
                                                               2011–12 to explore the possibility of uncovering
built on previous surveys undertaken within the
                                                               groups of institutions that had similar fundraising
Ross Group; the survey has been conducted
                                                               profiles and has been repeated every year. LCA was
annually since then.
                                                               used to group institutions, into different clusters
     The survey methodology has been adapted for
                                                               based on certain defining variables that provided
use in other CASE surveys on philanthropic sup-
                                                               the most information about key characteristics
port for education in Australia and New Zealand,
                                                               of fundraising activities and for which there was
continental Europe, South Africa and Canada.
                                                               sufficient variation between institutions to offer
     During 2012–13, the CASE-Ross survey was
                                                               distinct patterns and differentiating factors. These
offered online for the first time. Its methodology
                                                               variables are:
also changed substantially (differentiating it from its
predecessors) and was enhanced following a review              1. Average cash income received over three years
that included scoping interviews with key stake-               2. Average largest cash gift received over three years
holders and development directors.                             3. Average number of donors over three years
     The CASE-Ross Support of Education Survey,                4. Average proportion of contactable alumni
UK and Ireland, 2019–2020 was open to partici-                    making a gift over three years
pants from 16 September 2020 to 24 November                    5. Average fundraising costs per pound received
2020. Invitations to participate were sent to 161                 over three years
higher education and specialist institutions in the            6. Average number of fundraising staff (full-time
UK alone that are involved in some form of fun-                   equivalent) over three years
draising or alumni relations activity. Ninety-three
                                                               Average figures for these variables across a three-
institutions across the UK participated yielding a
                                                               year period were used to ensure that comparisons
response rate of 58% (see Appendix for details).
                                                               were based on performance over time rather than
Two higher education institutions from Ireland
                                                               any single year. In earlier years, a five-cluster solu-
and the Institute of Cancer Research in the UK
                                                               tion offered a good statistical fit for the data and
also took part in the survey. A total of 96 institu-
                                                               made substantive sense; however, since 2015–16,
tions across the UK and Ireland participated during
                                                               additional analysis on the Emerging cluster was
2019–2020.
                                                               conducted and it was found that the institutions in
     Participating institutions provided data for the
                                                               this cluster could be further divided into two sub-
12-month period from 1 August 2019 to 31 July
                                                               clusters producing a total of six clusters in recent
2020. Data has not been reweighted to estimate
                                                               years. The same process was first applied to the
funds raised and other data for non-participating
                                                               2019–2020 dataset of 96 institutions using Latent
institutions so reported totals only account for a
                                                               GOLD® v5.0 software. However, this left us with
portion of philanthropic support for higher educa-
                                                               a large, emerging cluster, where we saw widely
tion in the UK and Ireland.
                                                               varied performances. Further analysis showed that
     CASE Research staff, with the support of the
                                                               this cluster divided naturally into a group of 22
Editorial Board, queried data submitted by institu-
                                                               Emerging, and 11 Fragile institutions. Through
tions against an exhaustive set of logic, ratio, arith-
                                                               most of this report, data has been presented broken
metic and substantive tests and survey participants
                                                               down for the following six clusters of institutions:
were asked to confirm or correct their responses.
                                                               1. Fragile (11 institutions)
Benchmarking data was made available to partici-
pating institutions at the time of report release.             2. Emerging (22 institutions)

                                                      • 10 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

3.   Developing (26 institutions)                                   in mean and median figures may reflect the
4.   Moderate (28 institutions)                                     outliers in the data reported by a cluster. Or it
5.   Established (7 institutions)                                   could reflect the varied nature of fundraising
6.   Elite (2 institutions)                                         operations and/or maturity of fundraising
                                                                    operations across participating institutions.
                                                                •   The number of institutions given as the base (n)
Interpreting the charts                                             for a chart or table indicates the number of insti-
and tables                                                          tutions that provided data for a response to a
• Through most of this report (other than trends by                 question or for the given variable or variables.
  key indicators) data has been presented broken                •   For variables that were calculated from the
  down by the six clusters.                                         responses to more than one question in the survey,
• Descriptive statistics, mainly using the measures                 first, the variable was calculated for each institu-
  of central tendencies – arithmetic mean/average                   tion and then the mean was calculated at a cluster
  and median – were used to analyse the data and                    level and at an ‘all institutions’ level.
  report on key variables on a confidential and                 •   Aggregates reported for ‘all institutions’ are
  aggregated basis.                                                 calculated for all participating institutions that
• Mean figures provide a snapshot of the overall                    provided a response.
  group’s performance including outliers, while                 •   All income figures in this report are reported in
  median figures highlight the exact midpoint                       Pound Sterling. Data reported in Euros were
  in fundraising figures across participating                       converted to Pound Sterling using an average
  institutions.                                                     of the conversion rate for the survey period
• A normally distributed cluster has mean and                       (€1 = £0.87872 or £0.88).
  median figures that are quite similar. Differences

                                                       • 11 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

KEY INDICATORS
The following section reports on new funds secured,                                 broad overview of the return on investment and
cash income received, contactable alumni, donors                                    economic impact of fundraising across institutions
and investment in fundraising and alumni relations                                  in the UK and Ireland.
staff and activities. These key indicators provide a

Key indicators 2019–2020

   		                                                        n                  Total                         Mean                       Median

   Philanthropic Income
       New Funds Secured    95 £1,095,544,345 £11,532,046                                                                             £2,074,440
       Cash Income Received 95 £1,029,708,309 £10,839,035                                                                             £1,821,564
   Alumni
      Total Alumni       94 14,946,539 159,006 142,941
      Contactable Alumni 94 10,863,823 115,573 104,110
      Alumni Donors      90    149,715   1,664     496
   Donors
      Total Donors*         94 214,115 2,278 941
      Individual Donors†
                            94 207,991 2,213 870
      Organisations Donors‡ 92   6,087    66  39
   Costs
      Fundraising Costs      91 £107,536,718 £1,181,722 £550,182
      Alumni Relations Costs 92  £46,121,465  £501,320  £268,839
      Alumni Magazine Costs  52   £4,231,505    £81,375  £43,269
   Staff
       Fundraising Staff (FTE)                             91                          1,499                            16                            8
       Alumni Relations Staff (FTE)                        94                            757                             8                            4
   All figures reported in this table are for all institutions that provided the data; this table has been compiled using responses to multiple questions
   and hence the sample size varies.
   *Total donor figures include individual and organisational donors.
   †
    Individual donor figures include alumni donors and non-alumni donors; not all institutions provided a breakdown of total donors into these
   sub-categories.
   ‡
    Organisation donors include trusts and foundations, companies, lottery and other organisations; not all institutions provided a breakdown of
   total donors into these sub-categories.

                                                                          • 12 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

A clear progression of fundraising capacity and                         and fewer staff may fluctuate more from year to
performance is apparent, ranging from the nascent                       year as a result of discontinuities in staffing and
programmes in the Fragile cluster to the long-                          investment and may be disproportionately impacted
established, well-resourced and highly productive                       by changes in operations, programmes, or donor
programmes in the Elite group.                                          interests. It should also be noted that even in mature
    It should be noted that the fundraising perfor-                     institutions, fundraising can vary widely from one
mance of institutions with less mature programmes                       year to the next.

Age of development and alumni relations programme by cluster 2019–2020
(n=96; % number of institutions)

                                                                         13%           9%
                        14%             14%                                                        Programme Founded:
                                                        23%
                                                                                                      1989 or earlier
                                                                                                      1990 to 1999
                                                                         23%
                                        36%                                           45%             2000 to 2004
                                                        19%
                                                                                                      2005 to 2009
                                                                                                      2010 or later
       100%             72%                                              32%
                                                        27%

                                        32%

                                                                                      46%
                                                        27%              32%
                                        14%
                        14%
                                       4%              4%
        Elite       Established      Moderate       Developing          Emerging     Fragile

Mission groups3 by cluster 2019–2020
(n=96; % number of institutions)

                                                                          5%           9%
                                                        11%
                                                                                                   Mission Group:
                                                         4%
                                                         4%                                           Russell Group
                                                                          27%
                                        43%                                                           University Alliance
                                                                                       36%
                                                                                                      MillionPlus
                                                                                                      Not in a Mission Group
                        86%
       100%

                                                        81%
                                                                          68%
                                        57%                                            55%

                        14%

        Elite       Established      Moderate       Developing          Emerging     Fragile

This includes the Russell Group, University Alliance and MillionPlus.
3

                                                              • 13 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

New funds secured                                                                    secured reflect the success of current fundraising
                                                                                     activity and demonstrate the true impact of devel-
New funds secured in a year are new gifts/donations
                                                                                     opment efforts inclusive of new gift funds received
received and new confirmed pledges4 (counting
                                                                                     in a year and the value of future commitments.
multi-year value for up to five years) from donors
                                                                                        Gifts given by individuals via charitable vehicles
that are made during the year. The funds pledged
                                                                                     such as a personal trust or foundation or from a
may not have been received during the year. New
                                                                                     privately held company are also recorded as gifts
funds secured include all legacy gifts where the
                                                                                     from an individual.
funds have been received during the year; and
                                                                                        The total value of new funds secured for all
exclude cash payments made against all other gift
                                                                                     institutions was £1.09 billion.5
pledges secured in previous years. Thus, new funds

Mean new funds secured 2019–2020

    		                                    New funds secured*                              Largest pledge†
    		                                         (n=95)                                         (n=94)

    Elite                                     £226,409,024                                   £6,000,000
    Established                                £43,441,593                                  £14,687,840
    Moderate                                    £8,576,448                                   £2,780,372
    Developing                                  £3,293,637                                   £1,419,028
    Emerging                                     £549,247                                     £218,367
    Fragile                                        £77,660                                      £35,725
    All		                                      £11,532,046                                   £2,433,206
    This table has been compiled using responses to multiple questions and hence the sample size varies.
    *Note that one institution from the Fragile cluster, did not provide data for this question.
    †
     Note that one institution each from the Fragile and Elite cluster, did not provide data for this question.

Total number of institutions that secured new funds at different income levels 2019–2020
(n=95; number of institutions)

                                                                       25

                              17
                                                                                           14
          10                                                                                                      11     10
                                                   8

     Less than          £100,000 to         £500,000 to            £1m to              £5m to             £10m to   £20m and over
     £100,000            £499,999            £999,999            £4,999,999          £9,999,999         £19,999,999
    Note that one institution from the Fragile cluster, did not provide data for this question.

Legacies are donations received from a donor's estate.
4

See the table on page 12 for more information on key indicators.
5

                                                                            • 14 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

Participating institutions (excluding Elite institu-                              remaining 19% were secured by Developing and
tions) secured 219 confirmed pledges of more                                      Emerging institutions; there were no confirmed
than £500k each. Of these, 81% were secured by                                    pledges of more than £500k received by Fragile
Established and Moderate institutions, while the                                  institutions.

Number of donors that gave or pledged new funds at various contribution levels 2019–2020
(n=79)

                                             20
                                                                                               Gift range:
                                            226                                                     £5,000,000+
                                                                                                    £500,000–£4,999,999
                                           1,039                                                    £50,000–£499,999
                                                                                                    £5,000–£49,999
                                           2,929
                                                                                                    £1–£4,999

                                          86,222

     Note that many institutions, including a member of the Elite cluster, did not provide data for this question.
     This chart represents less than half of the total donors who gave to the sector.

Individuals contributed 34% of the total new funds
secured while organisations6 contributed 66%.

Mean sources of new funds secured 2019–2020
(n = 87 to 96; % of income)

              Elite                           43%                                      21%                     16%             18%

     Established                  25%                   8%                                  49%                               10%     8%

       Moderate               17%                 15%                                       50%                               11%      6%

     Developing          9%      4%                        37%                            12%                          32%             6%

       Emerging          9%                   25%                                 31%                                20%             12%

           Fragile       9%     3%      10%            13%                                              62%

                All             22%                   12%                              39%                             12%     8%      7%

                                                  Alumni         Non-alumni individuals              Trusts and foundations
                                                  Companies           Lottery         Other organisations

     This chart has been compiled using responses to multiple questions and hence the sample size varies.

Organisations include trusts, foundations, companies, lotteries and other organisations.
6

                                                                        • 15 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

On average, the largest single new gift/pledge
accounted for 29% of average funds secured by
institutions.

Three largest gifts/pledges as a percentage of new funds secured 2019–2020
(% of income; chart shows mean figures)

      4%
                                                                                                                   New gift/pledge size:
                                      32%                                                               29%
                        34%                                                                                             Largest
                                                       43%             40%
                                                                                        46%
                                                                                                                        Second largest
                                                                                                         8%             Third largest
                        9%             9%
                                                                                                         6%             Other new funds secured
                                       6%
                        7%                             11%             14%
                                                                                        12%
     90%
                                                        7%             10%
                                                                                         9%

                                      53%                                                               57%
                        50%
                                                       39%             36%              33%

      Elite       Established Moderate Developing Emerging                            Fragile            All
     (n=1)           (n=7)     (n=28)    (n=26)    (n=22)                             (n=10)           (n=94)
   This chart has been compiled using responses to multiple questions and hence the sample size varies.
   Note that one institution each from the Fragile and Elite cluster, did not provide data for this question.

Individuals contributed 24% of the largest gifts/                                  As noted earlier, gifts given by individuals via other
pledges received by all institutions. Just under half                              vehicles (such as their personal trust/foundation
the number of participating institutions (48%)                                     or own company) are recorded as gifts from an
secured their largest new gift/pledge from a trust                                 individual.
or foundation.
Sources of largest gifts/pledges 2019–2020
(% number of institutions)

                Elite
               (n=1)                                50%                                                            50%
     Established
           (n=7)                      29%                                                     57%                                        14%
       Moderate
         (n=28)               14%          7%                                     54%                                        18%           7%
     Developing
         (n=26)           11%              15%                                             58%                                     8%     4% 4%
        Emerging
          (n=22)               18%                                   41%                                           32%                     9%
           Fragile
           (n=10)                    27%                     9%                     28%                           18%             9%       9%
                 All
              (n=94)         13%           11%                                    48%                                      19%             7%

                                     Alumni         Non-alumni individuals              Trusts and foundations            Companies
                                     Lottery        Other organisations
     This chart has been compiled using responses to multiple questions and hence the sample size varies.
     Note that one institution each from the Fragile and Elite cluster, did not provide data for this question.

                                                                         • 16 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

Cash income received                                                              from legacies7; it excludes new pledges where
                                                                                  payment has not been received. Cash income
Cash income received includes all donations
                                                                                  reflects the success of the current and past years’
received during the year. This includes new single
                                                                                  fundraising activity.
cash gifts, cash payments received against pledges
                                                                                     The total cash income received by all institutions
secured in the current or previous years and cash
                                                                                  in 2019–2020 was £1.03 billion8.

Mean cash income received 2019–2020

    		                               Cash income received                                    Largest cash gift
    		                                      (n=95)                                                (n=94)

     Elite                                £232,304,488                                          £5,300,000*
     Established                           £36,740,029                                         £11,118,806
     Moderate                               £8,225,599                                          £1,677,423
     Developing                             £2,457,348                                           £500,263
     Emerging                                £560,411                                            £156,883
     Fragile                                 £138,226*                                             £68,086*
     All                                   £10,839,035                                          £1,563,177
     This table has been compiled using responses to multiple questions and hence the sample size varies.
     *Note that some institutions, including a member of the Elite cluster, did not provide data for this question.

Individual donors contributed 37% of all mean cash
income received.

Sources of cash income received in 2019–2020
(n = 90 to 96; % of mean cash income)

              Elite                          41%                              9%                            39%                         11%

      Established                22%                     14%                                    46%                              8%     6%

       Moderate                  23%                    13%                                   46%                                12%         5%

      Developing            15%              12%                            35%                          8%           14%             17%

        Emerging         10%            14%                           32%                                  25%              4%         15%

           Fragile         13%         4%                  28%                                        38%                             17%

                 All               25%                     12%                                43%                            11%             5%

                                              Alumni          Non-alumni individuals             Trusts and foundations
                                              Companies            Lottery         Other organisations

     This chart has been compiled using responses to multiple questions and hence the sample size varies.

Legacies are donations received from a donor's estate.
7

See the table on page 12 for more information on key indicators.
8

                                                                        • 17 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

Total number of institutions that received cash income at different income levels 2019–2020
(n=95; number of institutions)

                                                                     26

                             19
                                                                                         15
                                                 12
                                                                                                             9                  9
          5

    Less than         £100,000 to         £500,000 to            £1m to              £5m to           £10m to £20m and over
    £100,000           £499,999            £999,999            £4,999,999          £9,999,999       £19,999,999
   Note that one institution from the Fragile cluster, did not provide data for this question.

On average, an institution’s largest cash gift
accounted for 19% of the average cash income
received by the institution.

Three largest gifts as a percentage of mean cash income 2019–2020
(% of income; chart shows mean figures)

                                      20%             20%                                           19%            Cash gift size:
                      30%                                             28%
                                                                                                                      Largest
                                                                                      49%            7%
                                      10%             10%                                                             Second largest
                                                                                                     5%
                       8%              6%             7%              14%                                             Third largest
                       6%                                                                                             Other cash income received
                                                                      8%
      93%
                                                                                     17%
                                                                                                    69%
                                      64%             63%                             6%
                      56%
                                                                      50%

                                                                                     28%

      Elite      Established Moderate Developing Emerging                            Fragile         All
     (n=1)          (n=7)     (n=28)    (n=26)    (n=22)                             (n=10)        (n=94)
   Note that some institutions, including a member of the Elite cluster, did not provide data for this question.

                                                                          • 18 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

Individuals contributed 31% of the largest cash
gifts received by all institutions.

Sources of largest cash gifts 2019-2020
(% number of institutions)

              Elite
             (n=1)                                 50%                                                                50%
     Established
           (n=7)                     29%                         14%                                  43%                           14%

       Moderate
                                21%                  11%                                   47%                                14%        7%
         (n=28)
     Developing
                          11%             15%                                          54%                                   8%     8%    4%
         (n=26)
       Emerging
                4%                     23%                                32%                                         32%                9%
         (n=22)
           Fragile                        36%                                            37%                                18%          9%
           (n=10)
              All             18%                 13%                                  43%                                  17%          7%
           (n=94)
                                      Alumni          Non-alumni individuals               Trusts and foundations            Companies
                                      Lottery         Other organisations
     This chart has been compiled using responses to multiple questions and hence the sample size varies.
     Note that one institution each from the Fragile and Elite cluster, did not provide data for this question.

Mean cash income received from legacies was                                        gifts (and provided the number of legacy gifts). On
£1.3m across 64 institutions that received legacy                                  average, the value of a legacy gift received was £76k.

Mean cash income received from legacies 2019–2020

   		                                    Cash income from legacies                               Cash income per legacy*
                                                  (n=64)                                                 (n=63)

     Elite                                         £20,456,640                                               £78,908
     Established                                    £1,996,626                                              £115,202
     Moderate                                        £911,213                                                £88,125
     Developing                                      £348,044                                                £64,303
     Emerging                                          £62,694                                               £47,717
     Fragile                                           £10,000                                               £10,000
     All                                            £1,335,671                                               £76,527
     This table has been compiled using responses to multiple questions.
     *Note that some institutions, including a member of the Elite cluster, did not provide data for this question.

                                                                         • 19 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

Overall, 9% of cash income received came from
legacies.

Cash from legacies as a percentage of total cash income 2019–2020
(n=64; % of income)

                                                                                                                             Other cash income
                                                                                                                             received
                                                                                                                             Cash income
                                                                                                                             from legacies

                                          89%             88%              86%
          91%             95%                                                                              91%
                                                                                           97%

                                          11%             12%              14%
           9%              5%                                                                               9%
          Elite        Established Moderate Developing Emerging                           Fragile            All
      This chart has been compiled using responses to multiple questions.
      Only institutions that provided figures for cash income from legacies have been included.

Sixty eight percent of cash income from individuals
was received as a result of face-to-face meetings or
tailored proposals.

Cash income received from individuals by communication trigger 2019–2020
(% of income)

               Elite
                         9%                                          61%                                                   19%         4%    8%
              (n=1)
      Established
                  3%                                                        82%                                                        11%        3%
            (n=7)
       Moderate
                          11%                                          59%                                                   25%
         (n=27)
      Developing
                           12%                                    48%                                                27%               4%    8%
          (n=25)
        Emerging
                            15%                                                63%                                               14%         6%
          (n=21)
           Fragile
                              17%                                                    69%                                           3% 6% 5%
            (n=8)
               All
                         8%                                             68%                                                      18%          5%
            (n=89)

                          Mass solicitation          Face-to-face or tailored proposal               Legacy          Unsolicited       Other*
     *Other includes Unknown and Other types of communication triggers.
     Note that some institutions, including a member of the Elite cluster, did not provide data for this question.

                                                                       • 20 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

Telethon campaigns accounted for 42% of all                                      mass solicitations, followed by direct mail which
total cash income secured from individuals via                                   accounted for 24%.

Cash income received from individuals by mass solicitation 2019–2020
(% of income)

      Established
             (n=6)                      34%                                          38%                            13%        8%        7%

        Moderate
          (n=24)                             43%                                     21%                         24%                10%

      Developing
          (n=21)                                    54%                                       14%                       25%              6%

        Emerging
          (n=16)                           40%                          5%                                52%                             3%

           Fragile
            (n=4)                         38%                                             39%                           10%         14%

               All
            (n=71)                           42%                                      24%                          22%              8%    3%

                                            Telethon           Direct mail           Email           Piggy Back           Other*

      *Other includes Text and Other types of mass solicitation.
      Note that some institutions did not provide data for this question including both members of the Elite cluster.

                                                                       • 21 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

Alumni and donors                                                               in the world and who have not opted out of
                                                                                communications.
Contactable alumni refer to addressable alumni
                                                                                     The average number of donors across all
(former students of the institution) – those who
                                                                                participating institutions (that provided both total
have reliable postal or email addresses anywhere
                                                                                donor and alumni donor figures) was 2,213.

Mean number of alumni and donors 2019–2020

                             No. of            Contactable                Total             Alumni         Number
                            alumni               alumni                  donors             donors        of legacies
                            (n=94)*              (n=94)*                 (n=90)†            (n=90)†         (n=63)
   Elite                   325,952               282,324                44,175             34,434            246
   Established             286,521               220,864                 4,523              3,746             22
   Moderate                193,247               143,389                 3,098              2,518             18
   Developing              119,232                84,607                 1,054                657              6
   Emerging                141,625                98,462                   420                200              1
   Fragile                  88,617                54,571                    78                 50              1
   All                     159,006               115,573                 2,213              1,664             16
   This table has been compiled using responses to multiple questions and hence the sample size varies.
   *This includes institutions that provided both alumni figures and contactable alumni figures
   †
    This includes institutions that provided both total donor figures and alumni donor figures.

Number of alumni donors making cash contributions by gift range 2019–2020
(n=78)

                                         17
                                                                                          Gift range:
                                         169                                                  £1,000,000+
                                                                                              £100,000–£999,999
                                         716                                                  £10,000–£99,999
                                                                                              £1,000–£9,999
                                       3,309
                                                                                              £1–£999

                                      103,278

Number of legacies received by gift range 2019–2020
(n=58)

         205                               207                                            Gift range:
                          195
                                                                                               £1,000,000+
                                                                                               £100,000–£999,999
                                                                                               £10,000–£99,999
                                                              77                               £1,000–£9,999
                                                                                               £1–£999
                                                                                5

                                                                      • 22 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

Individuals accounted for 97% of total donors.

Composition of donor population 2019–2020
(n=68 to 96; % number of donors)

              Elite                                               77%                                                      22%

      Established                                                    82%                                                     14%

        Moderate                                              70%                                                      27%

      Developing                                           66%                                                       29%

        Emerging                               46%                                                           50%

            Fragile                                    58%                                                     34%                 4%

                 All                                           72%                                                     25%

                                              Alumni         Non-alumni individuals            Trusts and foundations
                                              Companies          Other organisations*

      *Other organisations include Lottery and Other types of organisations.
      This chart has been compiled using responses to multiple questions and hence the sample size varies.

Institutions reported that they could contact 73%
of their alumni via at least one of two contact
mediums – email or post.

Percentage of contactable alumni 2019–2020
(contactable alumni as a percentage of total alumni)

                                                                                                                        Total alumni
                                                                                                                        Contactable alumni

         87%
                          77%            74%                                                             73%
                                                         71%                70%
                                                                                         62%

         Elite         Established Moderate Developing Emerging                        Fragile            All
         (n=2)            (n=7)     (n=27)    (n=25)    (n=22)                         (n=11)           (n=94)

      This chart has been compiled using responses to multiple questions.

                                                                     • 23 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

On average, across all participating institutions, 1%
of contactable alumni made a gift.

Percentage of alumni donating 2019–2020
(alumni donors as a percentage of the contactable alumni)

       5.3%

                         1.3%               1.3%
                                                                                                               1%
                                                              0.6%
                                                                                 0.1%               0.05%
       Elite         Established        Moderate          Developing          Emerging              Fragile     All
       (n=1)            (n=7)            (n=27)             (n=25)             (n=21)                (n=9)    (n=90)
   Only institutions that provided both alumni donor and contactable alumni figures are included.

                                                                       • 24 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

Fundraising and alumni                                                             based on total advancement costs and total funds
                                                                                   secured. Numerous factors, however, influence
relations investments                                                              charitable giving decisions and impact an institu-
Fundraising costs are costs associated with the                                    tion's ability to secure philanthropic support. For
efforts to gather and process new funds secured and                                example, the value of institutional leadership and
cash income received. It includes the cost of the                                  other academic time invested in fundraising can
staff undertaking fundraising activity and advance-                                be substantial and the cost of this time is outside
ment services (staff expenditure) and the other                                    the scope of this report. Similarly, advancement
costs of running and maintaining the fundraising                                   activities benefit institutions in multiple ways and
operations (non-staff expenditure). When the cost                                  advancement activities yield returns in the form of
of both staff expenditure and non-staff expendi-                                   alumni engagement, annual and major giving and
ture is combined this equals the total fundraising                                 legacies over the course of years or decades.
expenditure.                                                                            Overall, £154m was invested in fundraising
     Alumni relations costs are costs associated with                              and alumni relations in total across all institutions.
engagement activity with an institution’s alumni                                   70% of the total investment was for fundraising
and community, including staff and non-staff                                       and 30% was for alumni relations. Institutions
expenditure.                                                                       spent about £4.2m on alumni magazines annually.
     The return on investment in fundraising and
alumni relations could, in theory, be calculated

Mean fundraising and alumni relations investments 2019–2020

   		                                                Alumni              Fundraising and                     Alumni
     Fundraising                                    relations            alumni relations                   magazine      Institutional
    investments                                   investments              investments                    investments     expenditure
       (n=91)                                        (n=92)                   (n=95)                         (n=52)          (n=94)
   Elite                 £18,951,357               £6,434,404              £25,385,761                      £572,698*    £1,903,384,500
   Established            £2,752,340               £1,185,276               £3,937,616                      £207,614*     £855,926,418
   Moderate               £1,204,674*               £510,520*               £1,653,937                      £104,061*     £348,025,832*
   Developing              £460,135                 £240,101*                £681,767                        £40,428*     £178,844,743
   Emerging                £260,673*                £220,300*                £459,111*                       £27,106*     £296,765,709
   Fragile                   £50,474*                 £71,176                £107,884                         £8,019*     £124,709,773*
   All                     £1,181,722                 £501,320               £1,600,606                       £81,375*    £336,392,107
   This table has been compiled using responses to multiple questions and hence the sample size varies.
   *Note that some institutions, including a member of the Elite cluster, did not provide data for this question.

                                                                         • 25 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

Mean fundraising and alumni relations investments by cluster 2019–2020
(% of fundraising and alumni relations investments)

            25%                           30%                                                           30%      Investments:
                           30%                           34%                                                        Alumni relations
                                                                         46%
                                                                                                                    Fundraising
                                                                                          59%

            75%                           70%                                                           70%
                           70%                           66%
                                                                         54%
                                                                                          41%

             Elite    Established Moderate Developing Emerging                           Fragile         All
            (n=2)        (n=7)     (n=28)    (n=26)    (n=21)                            (n=11)        (n=95)

Total number of institutions that made fundraising and alumni relations investments
at different levels 2019–2020
(n=95; number of institutions)
                                                                36

                          24                 23

        9
                                                                                     2                              2
                                                                                                       0
   Less than         £100,000 to       £500,000 to           £1m to             £5m to               £10m to   £20m and over
   £100,000           £499,999          £999,999           £4,999,999         £9,999,999           £19,999,999
  This includes investments on fundraising, alumni relations and alumni magazines.

                                                                      • 26 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

On average, staff costs accounted for 79% of total
fundraising expenditures.

Mean staff and non-staff fundraising investments 2019–2020
(% of fundraising investments)

                 16%                     19%         19%
     23%                     23%                                            21%      Investments:
                                                                   27%
                                                                                        Fundraising non-staff
                                                                                        Fundraising staff

                 84%                     81%         81%
     77%                     77%                                            79%
                                                                   73%

      Elite   Established Moderate Developing Emerging            Fragile     All
     (n=2)       (n=7)     (n=27)    (n=26)    (n=21)              (n=8)    (n=91)

Of the average alumni relations costs, 27% was
spent on non-staff costs and 73% on staff costs.

Mean staff and non-staff alumni relations investments 2019–2020
(% of alumni relations investments)

                 22%                     24%         23%           23%               Investments:
                             27%                                            27%
     33%                                                                                Alumni relations non-staff
                                                                                        Alumni relations staff

                 78%                     76%         77%           77%      73%
                             73%
     67%

      Elite   Established Moderate Developing Emerging            Fragile     All
     (n=2)       (n=7)     (n=27)    (n=24)    (n=21)             (n=11)    (n=92)

                                                     • 27 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

Fundraising and alumni                                                                    48% of these staff members were employed in
                                                                                     Elite and Established institutions.
relations staff                                                                           The ratio of average FTE fundraising staff to
A total of 2,256 staff (full-time equivalent or FTE)                                 average FTE alumni relations staff was 2:1 across all
were employed in fundraising and alumni relations                                    participating institutions. This figure was highest for
roles across the sector9.                                                            Elite institutions where the average ratio was 2.4:1.

Mean fundraising and alumni relations staff 2019–2020

                                            Fundraising staff                   Alumni relations staff           FR/AR staff ratio*
		                                              (n=91)                                 (n=94)                        (n=89)
     Elite                                          252.4                                  104.4                         2.4
     Established                                     34.5                                   17.4                         2.0
     Moderate                                        16.8                                    8.5                         2.5
     Developing                                       7.4                                    4.1                         2.4
     Emerging                                         4.1                                    3.6                         1.5
     Fragile                                           1.0                                     1.4                       0.8
     All                                              16.5                                     8.1                       2.1
     This table has been compiled using responses to multiple questions.
     *Only institutions that provided both fundraising and alumni relations staff figures were included.

See the table on page 12 for more information on key indicators.
9

                                                                          • 28 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

TRENDS IN KEY INDICATORS
Trends are calculated using data from a base of 81                             consistent year-over-year samples. Since institutions
institutions that provided information for a key set                           did not provide data for all key indicators for all
of variables for all four years – 2016–17, 2017–18,                            three years, samples sizes vary.
2018–19 and 2019–2020. Trends are based on

Philanthropic income                                                           • Mean cash income received decreased by 0.1%
                                                                                 since 2018–19.
• Mean new funds secured decreased by 17% since
                                                                               • Mean cash income from legacies decreased for the
  2018–19.
                                                                                 second year, by 3% since 2018–19.
• In the case of the largest new gift/pledge received,
                                                                               • In the case of the largest cash gift received, the
  the mean percentage decrease was 24% since
                                                                                 mean percentage decrease was 4% since 2018–19.
  2018–19.

Mean percentage change in philanthropic income 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2019–2020

         % change 2016–17 to 2017–18                    % change 2017–18 to 2018–19                    % change 2018–19 to 2019–2020

                                                                                                                        43%

                                  30%

             21%                          22%
                                                                                           18%
     13%                                                              12%
                                                               5%                                                  7%

                                                                             -0.1%
                                                                                                           -3%                -4%

                    -17%                                                                          -18%
                                                 -24%

        New funds                    Largest new                 Cash income                 Cash income            Largest cash
         secured                      gift/pledge                  received                 received from                gift
          (n=81)                         (n=80)                     (n=81)                     legacies                (n=79)
                                                                                                (n=42)
    This chart has been compiled using responses to multiple questions and hence the sample size varies.

                                                                      • 29 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

Alumni and donors                                                              continued growing by 3% and donors by 3.6%
                                                                               since 2018–19.
• The mean alumni and mean donors both increased
                                                                             • Mean number of alumni donors increased for
  again for the third year; contactable alumni
                                                                               the second year, by 5% since 2018–19.

Mean percentage change in alumni and donors 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2019–2020

        % change 2016–17 to 2017–18                  % change 2017–18 to 2018–19                    % change 2018–19 to 2019–2020

                                                                                                                           5%
                     4.4%
                                                                                3.6%
                                  3%
                                                                                                                    3%
           2%
                                                                     1.4%
                                                         1.0%

                                                                                                         -4%

           Contactable alumni                                  Total donors                                    Alumni donors
                (n=79)                                            (n=79)                                          (n=77)

        This chart has been compiled using responses to multiple questions and hence the sample size varies.

                                                                    • 30 •
CASE-Ross Support of Education: United Kingdom and Ireland 2021

Fundraising and alumni                                                         • Mean alumni relations staff and mean alumni
                                                                                 relations non-staff investments decreased by 8%
relations investments                                                            and 33% respectively since 2018–19.
• The mean fundraising and alumni relations invest-                            • Mean alumni magazine investment decreased for
  ments have decreased since 2018–19, by 9% and                                  the third time, by 10% since 2018–19.
  16% respectively.
• Mean fundraising staff and mean fundraising
  non-staff investments decreased by 0.5% and 31%
  respectively since 2018–19.

Mean percentage change in fundraising and alumni relations investments 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19
and 2019–2020

           % change 2016–17 to 2017–18                   % change 2017–18 to 2018–19                  % change 2018–19 to 2019–2020

                                                                                       15%
                                                                  11%
                               8%                                                             7%
         6.3%                                                           6.4%                              5% 5.3%
                                                    4%
                        1%
   -0.5%                           -0.5%
                                             -3%                                                                         -4% -6%
               -9%                                                                                  -8%
                                                                                                                                -10%
                                                                              -16%

                                                        -31%
                                                                                                                  -33%

        Total            Fundraising          Fundraising               Total               Alumni            Alumni        Alumni
     fundraising             staff              non-staff                alumni              relations         relations     magazine
       (n=75)            investment           investment              relations              staff           non-staff      investment
                            (n=72)               (n=73)             investment           investment        investment        (n=34)
                                                                       (n=75)               (n=74)            (n=74)
   This chart has been compiled using responses to multiple questions and hence the sample size varies.

                                                                     • 31 •
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