UNC sees 3 percent uptick in fundraising

Despite a sluggish economic recovery and persistently high unemployment rates in the state in 2011, UNC raked in the second-highest tally of private donations in the University’s history.

Fundraising at UNC increased by 3 percent in 2011 to about $275 million. The University’s fundraising tally ranked 19th among public and private universities nationwide, according to the Council for Aid to Education, a nonprofit organization that conducts policy research in higher education.

The uptick in donations might indicate that the economy is improving, said Scott Ragland, director of development communications for UNC. Ragland said the University’s recent fundraising boost stems from a history of success in reaching out to donors.

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Overall, colleges and universities raised more than $30 billion in 2011, according to the press release.

Personal giving, as opposed to donations from corporations and foundations, spurred the increase. Alumni donations increased almost 10 percent from 2010, and non-alumni gave almost 15 percent more in 2011.

Several of the University’s public and private peers raised more money in 2011, including University of California-Berkeley, Duke University and the University of Texas-Austin.

Duke ranked as the 12th-highest institution in terms of fundraising, pulling in nearly $350 million. Unlike UNC, Duke receives the bulk of its funding from private donations and investment income, including its endowment.

“Donors to Duke, whether they are alumni, parents or grateful patients, understand that Duke can only be great if individuals invest in its future,” said Michael Schoenfeld, Duke’s vice president for public affairs.

Private donations are used for a variety of purposes, including funding for medical research, libraries and scholarships, he said.

With about $710 million in private donations, Stanford ranked the highest in fundraising for 2011 among all public and private institutions nationwide, according to the release.

Alumni gave the largest percentage of gifts to Stanford, said Rebecca Vogel, assistant vice president of development at Stanford.

“The goals and initiatives behind the Stanford Challenge were the result of an extensive, multi-year needs assessment that involved every corner of the university,” she said.

Vogel said the 2008 financial crisis, which hit after the campaign began, altered the goals of the Stanford Challenge.

“We increased our goal for scholarships after the recession took a toll on our endowment and resulted in more of our families needing aid than had been the case before the economic decline.”

According to the release, endowment values dipped by about 22 percent for universities in 2009 after the financial crisis. In 2011, endowment values increased by more than 16 percent.

UNC raised $2.38 billion in its last major fundraising campaign, which ended in 2007, Ragland said.

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