Dive Brief:
- In the past, donors used to ask institutions for project to which to steer their donations in support of their own personal goals, but now they are shifting focus toward funding programs to help economically disadvantaged students maintain high graduation and retention rates and complete their degrees, finds Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America Foundation's 2017 Trends in Philanthropy report.
- Now, rather than asking the college or university for help in directing funding, grantors tend to identify their own priorities and then seek higher education institutions that can adopt those specific programs. The report also indicates that private foundations would rather give to cohorts of schools that are geared toward helping low-income students, rather than one university or college — such as the University Innovation Alliance.
- In coming to these conclusions, TIAA interviewed some of higher education's largest donors, including representatives from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Lumina Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Dive Insight:
The reality that administrators ought to be considering the needs of economically disadvantaged students goes beyond just creating an inclusive campus. As high-level donors have shifted their focus away from funding singular institution's programs, to giving for initiatives that help low-income populations advance toward college degrees, colleges and universities that do not appear to value social mobility may not be able to get the funds they seek. As administrators consider ways to increase revenue for the institution, it's becoming clear that they will need to consider the needs of low-income students much more, as donors they'd most like to target are increasingly looking toward forward-thinking campuses.
The report identified some key ways that higher education institutions could start to meet donors half-way. Institutions interested in making their campuses more appealing ought to take a look at these trends and see whether their institutional goals either already aligning with what donors want, or whether they will have to make adjustments. For one, institutions can consider joining cohorts of schools that are clearly devoted to helping disadvantaged students go to college and do well there. They can also cultivate more inclusive campuses that implement programs dedicated toward degree completion and graduation retention. To stay ahead, administrators can look at the individual priorities of grantors and work to align some of their programs with them.