Duke tops N.C. colleges in fundraising

PJ staff report | February 15, 2012

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College fundraising

Duke University raised $349.7 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, more than any other North Carolina college or university, and more than all but 11 schools nationwide, a new study says.

The Durham-based university topped the list of 33 schools in the state that participated in the Voluntary Support of Education survey, which included data from 1,009 schools and was published by the Council for Aid to Education.

Throughout the U.S., colleges and universities raised a total of $30.3 billion in fiscal 2011, up 8.2 percent from 2010 but still $1.3 billion shy of the historical high posted in 2008.

Together, the 26 North Carolina schools that provided data for the survey both this year and last raised a total of $941.4 million in fiscal 2011, and increase of 12.3 percent over 2010.

Stanford University once again topped the nationwide list, raising $709.4 million in 2011 for an increase of 18.5 percent over 2010.

Harvard ranked second, raising $639.2 million for an increase of 7.1 percent, while Yale brought in $580.3 million, a spike of 52.4 percent over 2010 that propelled the school into third place from seventh.

UNC-Chapel Hill ranked second among North Carolina schools and 19^th in the U.S. overall, with a fundraising total of $274.9 million.

The following schools rounded out the top 10 for North Carolina:

• Wake Forest University, $110.6 million
• N.C. State University, $94.8 million
• Queens University of Charlotte, $40 million
• Davidson College, $31.9 million
• East Carolina University, $24 million
• Appalachian State University, $16.4 million
• UNC-Greensboro, $13.7 million
• UNC-Charlotte, $13.2 million

"The philanthropic spirit is deeply engrained in people, and higher education institutions provide programs that speak to a wide range of philanthropic interests," Ann E. Kaplan, director of the survey, says in a statement. "In that way, these institutions can and should make the case for support even when the economy is weak. Thereby, when the capacity to give increases, the stage is set for giving to follow suit."

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