marts & lndy special report · 2017-03-30 · #2 new york #3 oregon california led all other...

MARTS & LUNDY SPECIAL REPORT

March 2017

$10M+ Gifts to Higher Education


While some top donors to nonprofits may be increasingly choosing to “build their own” foundation

in order to exercise direct control over the mission — or to give smaller gifts to a larger number

of organizations — Higher Education seems to have retained its top donors. In 2016, the Higher

Education sector realized an 11 percent increase over 2015 in mega gifts of $10M and above.

While giving at the middle of the gift pyramid has dropped off somewhat, mega gifts continue to

drive “mega campaigns” at colleges and universities.

It is noteworthy, however, that the number of mega gifts grew more modestly, and gifts at the $50M

and higher level decreased by almost a third in 2016 compared to 2015. This decrease may be an

artifact of the data given that the number of $50M+ gifts is annually quite small. Another explanation

for this slowdown could, in part, be due to the presidential election; elections have historically

impacted larger commitments more than those at the lower levels of the gifts pyramid due to the

uncertainty that an election brings, particularly around potential tax law changes.

Neither of these explanations indicate that we should expect more contraction at the top of the

pyramid in 2017. Colleges and universities continue to dominate other nonprofit sectors in receiving

gifts of $10M or more. In 2016, Higher Education organizations received approximately two-thirds

of all dollars committed at this level, which is consistent with the past two years.

This report of $10M+ gifts paired with The Philanthropy Outlook 2017 & 2018 further supports our

belief that philanthropy will continue to advance in the coming two years, with forecasts of growth

in giving to Higher Education averaging more than 6 percent over each of the next two years. And

we see no signs of a slowdown among our more than 100 current Higher Education clients.

As nonprofits work to position themselves for success in this period of growth in giving, there

are trends that warrant close attention, including the migration toward donor advised funds as well

as potential tax policy changes. This report, The Philanthropy Outlook and Giving USA are reliable

tools to inform your strategic planning discussions and increase your confidence in the future

investments you make in your philanthropy program.

Donald M. Fellows

Senior Consultant & Principal

Leader, Higher Education Practice

A Perspective on Giving to Higher Education


Key Findings

Giving Dollars: 2015 vs. 2016 (See Figure 1, Page 2)

Overall Gifts and Commitments

+11%2015: $5.57B vs. 2016: $6.18B

$50M+ Gifts and Commitments

+9%2015: $2.94B vs. 2016: $3.21B

Number of Gifts and Commitments 2015 vs. 2016 (See Figure 2, )

Overall Gifts and Commitments

+5%2015: 184 vs. 2016: 194

$50M+ Gifts and Commitments

-28%2015: 32 vs. 2016: 23

Giving Dollars by State (See Figure 3, Page 4)

#1 California

#2 New York

#3 Oregon

California led all other states as a recipient of Higher Education dollars

by a wide margin.

Higher Education as Percentage of Total $10M+ Philanthropic Dollars (See Figure 4, Page 5)

Excludes giving to foundations

65.6%

2015

65.9%

2016


Figure 1: $10M+ Giving to Higher Education through 2016

All dollar amounts in billions

The value of $10M+ gifts to

Higher Education increased

by 11 percent between 2015

and 2016. The 2016 total

of $6.18B is a 13.6 percent

increase from 2007’s

pre-Great Recession total

adjusted to 2016 dollars

($5.44B).

Data Source

In past years, Marts & Lundy has used several different sources to report on $1M+ and $50M+ giving to

Higher Education. Since 2015, our analysis has been streamlined by focusing on gifts and commitments

of $10M or more from primarily one source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy “Big Charitable Gifts” database.

The Chronicle’s list has been supplemented with additional $10M+ gifts and commitments identified through

an automated search of gift announcements on Twitter.

All gift types have been included in this analysis: Non-Cash/Gifts-in-Kind, Bequests, Challenge and

Matching, and Gifts (including pledges). This analysis reflects only gifts and commitments made by

individuals, directly or through family foundations, to recipient organizations within the United States.

Gifts made to academic medical centers are generally included as gifts to Higher Education.

Source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy and Twitter. Includes gifts and commitments.

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

$3.40

$4.67

$1.26

$2.32

$3.23

$2.33

$5.36

$4.80

$5.57

$6.18

DJIA

12.513.3

8.7

10.4

11.612.2

13.1

16.6

17.8 17.4

19.8

$3.24

Note: Line indicates year end value of the Dow Jones


While both the dollar value and count of $10M+ gifts to Higher Education increased between 2015 and

2016, the number of $50M+ gifts dropped by almost a third. Between 2006 and 2015, $100M+ gifts have

represented 7.2 percent of all $10M+ gifts to Higher Education. In 2016, $100M+ gifts accounted for only

5.2 percent of the count of $10M+ gifts. Gifts in the $10M-$24M range made up a larger proportion of

$10M+ gifts than in any year since 2006. With the increase in total number of $10M+ gifts, this could

indicate that more donors are being upgraded into the $10M-$24M range.


Figure 2: $10M+ Number of Gifts and Commitments to Higher Education through 2016 by Gift Level

$100M+ $50M – $99.9M $25M – $49.9M $10M – $24.9M

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

119

33

18

14

134

37

13

10

75

27

99

71

25

14

14

62

18

127

13

37

51

43

18

85

25

75

57

59

21

74

86

33

17

13

80

25

23

9


PAGE 4

Figure 3: 2016 $10M+ Giving to Higher Education by Recipient State

For the second year in a row, California leads as the recipient of the most $10M+ giving to Higher Education

and by a wider margin than last year. New York is in second place due to a bequest of $400M to American

Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, followed by Oregon, where the $500M Knight gift was made

to the University of Oregon. Together, California, New York, and Oregon make up half of the year’s $10M+

giving to Higher Education.

4$532M

34$1.83B

1$10M

1$24M

7$136M

1$25M

1$20M

1$14M

2$35M

3$38M

2$55M

12$244M

10$185M

5$116M

10$198M

17$748M 12 $224M

RI: 2 $52MCT: 4 $110M

NJ: 4 $66M

DC: 3 $35M

MD: 7 $475M

2 $86M

3$30M

3 $120M

1$10M

5$144M

1$17M

5$70M

7$150M1

$10M

2$35M

2$25M

5$64M

3$35M

1$10M

10$199M

Number of Gifts and Total Dollar ($) Amount



PAGE 5

Figure 4: Higher Education as Percentage of Total $10M+ Giving through 2016

As a percentage of overall giving, $10M+ giving to Higher Education remained basically steady from

2015 to 2016. $10M+ giving to health-related causes saw the largest increase relative to other sectors.

Similarly, the giving to health-related initiatives within $10M+ Higher Education grew from an 18 percent

share ($1B) to 25 percent of $10M+ Higher Education giving ($1.6B) in 2016. Please note that this chart

includes Gifts-in-Kind.

Note: The Chronicle of Philanthropy designates giving to the Bill & Melinda Gates, Walton Family, Conrad N. Hilton, and similar

foundations as giving to “Foundations.” Such gifts are excluded here. Other gifts to foundations, such as the ClearPath Foundation,

are designated as giving to specific causes and are included here.

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

10.5%

8.7%

12.4%

66.8%

9.7%

12.0%

3.0%

71.8%

11.2%

5.7%

4.8%

75.5%

9.1%

12.4%

15.7%

59.1%

9.6%

6.6%

1.3%6.3%

76.2%

8.6%

13.7%

73.5%

15.5%

6.1%

12.2%

63.3%

7.5%

11.1%

5.7%

73.4%

15.4%

15.3%

65.5%

18.6%

8.0%

6.6%

65.6%

9.7%

14.7%

8.4%

65.9%

Arts, Culture & Environment Health Higher Education Other Causes Schools


TEL +1 201-460-1660 / WEB WWW.MARTSANDLUNDY.COM

SERVING CLIENTS WORLDWIDE WITH OFFICES IN THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, UNITED KINGDOM AND AUSTRALIA

Thank you to Alison Rane, Associate Consultant and Manager, Research and Development, for her work on this report. And a special thanks to Nelson Lees, who for many years made this report possible. Though he has retired, we are pleased to ensure that the good work he began will continue in earnest.

marts & lndy special report · 2017-03-30 · #2 new york #3 oregon california led all other...

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