43% of Higher-Education Fundraisers Don’t Expect to Meet Goals

Higher-education fundraisers largely have a bleak outlook for the year ahead, according to a new survey of 415 advancement professionals at 48 colleges and universities.

The survey, conducted by educational advancement firm Washburn & McGoldrick, found that 43 percent of college and university fundraisers do not expect to meet their institution’s fundraising goals this fiscal year. Just 22 percent do expect to meet those goals.

Universities that award master’s degrees reported the lowest confidence levels in their fundraising abilities this year: Fifty-four percent of those institutions said they did not expect to meet their goals. At liberal-arts colleges, that share was 46 percent.

In survey responses, fundraisers voiced confusion about how to articulate their needs to donors without sounding out-of-touch with the current climate. Roughly a third of respondents said they fear a misstep in their appeals could discourage donations.

A fundraiser at a liberal-arts college noted the obvious need that health and social-service organizations can point to in appeals. The fundraiser worried that colleges’ financial needs — including diminished endowments, lost revenue due to room and board refunds, and a higher demand for financial aid — are more abstract by comparison. “How can we make that equally compelling argument for higher education?” the fundraiser wrote.

A majority of fundraisers — 57 percent — were concerned about whether their institution would be able to adapt fundraising strategies to remain effective in a fraught economy. As social-distancing measures continue, these strategies are largely online. Forty-seven percent of fundraisers said their ability to connect with supporters virtually was a top concern.

Other findings:

• 67 percent of surveyed fundraisers worried about how they would keep existing fundraising efforts on track.
• 33 percent were concerned that they wouldn’t be able to effectively connect with donors.