Donations to elite UK universities fall despite philanthropy push

Elite UK universities have a long way to go to catch up to the “alumni-begging machine” of the US sector, it has been warned, with donations falling last year despite renewed focus on philanthropy.

Departing chief executive of the Russell Group, Tim Bradshaw, recently called for more wealthy UK alumni to contribute towards university funding as institutions battle a financial crisis. 

But analysis by Times Higher Education of the financial accounts of the 24 members of the research-intensive group reveal that donations have dropped off from peak levels in 2023-24.

That year saw a record £654.1 million documented, partly as a result of sizeable one-off donations to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. But this fell 16 per cent to £546.3 million in 2024-25 – the lowest level in three years.

The analysis does not include donations received by the independent colleges of both Oxbridge institutions.

Oxford took in £150.5 million in donations last year, which it noted was a more “typical level” after an exceptional year in 2023-24, when it received £227.3 million, including £32.8 million from the Uehiro Foundation.

“Donations reduced from the prior year but still provided significant support across a range of projects,” it said in its statements.

Likewise, Cambridge was gifted the Dawn AI supercomputer from the Dell Corporation in 2023-24, as part of its £150.2 million haul. But this fell to £107.3 million in the latest year.

Beth Breeze, the UK’s first professor of philanthropic studies at Oxford, said year-on-year variations in “lumpy” philanthropic donations should not cause concern and that wealthier donors are becoming more serious and more strategic about their donations.

“Coupled with the upcoming £5.5 trillion inter-generational transfer of wealth [from the baby boomer generation to their children], there is every reason to assume that UK universities that invest in their development offices and encourage a positive culture of philanthropy across campus can bring in more donations in the future.”

A total of £158.3 million went to the four largest London universities – Imperial College London, London School of Economics, UCL and King’s College London. This figure increased 19 per cent in one year and is almost double the level it was in 2020-21.

Imperial more than doubled its donation income to £74.6 million – the highest level since 2019. This included a £25 million donation to support academic recruitment and PhD studentships in its business school for up to 10 years.

But outside of the elite London institutions and Oxbridge, donations to the rest of the Russell Group fell to the lowest level for four years (£130.2 million).

The University of Manchester, which recently announced its “first major global fundraising and volunteering campaign”, saw its income stream fall to £6.6 million, which was the least raised since 2018-19.

Bradshaw told the Financial Times that he would “love to see” a US-style culture of people donating to their old universities in the UK.

David Palfreyman, bursar of New College, Oxford, said it was not very feasible for UK universities to pursue US-level donations and endowments.

“The US [has been] a far richer society for longer and with more entering higher education having massified decades ahead of UK – and US has long given decent tax breaks on such donations.”

He said US alumni donors hope their contributions will let them place “a thumb on the scale” in the murky process of legacy admissions.

“There might be progress, but it will be slow, and we have a long way to go to match the ruthlessness and efficiency of a top US university alumni-begging machine.”

But Breeze, who is also principal of Harris Manchester College, said universities can reap the benefits of fundraising if they see it as “an investment rather than a cost centre” – and not as “tin-rattling”.

“Fundraising has become much more professionalised in recent decades, and UK university development offices – especially at Oxbridge and in the Russell Group – are at the forefront of this professionalisation, employing highly trained and well-paid leaders who have the skills and experience to run strategic and sustainable fundraising operations.”

THE’s analysis shows that some universities are much more reliant on donations than others.

At LSE, 7 per cent of its £553.3 million total income came from this source, compared with only 0.1 per cent at the University of Bristol.

Palfreyman said it can be risky relying on donations too much, particularly as they are “not likely to be for paying the gas bill or mending lifts” but tied to specific spend on scholarships or “named” additional academic posts.

Across the 24 universities, donations and endowments made up 2 per cent of total income last year – which was down slightly from 2.5 per cent in 2023-24.

Bristol’s donation income fell by 82 per cent (to £1.6 million), which was the largest drop of all, but still more than Cardiff University’s, which was only £1.4 million.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com