UK’s most generous philanthropists’ gift to US universities

American universities receive more UK donations than universities from the rest of the world combined

25 December 2019, London ---- Britain’s philanthropists love giving to US universities – that’s the conclusion of an analysis of giving to foreign universities by the UK’s most generous individuals.

Funding by the UK’s 200 most generous – as identified by the Charities Aid Foundation / Sunday Times 2019 Giving List – shows that £728m has been given to non-UK universities over the past five years. The analysis was undertaken by UniversityPhilanthropy.com and the Cape Partnership, a London-based public affairs firm.

The UK’s top philanthropists give more to US universities than higher education institutions in the rest of the world combined. The scale of the giving by the most generous in the UK to overseas universities also points to the increasing internationalisation of university philanthropy.

Giving to non-UK universities has increased dramatically. In 2014, the UK’s 200 most generous individuals gave £38m to non-UK universities. By 2018 they gave nearly gave £279m. Donations are typically made as a direct gift or through a dedicated charitable trust. 22 percent of the Top 200 Sunday Times Giving List (43 in total) have made 339 donations to 128 non-UK universities in 32 countries over the past five years. 45 US universities received £406m between 2014-18, representing 61 percent of all donations to non-UK overseas universities. The same number of European universities receive funding from the UK’s most generous, but amounting to just £168m or 23 percent of giving. Scandinavia is the preferred destination of UK giving to European universities.

Commenting on the study, Andrew Wigley, director of the Cape Partnership said:

“European universities have been left behind in the past five years in the race for British philanthropic funding. In 2014, £8.6m was pledged to US universities while £8.1m was pledged to European universities. By 2018, US institutions received £222m in UK giving representing a rise of 2,466 percent. European universities received £34.5m in 2018, representing a rise of 324 percent.

“The scale of British giving to American universities also speaks to how US institutions are sophisticated and successful in asking for money. The US has a long tradition of philanthropy, especially in the university sector.

“A major study by Harvard concluded that philanthropists favoured giving to education and that Africa was the biggest regional recipient of global giving. Yet British philanthropists rarely fund African universities, suggesting there is untapped potential for the continent’s tertiary Higher Education sector.”

ENDS