Research shows universities' reliance on foreign donors

A key finding of the Annual Survey of Philanthropy in Higher Education is a heavy dependence on overseas donors by South African higher education. While comprising only 7% of supporters, they contribute more than half (52%) of philanthropic income for local universities, reports BizCommunity.

The report, produced by Inyathelo, the South African Institute for Advancement in Cape Town, says it is vital that more local individuals, companies and philanthropists come on board to support universities financially for long-term sustainability. This is particularly the case for poorer universities, where many students fall outside funding schemes. Higher education bodies would also benefit from upskilling their senior fund-raising and support staff, which already attract around R2 billion (US$153 million) every year for the sector, it notes.

The 11 universities that took part in this survey are Cape Peninsula University of Technology, University of Cape Town, Durban University of Technology, University of the Free State, University of Johannesburg, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of Pretoria, Tshwane University of Technology, University of the Western Cape, University of the Witwatersrand and University of Zululand. Collectively, they received over R1.2 billion in philanthropic income during 2015. This is R515 million higher than recorded for 10 universities in the 2013 sample.
Full report on the Bizcommunity site