School fundraising income in the UK dropped by nearly 20% in 2020, with funds generated from alumni plunging by nearly half, according to the latest research from Toucan Tech.
The coronavirus pandemic has had severe effects on school fundraising capabilities. Credit: Ambrose Heron / Flickr
The report, which was viewed by Industry Europe, analyses nearly 1 million database record across 124 independent and state schools across Britain.
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Of the schools analysed, 68 were senior school, 35 a mix of junior and senior schools and 21 were solely junior schools. 100 were independent, or private, schools and 24 were state-run. The majority were also operated co-educational - or unisex - systems.
The coronavirus pandemic has had a severe impact on school funding, which has prompted many institutions to have a greater focus on personal fundraising.
The report suggests that school fundraising income from those aged 60-70 was up by £1,000 per donor on 2019 levels, but were dwarfed by the over-70 bracket which averaged roughly £8,000 per donor.
ToucanTech founder Kate Jillings suggested alumni were unlikely to donate given current concerns regarding job security.
She said: "It’s telling that alumni, in general, felt unable to donate to their schools in the same way as previous years. Presumably many were concerned about job security and the general uncertainty that hit us all during the pandemic and lockdowns."
As well as total fundraising income dropping, average fundraising income per donor dropped by as much as 12%, down to £1,075, the report shows.
However, this was largely offset by an overall increase in donation size in the older brackets, the report suggests.
Total fundraising income for the schools studied reached around £6.5 million, with each school averaging £103,000.
The report also shows boys schools generally store more offline records in their databases than co-ed or girls schools, with 10,849 and 7206, respectively. Likewise, state-run schools seem to follow this trend when compared with independent schools, likely due to the need for government supervision.
This has also been marked with an increase in digital adoption for co-ed schools - such as Berkhamsted school, whose online community signed up over 700 members within its first month and has grown to over 1,500 - some of which have been able to significantly grow their online presence and both inter and extracurricular communities.
Similarly, one of the report's major findings is that the donation value for single-sex boys' schools was nearly four times greater than for all-girls schools.
"This gender disparity is extremely intriguing," Jillings added. "Whether it’s because men 'giving back' to their schools is a more ingrained habit than for women, we’re not sure. Of course, we know that the gender pay gap remains sizeable in the UK so women may be less able to afford donations. But we also know from philanthropy studies that women outrank men in the percentage that give to charities," she said.
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She concluded: "However, it's so encouraging to see how school communities have come together during such a challenging time, to maintain the bonds they build with pupils, parents and friends of the school.
"The education sector and so many other unique communities are using technology to stay connected to one another, and getting creative in how they provide value to members of their network, and building affinity with those who may choose to give back."
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