{"id":51200,"date":"2020-02-25T12:45:24","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T20:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=51200"},"modified":"2020-02-25T12:46:24","modified_gmt":"2020-02-25T20:46:24","slug":"five-australian-universities-get-the-bulk-of-philanthropic-donations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/five-australian-universities-get-the-bulk-of-philanthropic-donations\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Australian universities get the bulk of philanthropic donations"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Philanthropy<\/a>\u00a0is a growing source of revenue for Australian universities. It\u2019s essential to advancing quality research, equity and learning. On average, Australia\u2019s top five fundraising universities receive nearly 20 times more donation revenue than their peers.<\/p>\n

Donations\u00a0revenue generates<\/a>\u00a0A$476 million per year. This is a significant contribution compared to the $2.6 billion the federal government invests into research grants.<\/p>\n

Australian research is breaking new ground in\u00a0childhood epilepsy<\/a>,\u00a0dementia<\/a>, the preservation of\u00a0Indigenous language<\/a>,\u00a0heart disease<\/a>,\u00a0public health<\/a>,\u00a0supporting students<\/a>,\u00a0cancer<\/a>\u00a0and supporting young people with\u00a0autism<\/a>. Each of us will at some stage in our lives be directly impacted, and benefited by, the work of researchers and educators working in Australian universities.<\/p>\n

However, the way donation revenue is distributed in Australia is vastly uneven. This is a problem because great research and teaching don\u2019t just occur among the select few. Donations could have a larger impact on society and individuals if philanthropy was more widely distributed.<\/p>\n

Where does the money go?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Almost half a billion dollars is donated to Australian universities each year. You might not think of universities as charitable institutions, but they\u2019re among the largest\u00a0not-for-profit<\/a>\u00a0organisations in Australia.<\/p>\n

Unlike government grants for research, philanthropy isn\u2019t guided by a common set of criteria or a tender process.\u00a0Giving<\/a>\u00a0to a cause can be a very personal matter. It also depends on how much effort is put into fundraising.<\/p>\n

As a consequence,\u00a0the majority (73%) of donations<\/a>\u00a0to Australian universities are concentrated in just five big universities: UNSW, The University of Queensland, The University of Melbourne, The University of Sydney and The University of Western Australia.<\/p>\n

Beyond the big five, the rest of Australia\u2019s universities each receive an average of less than 1% of the remaining funds.<\/p>\n