With the stock market surging and The Campaign for Duke chugging along, the University's coffers are more full than ever. But, according to recently released rankings, they still pale in comparison to the riches raked in by both Harvard and Stanford universities.
In 1997-98, the University repeated its fourth-place finish in a survey of private gifts to colleges and universities, according to a report released by the Council for Aid to Education.
With $254.8 million in donations from individuals, corporations and foundations, the University finished only $13 million shy of Columbia University's total. But both institutions remain dwarfed by perennial fund-raising powerhouses Harvard and Stanford-which pulled in $462.8 million and $312.6 million respectively.
Although Duke is clearly in no position to overtake either institution in the near future, University officials said they are content with their position in the rankings and with the success of their fund-raising efforts, which brought in 16 percent more money than in 1996-97.
"The rankings are really not all that significant for us," said Peter Vaughn, director of communication and donor relations. "It's the $254.8 million that is a terribly significant figure."
The CAE study-using data from 1,034 institutions-found that last year brought record-breaking sums for many schools.
According to the report, total donations to higher education shot to an estimated $18.4 billion in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1998, up from $16 billion the previous year. This 15-percent jump-13 percent when adjusted for inflation-is the largest such increase since 1986.
Bob Shepard, Duke's vice president for university development, said the national increase is attributable to a number of factors, most notably a jump in the number of mega-donations-gifts surpassing the $50-million mark-and the healthy stock market.
"The primary issue continues to be the market and the tremendous wealth that has been generated in the last decade or so," he said.
Although Shepard is glad to be reaping the benefits from the ongoing bull market boom, he's also aware that such prosperity will not last forever.
"I certainly hope we don't get accustomed to [these kinds of yearly increases]," he said. "But it's sort of like when you're managing your personal portfolio: After three years of 20 percent gains, 10 percent doesn't look as good."
Vaughn also said the University's donor base is broad enough to cushion the blow from a potential stock market slump.
Although Duke's fourth-straight year of double-digit growth is in keeping with the national trend, the University's giving profile is unique in several key ways.
The fourth-ranked university overall, Duke is only 13th in alumni giving. The $52.4 million in alumni donations accounts for only 20 percent of contributions, well below the 30-percent national average. Harvard, by comparison, solicited $207.9 million from alumni-about 45 percent.
Shepard said the low proportion of alumni donations is a simple function of the University's relative youth. Duke has fewer alumni than older institutions, he said, noting that the median year of graduation for Duke alumni is 1980. "Given that," he said, "it's not surprising that giving from our alumni group has lagged behind some of our peers."
Shepard added that the University has been making a concerted effort to increase the percentage of donations coming from alumni. "That's where the market is, and the potential for the most growth," he said.
In the next few years, the University hopes to increase alumni donations to 50 percent of the total. Shepard added that right now, alumni donations to The Campaign for Duke are almost at the 50-percent mark.
The University does not even crack the top-20 list of total donations from non-alumni individuals, but performs well above the national average in corporate giving, earning more than twice the national average on a percentage basis. Shepard said much of this money goes to the Medical Center, and it tends to be directed toward specific purposes or research projects.
Nationally, the CAE study found that corporate gifts account for a shrinking portion of the private contributions to higher education. But corporate giving to Duke increased 16 percent last year.
Shepard added that, with one month remaining in fiscal year 1998-99, the University has already surpassed last year's total. As of May 1, the University had already received $279 million in private donations. The $1.5-billion Campaign for Duke, meanwhile, has already brought in nearly $868.9 million.
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