To the Editor:
The recent essay by Lila Corwin Berman and Benjamin Soskis, “The Dangers of Donor Revolt” (The Chronicle Review, November 13), suggests major gifts should be viewed with suspicion. On the contrary, we believe that significant acts of philanthropy to educational institutions worldwide should be celebrated. Advancement professionals tell of the profound impact of gifts that transform lives and society. Such gifts are far reaching, including funding research centers that bring us vaccines, climate change solutions, new therapies to treat cancer, and public policies to address childhood hunger and mental health issues. The impact of significant philanthropic support provides vital financial aid to students who otherwise would not be able to pursue higher education. Philanthropic investment enables educational institutions to offer opportunities and have impact that otherwise would not be possible.
Those casting a critical eye toward educational philanthropy are asking us to consider the risks of philanthropic support. As in most industries, there is the potential for behavior which is inconsistent with best practice. Working with over 3,000 institutions worldwide CASE supports an incredibly diverse and effective community of professionals by providing standards and principles to help guide an increasingly complicated environment of philanthropic engagement, academic freedom/institutional autonomy and donor expectations.
The CASE Global Reporting Standards are a set of guardrails that define how an institution can encourage and develop the alignment of a donor’s philanthropic intent with an institution’s mission, without ethical compromise.
CASE defines philanthropy as “provided for the sole purpose of benefiting the institution’s mission and its social impact, without the expressed or implied expectation that the donor will receive anything more than recognition and stewardship as the result of such support.”
Philanthropy has been an important source of revenue for many schools, colleges, and universities with an incredible blend of public and private investment that has been at the very heart of so much of societal growth and advancement. With diminishing funding from governments in many parts of the world, philanthropy has become of increasing import and while there is no question that the environment today is more complicated than in decades past and requires more from institutions and donors, we must address these new challenges with optimism and confidence, not suspicion. Through CASE Insights (our data-science backed global surveys and research), we have monitored and documented trends in philanthropic giving across the globe. Indeed, the authors reference findings from CASE Insights on Voluntary Support of Education (VSE), our U.S. survey tracking over 40 years of philanthropy.
At this time of heartbreaking conflict in the Middle East, people all over the world feel viscerally connected and this is playing out in different ways. Educational institutions are microcosms of society and therefore far from immune to the polarization caused by this conflict.
But this does not need to be a moment of lost hope in philanthropic engagement. Rather it is a moment for leadership in educational institutions to remain focused on mission and to invite counsel from advancement professionals who have the knowledge and expertise to provide support in navigating the complexity many of us are facing.
Sue Cunningham
President and CEO
Council for Advancement and Support of Education
Washington
