Higher Education
Donor Services
Donors give billions of dollars to colleges and universities each year. And what outcomes have we seen from those investments? On campuses around the country, we’ve seen attacks on academic freedom, viewpoint diversity and free speech. College administrators are defending discrimination and antisemitism. And, recent graduates are saddled with debt, while completely unprepared for jobs in the real world. If you are a higher ed donor fed up with the status quo, we can help you pursue reforms through effective charitable giving.
Philanthropy Roundtable’s Programs and Services team provides a one-stop shop that helps donors navigate the complexity of higher ed giving. Our network of business and philanthropic leaders partners with the best and brightest in the field to develop high-impact giving strategies to address the root causes of our higher education crisis.
Strategy: With decades of experience running successful charitable giving operations, our team educates donors on how best to protect their donor intent and advance their vision for higher education through an effective giving strategy.
Grantmaking: The Roundtable educates donors on how to structure charitable investments that will achieve their goals. Whether you care about campus free speech, academic freedom or the value of merit and opportunity for all, our team excels at vetting high-quality grantees.
Convenings: We bring together our nation’s top philanthropists, academic leaders and reformers to share ideas, strategize and support results-oriented organizations working to restore academic excellence and reestablish American values within higher education.
Top Ten Tips for Higher Education Funders
A growing chorus of alumni donors are expressing dismay at the state of their universities. How can higher education funders make impactful gifts that align with their values? This paper highlights our top ten tips for giving to higher ed at a time when many institutions have lost their way.
Donor Intent Watch: What to Know About Giving to Higher Education
Each month, the Roundtable’s philanthropic advisor Joanne Florino surveys the higher ed and charitable giving landscape to educate donors on best practices for protecting donor intent.
Donor Intent Watch: How Donor Neglect Can Undermine Donor Intent
Donor Intent Watch: Cash-Strapped University Asking Court to Lift Donor Restrictions on Funds
Donor Intent Watch: How Much Power do Higher Education Donors Have?
Donor Intent Watch: How Donor Satisfaction is an Issue for Large and Small Donors Alike
Donor Intent Watch: Higher Education Donors React to Campus Responses to Israel-Hamas War
Donor Intent Watch: Courts Rule on Arts and Education Controversies
News and Analysis
Analyzing the Latest Data on the Decline in Giving to Higher Education
Christie Herrera in New York Post: How Donors Can Shake Up Higher Ed
Alumni Respond to University Leaders for Failing to Condemn Antisemitism
How Donors Can Fight Rising Antisemitism on College Campuses
Will the “Apprenticeship Degree” Come to America?
The University of Austin’s Commitment to Freedom of Inquiry and Viewpoint Diversity
Agency and Purpose: The Antidote to a “Culture of Distrust” for Gen Z
A Donor Intent Controversy at Middlebury College
Philanthropic Responses to the Closing of the American Mind
Forgiving and Forgetting: How Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Can Remind Us of the Value of the Philanthropic Sector
Escaping the Desert of Higher Education Philanthropy
Ralston College and the Future of Higher Education
