[Author’s Name]
[Institution’s Name]
Essay on The Role/Importance of Fundraising at Private Universities\colleges
Plain and simple, many universities and colleges cannot meet their budgets by relying only on the per pupil allocation of public school financing. Though financing mechanisms differ from state to state, many universities/colleges receive less than 100% of the per pupil revenues that go to other public universities. And in almost all states, universities/colleges receive no funding for their buildings -- they must pay lease or loan costs out of funding intended for classroom instruction. As a result, per pupil revenues may not fully cover the cost of educating students, offering salaries and benefits that will attract and retain skilled, dedicated educators, or providing all of the other services expected of universities/colleges today.
This is even more important in universities/colleges serving students that come from low-income families. The university/college, either on its own or through collaborative efforts with youth serving agencies, must provide a range of support services to students and their families in order to overcome barriers that impede learning.
In addition, the danger of relying so heavily on public funding is that it makes the university’s/college's survival even more precarious. It is always better for a university/college, for that matter any organization, to have a diversified funding base that includes, in addition to public dollars, annual campaign dollars, endowment income, special event income, grants, bequests and other planned gifts as well as in-kind donations of goods and services.
Think of a one-legged stool and one with seven legs. Which one of these stools would give you the most secure seat?"
Other sources of funds must be tapped and among these, board driven fund-raising is one of the most important.
Fund-raising it’s not just for staff. The foundation of the board's role in fund-raising is the board's responsibility to assure that there are sufficient resources to university/college..........
