R.I. colleges raise $205M in 2012

CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS at Rhode Island's colleges and universities increased 6.3 percent from 2011 to 2012, outpacing the national improvement of 2.3 percent.
CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS at Rhode Island's colleges and universities increased 6.3 percent from 2011 to 2012, outpacing the national improvement of 2.3 percent.

NEW YORK – Six of Rhode Island’s nine four-year colleges and universities raised a combined $205.6 million in the 2012 fiscal year, an increase of 6.3 percent compared with 2011, according to a report released Wednesday by the Council for Aid to Education.

Combined, Brown University, Bryant University, Rhode Island College, the Rhode Island School of Design, Roger Williams University and the University of Rhode Island collected $12.2 million more in charitable contributions in 2012 than they did in 2011. Johnson & Wales University, Salve Regina University and Providence College were not included in the report.

Charitable contributions and donations to Brown University accounted for the majority of Rhode Island’s year-over-year improvement. The Providence-based Ivy League school saw donations rise $17.6 million, or 10.9 percent, to $178.1 million in 2012 from $160.5 million in 2011.

Bryant University saw the biggest increase in donations, percentage-wise, with donations rising 30.1 percent year-over-year from $3.4 million 2011 to $4.5 million in 2012.

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The University of Rhode Island saw the biggest drop in donations and charitable contributions during the year, with giving dropping $6.2 million, or 32.7 percent, to $12.7 million in 2012.

Rhode Island College and the Rhode Island School of Design saw giving drop 8.5 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively, while Roger Williams University reported an increase of 11 percent.

Charitable giving to Rhode Island universities outpaced the national year-over-year increase of 2.3 percent. The figures are based on the Voluntary Support of Education survey conducted by the Council for Aid to Education. The national total of $31 billion is still below 2008’s historically high $31.6 billion and is virtually unchanged, adjusting for inflation.

In Bristol County, Mass., the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth was not included in the report, but Stonehill College and Wheaton College both saw charitable giving fall more than 30 percent year-over-year. Stonehill saw figures drop $2.2 million, or 33.8 percent, while Wheaton reported a $7.2 million, or 35.4 percent, drop in giving from 2011 to 2012.

“At the time of this release, the signs are positive for 2013,” Survey Director Ann E. Kaplan said in a statement accompanying the report. “However, no one knows precisely how strong the economy will be in June, when universities make their fiscal year-end appeals. And, many other factors matter, including tax legislation, the incidence and value of major gifts, and the cases individual institutions advance for support.” Kaplan added that it is too soon to accurately forecast how much U.S. institutions will raise in 2013.

To view the full report, visit: www.cae.org.

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