The most ambitious fundraising drive in Australian higher education has raised $600 million for the University of Sydney from private donors in just seven years, with students and Gen Y graduates the fastest growing group of philanthropists. 


The university aimed to raise $600 million by 2017, but has hit that target two years early thanks to 43,000 donors, including eight who have given gifts of more than $10 million and almost 100 people who have donated more than $1 million.


But Tim Dolan, the university's vice-principal (advancement), said the fastest growing group of donors was people aged under 30, many of whom were still students or who had only just graduated. 


Vice-chancellor Michael Spence says 43,000 supporters have donated to the uni.

"People used to say that students wouldn't donate because they are too poor, but this year we have had close to 500 students donating," Mr Dolan said.


"We have also quadrupled the number of under-30 donors, and they may be low dollar amounts but there is a high level of participation."

When the fundraising campaign was launched in 2008, the university was receiving about $30 million a year in donations. This year that annual figure will reach $130 million, Mr Dolan said.


About half the $600 million has come from alumni while the other half were "friends of the university".


"There are some people who have harped on about Australia not being as inherently generous as other communities, but even from my very first year in Australia, and I arrived seven years ago, I could see that the underperformance of philanthropy was not a byproduct of people being stingy," Mr Dolan said. "It was more about the methodology of fundraising in Australia being archaic."


Mr Dolan said once institutions get it right, philanthropy starts to flow. 


"The Sydney way is going out to the community and asking how they want their money spent, not going to people with a list of projects that you want funded."


Some of the donations this year to the campaign, known as Inspired, include $33.7 million, the largest single research donation in the university's history, from Barry and Joy Lambert to research medicinal cannabis; $15 million for the Chau Chak Wing Museum and $10.8 million from the Susan and Isaac Wakil Foundation for 12 annual nursing scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate student nurses.


The vice-chancellor of the university, Michael Spence, said the overwhelming success of the campaign showed that Sydneysiders were prepared to invest in the city's oldest university. 


"Reaching our goal more than two years early demonstrates a common belief that the university is at the forefront of meaningful change to our society, pursuing ideas that will shape our future," Dr Spence said. 


"The impact that we can make with $600 million is already being seen on a local, national and global scale. Setting a new target gives us the opportunity to do even more."  


The university now wants to reach $750 million by 2017. 



Source: http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/sydney-university-reaches-600-million-fundraising-target-two-years-early-20151113-gky35z.html