Data collected as part of a national survey on giving to colleges and universities shows a decline in the dollar amount collected by the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in fiscal year 2020 while a few schools in the state boosted their fundraising totals.
New gifts and endowments created by giving have become a vital revenue source for public colleges as well as private institutions.
The nonprofit Council for Advancement and Support of Education's yearly report released last week outlines trends in philanthropy, estimating that fundraising totals for U.S. universities dipped to $49.5 billion in fiscal 2020 compared to $49.6 billion the previous year.
Data reported in the survey reflects what's known as a "cash basis" method of counting, meaning that only the portion of multi-year gifts or grants collected within the year are included in the yearly total.
Using that counting method, UA-Fayetteville gifts declined to $102.8 million from $136.6 million in fiscal year 2019, according to data provided to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette by the council.
Seven Arkansas colleges and universities participated in the annual survey, with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock showing the biggest increase in fundraising dollars compared to the previous year.
UA-Little Rock's fundraising total -- buoyed by gift announced in May as the largest ever for the campus at $25 million -- increased to about $38.7 million from approximately $11.9 million the previous year.
The University of the Ozarks, Arkansas State University and Central Baptist College also showed fundraising increases, according to the survey data, while Hendrix College and John Brown University showed a decline in gifts collected.
Jennifer Holland, a spokeswoman for UA-Fayetteville, said in an email that the fundraising totals provided by the council to the Democrat-Gazette do not include new pledges.
"Based on our own reporting parameters, which have remained consistent over the years, our fundraising totals have continued to increase year to year," Holland said.
She said that the university's fundraising tally for fiscal year 2020 was $323 million, a number that includes dollars from pledges that may have been made in the 12-month period ending June 30 even though the pledges "may have had their gift agreements delayed by COVID and were processed shortly after the fiscal year ended."
The university in August announced that it received more than $1.4 billion in support during an eight-year fundraising effort known as Campaign Arkansas, which began its "silent phase" on July 1, 2012 and had a public launch in 2016.
Ann Kaplan, senior director for the council's annual Voluntary Support of Education survey, said fiscal year 2020 could be divided into distinct pieces because of the covid-19 pandemic.
In the first part of the year, the economy "was in an expansion, and the stock market was doing really well," Kaplan said. But the pandemic led to the rapid onset of an economic recession, Kaplan noted.
"We didn't know where this was going in May or June of last year," Kaplan said. Looking ahead, she some giving may take place in the current fiscal year that was delayed because of the economic uncertainty.
"There's been some anecdotal evidence of some additional very large gifts coming in," Kaplan said.
In July, UA-Fayetteville announced a $194.7 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation.
The money has been described by the university as going toward the construction of a research facility for its new Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research and the hiring of 20 faculty members, among other efforts described as boosting industry collaboration and entrepreneurship education. The grant is to be paid out over five years, Chancellor Joe Steinmetz has said.
UA-Little Rock in May announced a gift of $25 million from an "anonymous" donor. The money is set to go towards scholarships to be given out based on student financial need and also a "Student Success Endowment Fund" used for initiatives that aim to keep students in college and on track to graduate.
Kaplan said UA-Little Rock in the survey described the gift as coming from a family foundation. The survey does not ask schools to reveal the identity of donors, and the university has declined to identify the source of the $25 million announced gift.
"We have to honor donor confidentiality that was requested," Jeff Harmon, a UA-Little Rock spokesman, said in an email.
Kaplan said the survey showed that $19 million was counted in UA-Little Rock's total as coming from a single gift. Even if this amount is excluded from the annual count, the university would have exceeded its fiscal year 2019 fundraising total.
"UA Little Rock has been actively shopping our Centennial Campaign case for support with donors. It is leading to an increase in support by showing the needs of our students," Harmon said. "Much of the success can be attributed to enthusiasm for the direction of our new leadership focusing on student success initiatives and scholarships."
Among the seven schools participating in the survey -- some large public and private colleges in Arkansas opted not to participate -- John Brown University ranked third in fundraising dollars in fiscal year 2020. The private Christian college in Siloam Springs raised about $13.3 million, down from the $15.8 million raised in fiscal year 2019.
Julie Gumm, a spokeswoman for John Brown, in an email said the university's fundraising totals dipped following the conclusion of a seven-year fundraising effort called Campaign for the Next Century, which ended in 2019 with $156 million given and pledged.
"We would attribute the decrease to not being in a major fundraising campaign," Gumm said.
The survey data showed fundraising for Arkansas State University rising to about $12.1 million in fiscal year 2020 from about $10 million the previous year. Dollars raised also increased for the private University of Ozarks, rising to about $8.8 million from $5.2 million. Central Baptist College saw a slight increase, to more than $3.2 million from about $3.1 million.
Hendrix College fundraising fell to about $7.3 million in fiscal year 2020 from about $14.2 million the previous year.
During the 2020 fiscal year, Hendrix College was working towards a multi-year, $110 million fundraising campaign, college spokeswoman Amy Forbus said.
"While the pandemic required us to cease travel and in-person major gift solicitation during the fourth quarter, we were very excited to exceed our original campaign goal a year ahead of schedule," Forbus said.
In November, Hendrix College announced a $15 million gift from the Windgate Foundation, with the majority of the gift going towards endowed scholarships. The college also announced that its fundraising campaign, once set to end this year, will be extended to 2023 and be known as A Time to Lead: The Campaign for Today and Tomorrow.