Characteristics of effective philanthropic fundraising at historically black colleges and universities: An analysis of endowment development

Modern higher education institutions in this country are increasingly dependent on their endowment assets to fund capital projects as well as annual operations. The HBCU sector is at a particular disadvantage; the historic lack of societal private dollars support puts these institutions at great risk for sustainability, given that philanthropic funds are the primary platform by which an institution enhances its endowment growth.;The impact of American philanthropy on higher education, and upon HBCUs in particular, is analyzed from both an historical perspective and within the context of current institutional and societal trends, with particular focus upon HBCU sustainability in future economic climates. Toward this purpose, five key performance indicators of effective higher education fundraising are identified from similar studies in other sectors as being applicable to this study: (1) board of trustees' participation in fundraising, (2) size of fundraising development staff, (3) completion of a major capital campaign, (4) use of fundraising technology, and (5) use of development trained volunteer fund raisers.;A survey was designed to collect data on these five key performance indicators on participating HBCUs, and to identify if these, as independent variables, showed any correlation to the size of these institutions' endowments. A population of 88 institutions was selected, with 79 institutions providing full responses. Out of this, a sample of 74 institutions was considered viable and was used for the descriptive data analysis. Comparisons and correlations were made between a top subgroup of the higher tenth percentile and a bottom group of the lower ninetieth percentile, as well as between public and private subgroups where relevant.;Correlations were in general found between three of the five dependent variables and the independent variable of endowment growth, though the particular performance of the top subgroup is explored as containing each of these key indicators. The inclusion of these indicators is urged for the entire sector, and suggestions for further study on these and other indicators are recommended in order to determine best case practices for HBCUs to achieve future endowment and institutional sustainability.