Donations from alumni (past students) are an increasingly important Essay

Donations from alumni (past students) are an increasingly important source of income for universities - Essay Example that in light of the present scenario, fundraising ability has become one of the important aspects of the job description of college presidents and deans at nearly all institutions. In order to meet these strategic requirements, the institutions are presently competing to attract top students as well research and other educational grants. However, a major constraint in this regard is ability of the institutions to access fund from donors. This is because donors usually tend to fund successful programs without considering the fact that even to create a successful program, a particular institution would require fund (NASBO, 2013). Significant dependence on alumni donation for facilitating growth and sustainability draws a distinguishing line between the higher education sector and other industries. Every dime that is invested by alumni is of critical importance for the universities and colleges because it is used to finance various initiatives undertaken and define the margin of success attained (Long and Riley, 2007, Leslie and Ramey1988). Alumni donations are distinct in nature compared other sources of revenue in respect of the higher educational institutions because unlike general revenue sources that are influenced by the administrative choices and characteristics of student bodies, alumni donations are regulated by individuals’ perception and choices. Scholarly interest regarding alumni funding to the universities and other higher educational institutions has increased significantly in recent years. Increasing demand for fund in the health, security, transportation and administrative sectors has allowed a very little share of government expenditure to be allotted to the higher education sector. In addition, the same has been declining consistently over the years (NASBO, 2013). According to Walters (2006), healthcare is the most common reason that is cited by the government bodies for investing and allocating lower amounts in higher education. The