Matched Funding: advancing the philanthropy in higher education

In April 2008 the UK government announced an initiative aimed at encouraging universities of all shapes and sizes to boost philanthropic support from individuals and private donors.

The resulting Matched Funding scheme will run for the next three academic years, and will enable universities to claim matched funding against some of the philanthropic gifts that they receive during this period.

At the April launch, John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, said: “There has been an increase in individual donations to institutions, with more that £200 million given every year by those who can afford to do so. I want to see more funding from private individuals, many of whom are successful and wealthy graduates who have benefited from a university education and want to give something back.”

Each university has been given autonomy to choose the types of gifts that will be matched, enabling them to encourage philanthropic support for institutional priorities. Imperial has decided to match all gifts to the Annual Fund, including those from outside the UK, as well as major donations which are received as endowed gifts in support of scholarships.

Nearly 3,500 alumni have made at least one gift to the Annual Fund since 2003 and, in doing so, have made an immediate impact on the experience that Imperial is able to offer to its students. Imperial values this support enormously and is keen to build on initial successes so that many more of our alumni also feel motivated to give to the fund.

The government scheme will operate on a three-tier basis, designed to allow institutions to set their own fundraising aspirations. Imperial is aiming high, opting for the most challenging but potentially most rewarding tier, which will be funded on a 3:1 private to public funding ratio (compared to 2:1 and 1:1 for the other tiers), but operates with a significantly higher cap on the total amount of funding that will be matched than in the other tiers.

This means that a UK higher-rate tax payer could make a gift worth £500 to the Annual Fund, at a cost of only £225 to themselves. In this instance, the donor would make an initial gift of £300, enabling the College to claim an additional £75 through Gift Aid. The resulting £375 would then be matched at the 3:1 ratio, increasing the value of the gift to £500. Additionally, the donor could claim back £75 against the original gift in their self-assessment tax return, resulting in a net cost of only £225.

With over 100 applications for every one of our top scholarship schemes, major gifts towards stand-alone scholarships is another area towards which the College is keen to increase philanthropic support. If you would like to find out more about scholarship gifts and their eligibility for matched funding, please contact Jennie Lavin: j.lavin@imperial.ac.uk; +44 (0)20 7594 2038.