Voluntary Support of Education 1976-77.

Information on philanthropic contributions to higher education institutions is presented, based on the Survey of Voluntary Support of Education, 1976-77. Voluntary support excludes income from endowment and other invested funds as well as all support received from federal, state, and local governments and their agencies. Information is provided by type of institution, source of funds, and purpose of funds; data on bequests, deferred giving, and endowment funds are included. Details of support by the 1,006 postsecondary institutions and the 368 private secondary and elementary schools are presented. Results indicated that in 1976-77 the voluntary support received by all higher education institutions increased on a broad front for the second year in a row and attained a new record high of $2.670 billion. The gain over 1975-76 amounted to 10.8 percent, and the increase over 1974-75 was 23.6 percent. As in 1975-76, all groups of donors increased their support in 1976-77, and the gains applied to all the categories of purpose for which support is given. Nearly three-fourths of the overall dollar increase reflects expanded levels of support by individuals and business corporations, and these gains, in turn, appear to have resulted from the continued strengthening of the economy. Although bequests rose slightly, most of the gain in support from individuals was in the form of outright and deferred gifts from living donors. Corporate giving recorded the largest increase (17.7 percent), and there was an important gain in support from nonalumni individuals (13.5 percent). College and university endowment funds rose to a new record high in both book value and market value. (SW)

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