Schools missing out on philanthropy

Most Australian schools aren’t sure how to unlock funds from philanthropic foundations and trusts, and are instead relying on fetes and traditional fundraisers, a recent report has shown.

The Leading Learning in Education and Philanthropy (LLEAP) survey report discovered a large “knowledge gap” for schools in Australia regarding the availability of philanthropic support.

Co-author Dr Michelle Anderson said Australian schools were out of their depth when it came to understanding philanthropy.

“A big knowledge gap for schools exists in this area. Philanthropy is a whole new world for nine out of 10 schools in Australia,” Dr Anderson said.

The LLEAP survey received 507 responses, the majority coming from government schools. The responses included 359 schools (69% of which were government), 87 not-for-profit groups and 61 philanthropic foundations or trusts.

The survey covered five areas:

1. Demographics and characteristics
2. Education grantseeking priorities (education grantmaking priorities)
3. Experiences in seeking and securing grants (the nature of philanthropic support in education)
4. Learning
5. Philanthropy in schooling – Gonski review

The key findings of the survey found that “many schools are ‘pressed up against the glass’ and wondering what they are looking at when it comes to philanthropy in schooling.”

The report offered a range of findings, including:

• Roughly one-third of not-for-profits were unsure whether the schools they were working with knew the support from them was made possible by philanthropic sources.
• Respondents’ philanthropic education grant budgets from the previous financial year ranged from $521 to $2,711,000.
• Student engagement was found to be a common issue schools hoped to address.
• The top specific priority was to broaden learning for student through an unspecified ‘learning/academic focus area’.
• ‘Material assistance’ (e.g. uniforms, technology, school supplies etc) was another top priority.
• A major barrier to effective philanthropic engagement with schools was ‘structural issues,’ including tax-related constraints and grantmakers’ legacies.
• Time usage was an issue, as schools noted a concern in ‘balancing the effort required to apply for a grant versus the grant amount’.

Past CEO of Philanthropy Australia Dr Deborah Seifert praised the LLEAP report as a useful resource for both schools and the not-for-profit sector.

“The LLEAP project offers new research-based insight into the impact of philanthropy in education, which will be of immense value to the philanthropic sector and those that it aims to support,” Dr Seifert said.