Four in five educational advancement professionals are confident that their institutions will reach their fundraising goals for the current fiscal year, a survey conducted by consulting firm Washburn & McGoldrick finds.

Based on a survey of four hundred and sixty-one chief advancement officers (CAOs), vice presidents for advancement, AVPs, directors of development, gift officers, and alumni relations officers at more than a hundred universities, colleges, and independent schools, the report, Advancement Moving Forward: Perspectives on the Challenges to Philanthropy During the COVID-19 Pandemic (33 pages, PDF), found that 81 percent of respondents said they were confident their institution would reach its advancement goals for FY2021, up from 65 percent in January, 40 percent in September, 17 percent in June (FY20), and 22 percent last April (FY20). The percentage of those who were uncertain fell to 14 percent, from 28 percent in January, 46 percent in September, 54 percent in June, and 35 percent last April.

In terms of fundraising priorities for FY22, the survey found that while CAOs remain focused on increasing support for financial aid (86 percent, unchanged from FY20), annual unrestricted operating support (84 percent, down slightly from 87 percent), their endowment (83 percent, up from 76 percent), and capital projects (59 percent, up from 53 percent), a growing number are prioritizing academic programs (57 percent, up from 45 percent) and DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging) initiatives (52 percent, up from 42 percent).

The survey also found that while more than half of respondents said their institution was doing an "adequate" job of addressing DEIB issues, about a third said they were not providing enough financial resources (61 percent "adequate" vs. 37 percent "not enough"), training (64 percent vs. 31 percent), or clear messaging (67 percent vs. 30 percent). In addition, majorities of senior advancement staff, gift officers, and alumni relations officers said they were only somewhat comfortable or needed to work on discussing DEIB issues with institutional leaders, the board, volunteers, donors, alumni, or parents.

"As educational advancement leaders deepen their engagement with both internal and external audiences on DEIB-related issues and seek to grow support for programs in these areas, there is clearly a demand for an increase in resources, training, and communications to help them," said Karin George, managing principal at Washburn & McGoldrick. "We continue to focus on ways to work with them to help them achieve their overall fundraising and development goals in these and other critical areas."