Fundraising Trends in Higher Education: What We Learned from the Giving USA 2025 Report

With the release of Giving USA 2025: The Annual Report on Philanthropy, many higher education fundraisers are asking: What does this mean for colleges and universities? At Ologie, the higher education branding agency, we’ve been digging into the findings to uncover what matters most for advancement professionals.

After diving into the report, we discovered some compelling stories behind the numbers. But first, let’s review the data points that jumped out to us. 

• Total giving and individual giving are up, but the number of donors keeps shrinking.
• Giving to education rose 13.2% (or 9.9%, adjusted for inflation) in 2024.
• Other sectors grew even more, including public-society benefit and international affairs.
• Nearly $100 trillion in wealth will shift from Boomers to their heirs over the next several decades. The giving habits of younger generations are now the biggest question mark.

Whether you’re preparing to launch the next record-breaking comprehensive campaign or looking for annual fundraising strategies to drive operating support, we believe that colleges and universities should be paying attention to these wider philanthropic trends.

1. Donor retention in higher education: Why is donor retention critical in higher ed fundraising?

To ensure a healthy pipeline of future major and principal donors, you should focus on cultivating loyalty among today’s annual and leadership donors. Of course, this means developing communications and stewardship journeys that feel authentic and personalized, and respond to any changes in behavior (like additional gifts throughout the year).

One way to build in that flexibility is through a refreshed brand that can grow with changing audiences. If you’re thinking about a refresh, these seven questions to answer before launching a new brand might help spark the right conversations.

The best donor journeys aren’t one-size-fits-all. A flexible brand lets institutions meet donors where they are, and grow with them over time.

2. Campaign strategy: How should fundraising campaigns adapt to donor priorities?

From the Giving USA data, we know donors are focused on gifts that impact the broader benefits of philanthropy on a societal scale and connecting the impact of gifts to the international community. With these themes in mind, explore what opportunities exist across your campus to share stories of public good and global community.

Donors want to see the world in your institution’s story. The more you connect local action to global impact, the more relevant your campaign becomes.

3. Fundraising campaigns: How can universities balance long-term plans with donor flexibility?

While many university fundraising campaigns align with institutional strategic plans, this often doesn’t leave room for the kind of flexibility that’s needed to respond to shifting trends. Strategic plans are built for the future, sometimes for the next decade. That doesn’t always line up with today’s realities, where you must be responsive to donor priorities and market-oriented opportunities in order to increase philanthropic giving.

Flexibility is a trust signal. When institutions adapt to the moment while staying true to their brand, donors notice.

The bottom line.

At many institutions, a primary brand sets the stage for messaging that’s designed to be flexible across all units and audiences. (And in some cases, a strategic plan has its own brand, focused on the long term, with mission, vision, and positioning.) Consider which elements of these platforms are constant, and which can flex into donor-focused storytelling that stays relevant while still feeding institutional alignment.

At Ologie, we spend a lot of time with colleges and universities, thinking about how to turn their big institutional goals into stories that will both resonate with today’s donors and still matter tomorrow. What we’ve learned is this: The most lasting stories are the ones flexible enough to meet the moment. And when your institution embraces that kind of flexibility, you’re not just keeping up with change. You’re building trust and relevance that will carry your fundraising into the future.