What UK universities can do to win million-pound donations

Adopt American-style philanthropy!" is the cry addressed to education and the arts now public expenditure is being slashed. But is there such a thing as British-style philanthropy? And if so, does it only reside in the broad-based fundraising of, say, the British Legion's poppy collections and the BBC's Children in Need appeal? Last week's Coutts Report on Million Pound Donors demonstrated for the third year running that high-value gifts are in fact concentrated in higher education and the arts – and universities are the only category of good cause to attract multiple gifts. These splendid rows of noughts are just the hyper-charged contemporary manifestation of a deeply British tradition of giving. Universities, schools and museums across the country bear the nameplates of 800 years of philanthropy, from Oxford's Bodleian library to UEA's Sainsbury centre for the visual arts. Not surprisingly, the boldest fundraising campaigns are happening at Oxford and Cambridge. They've had a head start, and they keep a close eye on the world-leading US institutions and understand instinctively the virtuous circle that comes from a glittering brand underpinning fundraising that brings in top researchers, needs-blind admissions of the brightest students, not to mention alumni affinity, which in turn reinforces the reputation … But they don't have the field to themselves. Seven-figure gifts are going to universities from Napier to Bath, Kent to Nottingham Trent. Bravo. The 1994 Group's new report Developing the Future – Successful University Fundraising that Allows Philanthropy to Grow tells stories of fundraising innovation and inspired donors. How do we encourage more of this? One of the obsessions of major donors is impact: making hard-won money work hard. Hence Bill Gates's mega-gifts to mega-causes: in aiming at a target as breathtaking as the eradication of malaria, he has found a challenge suited to the scale of his wealth. Universities deliver that kind of impact. They're in for the marathon, not the sprint. For example, 140 years ago, ER Langworthy of Manchester left £10,000 "to encourage discovery in physics". Hence Manchester University's Langworthy chair of physics. Last month, the current Langworthy professor co-won the Nobel prize for physics. And, remarkably, Andre Geim is the fourth holder of that chair to have won a Nobel – Rutherford, Bragg and Blackett being the others. Talk about return on investment. Does it have to take 800, or 140, years? This month, King's College London launched its £500m fundraising campaign, World Questions|King's Answers, which spotlights three areas where the college's particular strengths coincide with supporters' interests: cancer; leadership and society; and neuroscience. The college opened its development office in 1991 with a fundraising target in year one of £124,000. So that's £124,000 to £500m in 19 years; acceleration fuelled by committed leadership and steady, sensible, systematic investment. Not every university has so happy a story to tell. Two, Reading and Sheffield, have only now got their philanthropic act together because former leaderships didn't see the point of talking to alumni, and closed down development offices. Here's a five-point prescription for growing this British-style philanthropy, despite tough times. 1 Celebrate our heroes of philanthropy, pour encourager les autres : JK Rowling's £10m to Edinburgh to battle multiple sclerosis, Lloyd Dorfman's £10m to the National Theatre, James Dyson's £5m to the Royal College of Art – this is admirable application of wealth. 2 Join up the dots on legislation and government intervention affecting major givers. Let's not muck up the power of Gift Aid for higher-rate taxpayers. Let's keep faith with donors in the government matched funding scheme, which is drawing in more – and more generous – university supporters. 3 Don't leave this to celebrities and entrepreneurs. Last year, 163,000 people gave to UK universities. We can all include a university in our will. 4 Continue to encourage universities to take the potential of philanthropy seriously and to professionalise accordingly. Steady investment in a professional development office easily outpaces serial start-ups. 5 Foster careers as fundraisers in education and the arts. It's no coincidence that King's College London and Manchester are two of the institutions helping to "grow our own" and host a Case (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) graduate trainee in fundraising. And maybe they will see their work echo in the rewarding student experience and Nobel prizes of the 22nd century? Joanna Motion is vice-president of international operations at Case