In its annual Voluntary Support of Education survey, the Council for Aid to Education found that charitable contributions to U.,”

Sure, students may feel their schools are emptying their bank accounts, but a new survey says that another group reached a record high in giving money to higher education last year.

In its annual Voluntary Support of Education survey, the Council for Aid to Education found that charitable contributions to U.S. colleges and universities rose 9.4 percent in 2006.

Giving in 2006 totaled $28 billion, a record high, according to Wednesday's press release.

According to Ann Kaplan, director of the VSE survey, there are a number of factors that contribute to increases in charitable donations.

"The country may not be in a good mood with the war going on, but the economy is OK," she said. "Also, the primary reason people give is because they're asked, and institutions ask."

Kaplan also said the state of the stock market can contribute to how much is given in donations.

The VSE survey has tracked donations to colleges and universities for more than 50 years, the release said.

About a third of the nation's higher education institutions participate in the survey, which accounts for about 85 percent of nationwide donations.

By far the largest number of contributions is given by individual donors, mainly alumni.

Of last year's total, 30 percent was given by alumni and 20.4 percent was given by non-alumni individuals, the press release said.

"Alumni giving at four-year liberal arts institutions are more generous than at others. Private four-year schools are also very dependent on alumni giving," Kaplan said.

Marquette has a very active annual giving program. While donations are mainly made by alumni, parents and friends also contribute, said Tim Simmons, chief of alumni relations and annual giving officer.

According to the VSE press release, alumni donors are more likely to give to the institutions where they earned their undergraduate degree than where they earned graduate degrees.

"Undergraduate is where alums grew up," Simmons said. "They spent their first few years as an adult earning their undergraduate degrees, learned to develop their opinions, think and built lifelong relationships. They started independent life there and are nostalgic for it."

Simmons also said there is no specific alumni pattern or demographic that gives to the university the most.

"Folks who went to undergrad at Marquette are thankful for the effect Marquette had on their lives," Simmons said.

Kaplan said while donations do contribute greatly to a school's operating costs, they alone cannot be a sufficient source of support that will keep an institution open.

"It's certainly something every college and university focuses on, getting people to give on an annual basis," Simmons said. "Our ongoing annual donor base is very key and is up."

Simmons said donations made to the university do not necessarily go to one specific place. Often, he said, they will put the money where the donor requests.

"It gets spread out. When we get into a campaign situation we can communicate very specific needs, but we like to think of ourselves as donor-centric," Simmons said.

Overall, Kaplan said as long as the economy continues to expand and the stock market is doing well, donations to higher education should continue to increase over the next several years.

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