PhD thesis,
The role of private foundations in support of higher education in Texas
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, PhD Thesis, (1980)
Abstract
The study was conducted on private foundations in Texas with founding charters that permitted support of institutions of higher education. The foundations surveyed represented sixty geographically spread throughout the state of Texas. The asset size of these foundations represented a range from \$120 million in total assets to those having less than \$100,000 in total assets. A survey instrument was developed by first doing a pilot study with nine foundations in the state. Their input was incorporated into the final research instrument that was mailed to 303 Texas foundations. Sixty completed questionnaires were returned representing a response rate of 19.8 per cent. Considering the potentially sensitive nature of the data requested a successful response was received. The contact person with each foundation was the primary grants officer. Forty-four responding grant officers had an average tenure of service with their respective foundations of 13.1 years. Summary of Major Findings. (1) Forty per cent more grants were awarded to institutions of private education than to those in the public education sector. (2) The average dollar amount of each grant awarded to institutions of public higher education was three times larger than those received in the private sector. (3) Of the surveyed foundations one of the least attractive grant requests was dollars for brick and mortar or capital improvements. (4) Proposals for scholarships and special people oriented programs were the most attractive for grant requests and had the greatest opportunity to be received favorably by foundations. (5) More grants were made by small foundations to institutions of private higher education than to public higher education. (6) Larger foundations, those with assets that exceeded \$5 million, expected more accountability on the part of grant requestors. (7) Geographic restrictions as to where grants could be made were reported by almost two-thirds of the responding foundations. (8) Only twenty per cent of the primary grant officers observed any measurable change in grant procedures within their foundations during the past decade. (9) Foundations desired more accountability and better, more precise proposals. Recommendations. (1) Grant seekers should research thoroughly the foundations to which they intend to apply. (2) Public institutions of higher education should seek out the support of larger foundations. (3) Institutions of higher education in Texas should re-evaluate the vital role that private foundation support could play in their total institutional support program and be more solicitous of such monies. (4) Since the foundations revealed that larger grants were made to institutions of public higher education than to private, the public sector should capitalize on this fact and provide more opportunities for foundation support. (5) Both public and private institutions of higher education should court foundations by providing gift opportunities in people oriented projects as well as innovative special programs. (6) Specialization of types of gifts by foundations should be researched prior to initial contact. (7) Accountability should be stressed and implemented in every phase of foundation grant seeking. (8) The employment of professional staff members to stimulate and evaluate proposals would be beneficial to private foundations. (9) A more indepth study is needed in the area of types of grants awarded to higher education including past history, current status and future needs. Patterns of investigation developed in this study could be conducted in other states to provide a national view of the relationship between philanthropic foundations and institutions of higher education.
