Leaving money to a university? Many people do not know it is possible

Few people include a university in their will. Thirteen university funds are therefore launching a joint campaign to raise awareness of leaving money to science.

Make ‘groundbreaking medical research’ possible after your death or help young people ‘develop innovative ideas’? Four years ago, the university funds already joined forces for a joint donation campaign. It was revived at the start of the academic year, with radio adverts and newspaper advertisements among other things.

A few years ago, the funds noticed that relatively few people choose to donate (part of) their inheritance to a university fund. People are more likely to think of charities such as the Dutch Cancer Society or Médecins Sans Frontières.

“Education and research are often seen as a government responsibility rather than a charitable cause”, says Robbert Jan Feunekes of Utrecht University’s fund. But donations can make it possible to fund very worthwhile projects that would otherwise receive no funding, he says.

Emergency funds and PhD positions

The campaign focuses mainly on the importance of scientific research. But the money can also be used, for example, for emergency funds for students or to set up research positions for PhD candidates.

In the case of a bequest, it is often a specific cause that matters to the donor, says Feunekes. This may be related to a particular disease or to a subject someone worked on at the university themselves.

But it also happens that people leave something without specifying what the money should be spent on, says Feunekes. “The money can then be spent freely. Even so, we really appreciate it when people talk to us beforehand. We can then discuss what someone would like and make sure it is recorded correctly in the will.”

Tens of thousands of euros

Most bequests currently come from people who studied or worked there. They have often had successful careers. The sums can run into tens of thousands of euros, says Feunekes.

The institutions receive more money in some years than in others. Utrecht University, for example, will receive a bequest of 75,000 euros this year, specifically for the botanical gardens. But the institution received nothing last year.

At Wageningen University, the annual amount is around 50,000 to 200,000 euros, says Harry Verwaaijen of the Wageningen fund. “There are sometimes years when we receive nothing, while occasionally there is an exceptional amount.”

Last year was one such exceptional year. Four Dutch universities received a total of ten million euros from an inheritance: Wageningen, Tilburg, Twente and VU Amsterdam each received 2.5 million euros as a one-off payment.

The fund of the University of Groningen received 600,000 euros a few years ago, says staff member Elise Kamphuis: “But last year we received nothing, and next week 50,000 euros will come in.” She hopes the campaign will increase the income: “It is easier to give to well-known charities. People often do not know that university funds are also recognised charities.”

First response

This week, the funds will meet to assess the initial response to the new campaign, says Feunekes. There have reportedly already been two registrations in Rotterdam, and two people have also contacted the fund in Utrecht. “These are not huge numbers, but they are very valuable. The previous campaign ultimately resulted in dozens of people getting in touch.”

In other countries, bequests and other donations make up a much larger proportion of a university’s income. In the United States, for example, it is much more common to financially support your former university after graduating. The endowment of prestigious Harvard, for instance, consists of billions of dollars in donations and bequests.