CASE Insights on Philanthropy in Independent Schools (United States) 2024-25 Key Findings-Recording

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Video Summary

CASE’s 2025 Key Findings for Independent School Philanthropy show a clear shift in fundraising patterns. Overall dollars received are up, with the 2025 cohort reaching $2.51 billion and a median of $3.95 million, but donor counts continue to decline, falling about 3.2% since 2022. Much of the growth is being driven by larger gifts at the top of the pyramid rather than broad-based giving.<br /><br />Current operations remain the largest purpose for gifts, but capital support is a major share of fundraising, reflecting the importance of campaigns and long pledge schedules. Donor-advised funds (DAFs) are becoming a more significant source of gifts, rising every year since 2022 and prompting schools to review gift acceptance and booking practices. CASE advises recording hard credit to the legal DAF entity, not the individual donor.<br /><br />Gift-size trends show that donations from $25,000 to under $1 million now represent a growing share of funds received, while smaller gifts are relatively flat or declining. The presenters emphasized that schools should think holistically about fundraising, strengthen major gift strategies, and use engagement data to build donor pipelines. They also highlighted CASE/NAIS tools in DAZL for benchmarking and reporting, plus upcoming data collection dates and new annual fund questions.

Keywords

independent school philanthropy

fundraising trends

donor-advised funds

major gifts

capital campaigns

current operations

gift acceptance policies

donor pipeline

benchmarking tools