$15 Million in Gifts to Public Relations Education

Dr. Kelly is Professor, Department of Public Relations, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida

The Council for Aid to Education (CAE) recently reported that private giving to higher education increased by 0.5 percent to $28 billion in Fiscal Year 2010, following a record decline of 11.9 percent the previous year (CAE, 2011).  Although modest, the increase is another positive indicator of economic recovery.

Philanthropy is a resilient American tradition.  In 2009, in the depth of the “Great Recession,” individuals, corporations, and foundations gave an estimated $303.75 billion to all charitable organizations (Giving USA, 2010), and in FY 2009 they gave $27.85 billion to U.S. colleges and universities (CAE, 2010).  Education traditionally has been the second favored recipient of charitable giving, following religion, and higher education commands the lion’s share of dollars given to education.

How well has public relations education been supported?  In 2010, I conducted a study to gauge the status of philanthropy to U.S. public relations education by identifying and documenting examples of noteworthy gifts from individuals, foundations, corporations, firms, and associations.  A report of the research findings was released by the Commission on Public Relations Education in December 2010, and is available on the IPR website – Philanthropy for Public Relations Education: 2010 Follow-Up Study.

The research yielded a sampling of 64 major gifts ranging from $10,000 to $2 million.  Market values of endowed funds range from $12,300 to $3 million.  Combining non-overlapping gift amounts and market values, the total philanthropic support dedicated to public relations education is an amazing $15 million!

Despite the recession, some remarkable gifts were made in the last four years.  Naming just a few, the Frank Karel Chair in Public Interest Communications was established at the University of Florida in 2008, with a $2-million gift from the Trellis Fund.  Scott Widmeyer, chairman and CEO of Widmeyer Communications, led the effort to endow the Widmeyer Professorship in Public Relations at West Virginia University in 2008, with contributions totaling $380,000.  In 2007, the Raymond J. Tarleton Strategic Communication Fellowship was established at the University of Minnesota with a gift of $183,000, and the Ben Bronstein Lecture in Ethics and Public Relations was endowed at Penn State University with a gift of $100,000.

I invite you to browse through the report and its 64 gift entries, which contain details about the donors and the purposes of their gifts.  The sampling of major gifts to public relations education is an impressive list.  It includes universities from across the country, both public and private.  The names of many donors are very familiar, making the list read almost like a Who’s Who in public relations.  Other donors’ names are not commonly recognized, but their description provides a connection.  The varied purposes of the gifts are exciting and thought-provoking, from multimillion-dollar endowed chairs to lesser funds that support faculty professional development, student internships, trips to meet with professionals, Ph.D. candidates’ research, and a prize for outstanding writing.

Yet the sampling is relatively small when compared to both potential and philanthropy to other professional programs in higher education.  Too few public relations practitioners and their affiliated organizations have formed partnerships with education.  Similarly, gift amounts have not reached the level of “transformational” gifts enjoyed by other disciplines.  For example, there are no named programs or departments of public relations, whereas named schools and colleges requiring eight-figure gifts are commonly found in such disciplines as business and journalism.  The research revealed that the most popular purpose of gifts to public relations education is undergraduate scholarships – most of which are funded with annual, lower level gifts.

The report concludes that although philanthropy for public relations education continues to grow, it still is in its infancy.  Donors are few, most gifts are modest in amount and non-strategic in purpose, and education programs spend little time or effort on cultivating donors and soliciting gifts.  Public relations must follow the example of older professions: To impact student preparation and the field’s body of knowledge, public relations practitioners must form partnerships with education through the power of philanthropy. 

kskelly@jou.ufl.edu