The number of private donations to UK universities is growing faster than in the US, a recent study has found.

Between 2005 and 2012 the amount raised by UK institutions more than doubled, while in the US it grew by less than 40 per cent. In 2012 Harvard and Stanford received 15 per cent of all philanthropic income that went to US private institutions, whereas the figure for Oxbridge in the UK was 45 percent.

A report by Moody’s Investors Service found that half of the £774 million given to UK institutions in 2011 and 2012 was given to Oxbridge. If this continues it will lead to a very significant disparity ofwealth between Oxford and Cambridge and the rest of the UK’s universities.

Much of this wealth has been driven by fundraising campaigns which have resulted in generous donations. For example, in September 2013 the Canadian billionaire John MacBain gave £75 million to Oxford. Cambridge also received £80 million from Lord Sainsbury for the Sainsbury Laboratory and £20 million from finance billionaire David Harding for the Cavendish laboratory as part of its 2005 campaign.

Cambridge has been extremely active in fundraising in the wake of its 800th anniversary campaign, launched in 2005. It was the most ambitious educational fundraising initiative in Europe and aimed to raise at least £1 billion.

The campaign actually raised £1.2 billion with 54,000 alumni contributing at least once to a college and 8,000 contributing at least once to the university.

Currently, amongst other initiatives, Cambridge’s fundraising campaign is focusing on increasing the needs-based financial support for undergraduates, helping to fund the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute and funding an essential £3 million programme to repair and refurbish King’s College Chapel. King’s launched an appeal in 2011 asking alumni to “step in where the state has stepped out.”

Private funding is urgently needed by UK universities as recent changes in government support mean that next year leading universities will receive around five per cent of their teaching funds and less than 25 per cent of their total income from government grants.

Universities are not state-funded public sector bodies, and although they are given some funding from the government, most are charitable institutions established by statute or royal charter.

Increased funding will be needed as Oxbridge in particular competes to maintain its position with the top US universities. The Cambridge University Development Office said that “the need for philanthropic funding to sustain Cambridge’s position as one of the best universities in the world has never been greater.”

It seems that the last 50 years of increased state funding will now change, with a return to a heavy reliance on private funding looming and Oxbridge leading the way.

UK institutions have to find different ways of encouraging donations to their American counterparts as UK universities do not take into account the alma mater of applicants’ parents. Many elite US institutions are heavily reliant on family traditions to encourage donations and are expected to give places in return for significant financial donations.

UK universities instead need to use their quality of research and future potential to encourage the kind of significant financial donations that are desperately needed for them to continue to thrive in the coming years.