Donations to school

Would I hand over a good sized cheque to LBS if I had £100m in the bank?

I think so….

Actually, yes….

Well only if I had a say in how the cash was used….

Such to-ing and fro-ing is clearly not a problem in the US, where the endowments of colleges and business schools are a source of envy. Never mind US higher education; I’m sure many high schools would put also put us to shame. Of course, this problem isn’t unique to LBS. It is an issue faced by schools throughout Europe. It appears that we just aren’t that generous. That European schools can perform so well despite such a gap in cash is to be applauded.

While I enjoyed my time at Warwick University, I don’t see myself ever making a big donation. I love the friends I made there, but I don’t feel much of a link to the institution itself. I was one of many thousands of students and was largely oblivious to how the university was governed and led. Donations to business school are slightly different. It is much more of an investment in time and money to do the MBA, than to go to university as an 18 year old. Back then, further education was the default path. With business school, you’re weighing up the pros and cons of leaving a job, relocating, etc. Having gone through all that, you’re much more likely to rationalise the decision and feel good about it after the fact. Even putting those mental biases aside, it has been a genuinely great experience.

Particularly on the scholarship side of things, a real difference could be made with fairly modest sums; so no need to wait until you’ve hit Warren Buffet-like levels of wealth. I don’t know whether the culture of donating in Europe will ever change significantly.

In any case, I’m certain LBS’s endowment will grow as the school becomes more established, the alumni base deepens and more resources are dedicated to fundraising. To lock in donations, it’s important that everyone leaves with positive feelings about their experience. That requires genuinely listening and taking action when suggestions are made about course content, lecturers, resources etc. And critically, it means continuously developing the careers services team; for those going down traditional routes, and those going off the beaten track. Lessons we’ve learned and relationships developed play a huge role in this. But goodwill towards the school is also heavily dependent on whether we end up doing what we wanted to do on day one.

The school does a good job, and continues to build capabilities. But there’s always room for improvement. I think student expectations of what the school ‘should’ be doing are sometimes unrealistic. But in the interests of getting a tasty donation later down the line, it is worth striving to hit those expectations, however ambitious.