Top funders pledge up to $2.75bn to higher education in Covid-19 relief funding
Courtesy of Lucas Vasques
The scale of Covid-19 emergency funding available for universities and higher education has been revealed in a study of the top pandemic relief funders.
According to the study undertaken by UniversityPhilanthropy.com, 15 philanthropists and foundations have pledged over $2.75bn in funding which appears geared to higher education in full or in part. The available funding breaks down broadly into four categories:
Scientific and educational research that relates to Covid-19
Support for distance learning
General education purposes
Economically and socially disadvantaged communities
The top three funders that appear to support education are:
Speaking about the findings of the research, founder of UniversityPhilanthropy.com Andrew Wigley said;
“Some funders are making an extraordinary contribution in the wake of the pandemic, and it was revealing to us how much appears to be eligible for universities and higher education to access.
“Much of the available funding for universities appears to come from tech firms and / or their founders. That makes complete sense since technology will be the solution as universities try to adapt to a new way of operating and teaching.
“The challenge for universities and their students - especially those in the developing world which are disproportionately impacted by Covid-19 - is how to access some of the funding that has made available. Few have the networks, resources and infrastructure that is required to implement effective university funding efforts - especially in a time of crisis”.
ENDS