Donations to UK universities rose 16.5% between 2007 and 2009, says a survey. The Annual Survey of Gifts and Costs of Voluntary Giving, by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Ross Group of universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland, found that £1.04 billion (US$1.56 billion) was given to universities in 2009, compared with £895 million in 2007. Of the 2009 total, £511 million was cash income, 33.7% more than the 2007 figure of £382 million. Kate Hunter, CASE Europe's executive director, pins the rise on a government matching plan and more, harder-working fund-raisers. “They are being more proactive and asking for gifts,” she says.