The effects of COVID-19 have been felt across the entire nonprofit sector and the independent schools’ community is no different. For the Commonfund Benchmarks Study® of Independent Schools (CSIS) report we added a question asking respondents to indicate what changes in spending their school has made, if any, in response to this unpredictable pandemic.
Coronavirus Impacts Schools’ Spending in Late FY2020
In a special question probing response to the coronavirus, 27 percent of participating schools said they increased spending to address virus-related issues, while 17 percent said they decreased spending and 47 percent made no change (9 percent were uncertain or gave no answer). All of these decisions took place in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year.
By size of institution, responses were very similar: 28 percent of institutions with assets over $50 million increased spending to address virus-related issues, while 26 percent each of institutions with assets between $10 and $50 million and those with assets under $10 million increased spending. Nine percent of the largest participating schools decreased spending, whereas 22 percent of schools with assets between $10 and $50 million and 17 percent of those with assets under $10 million did so.
| Total Schools | Over $50 Million | $10-$50 Million | Under $10 Million | |
| Number of schools | 200 | 53 | 81 | 66 |
| Decreased spending | 17 | 9 | 22 | 17 |
| Kept spending the same | 47 | 58 | 42 | 44 |
| Increased spending | 27 | 28 | 26 | 26 |
| Uncertain | 9 | 5 | 10 | 13 |
Numbers in percent
Source: 2020 Commonfund Benchmarks Study® of Independent Schools (CSIS)