Education fund raisers are predicting sluggish growth in donations this year, according to a new survey released by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education at its annual meeting in New York City.

The organization says the economic downturn is a key reason giving is expected to increase more slowly than in the past.

According to the CASE Fundraising Index, a new forecasting tool the association unveiled today, philanthropic support for colleges and private schools is expected to grow by 5.3 percent for the academic year that began July 1, down from the 7 percent average annual rate of growth for the last 20 years.

The CASE Fundraising Index is based on an electronic survey sent to senior fund raisers at the 2,300 organizations that belong to the association. The first survey was conducted in early July and its results are based on data from 239 fund raisers.

CASE will release the results of the index twice a year — at the end of an academic year and at the end of the calendar year. Results will look both at the year past and expectations for the year ahead.

Fund raisers predicted that giving for the fiscal year that concluded June 30 was not affected by the economy; fund raisers estimated that giving has grown by 7.2 percent in the past year.

To read more about how the economy is affecting giving, see this article from The Chronicle of Philanthropy.