While voluntary donations have a strong tradition in Israel, higher education institutions or the authorities did not seem to well-developed mechanisms to support it. Recognising that the investment in the infrastructure of fundraising can generate real rates of return, some OECD countries, for example the United Kingdom, have sought to stimulate this activity by matched funding schemes (see Box 4.4.). The matched funding scheme began in August 2008 for a three year period. Funding was available to match eligible gifts raised by English higher education institutions and directly funded further education colleges.