Donations to US institutions hit record high in 2014

Donations to US colleges hit an all-time high of $38 B in 2014, reports the Council for Aid to Education (CAE). The previous high was $33.8 B in 2013. The increase between 2013 and 2014 represents the greatest single-year growth since 2000. All sources of donations, including alumni, non-alumni, corporations, foundations, and other organizations gave more in 2014 than 2013; however, the alumni participation rate dropped slightly, continuing a 20-year trend. This may be explained in part by the fact that institutions are getting better at tracking their alumni. Much of the giving was concentrated at the top, with just 2% of all institutions that participated in the survey receiving 28.6% of the funding. According to the report, the total value of the endowments of the 959 institutions that provided data increased by 15%, buoyed in part by increases in the 4 major stock indexes. Harvard University received the greatest amount in donations at $1.16 B; this reportedly makes it the second US institution to surpass $1 B in donations for a single calendar year. Inside Higher Ed