Stanford University raised $1.39 billion in the last fiscal year, the most among U.S. colleges, narrowly edging out Harvard University for the top spot.
The perennial fundraising rivals were the only schools to raise more than $1 billion in the 12 months ended June 30, as buoyant stock markets helped fuel donations, according to a report Wednesday from the Council for Advancement & Support of Education. Harvard, the richest U.S. university with a $53.2 billion endowment, collected $1.38 billion in the period.
Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore ranked third, with $930.9 million, followed by Yale University’s $734.3 million and the University of Washington’s $716.2 million. The 822 schools that responded to the group’s annual survey for two straight years collectively raised 7.6% more in fiscal 2021 than in the preceding 12-month period, according to the report.
Some schools that typically don’t raise a lot of money reported significant fundraising increases last year thanks to contributions from MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, said Ann Kaplan, senior director of the survey. Those beneficiaries included two-year colleges and historically Black colleges and universities.
