Last year, billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott embarked on a giving spree, giving $740 million to 16 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. It’s a meaningful boost for institutions that have long operated with far too little, but it shouldn’t be mistaken for a broader shift in philanthropic habits.
Gifts of this scale to under-resourced colleges remain rare, while elite universities continue to draw far larger sums year after year. At this point, Harvard and Yale don’t need your money. Yet they continue to attract it.
