Megagifts to Higher Education Rose 25% in Value in 2017

Title: "$10M+ Gifts to Higher Education”

Organization: Marts & Lundy

Summary: Three out of four gifts and pledges of $10 million or more went to colleges in 2017, up from two out of three donations and commitments the previous year. Next most popular were gifts for arts, culture, and the environment, although these three categories attracted just 10 percent altogether.

The value of donations and pledges of $10 million or more to colleges in 2017 was 25 percent higher than in 2016, the report said. The institutions raised $7.7 billion last year from such gifts.

The annual analysis by Marts & Lundy, a fundraising consulting company, gathered data from The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s online database of large gifts and gift announcements on Twitter. In showing a robust year for giving, it echoes the results of The Chronicle’s Philanthropy 50 report, our coverage of America’s largest donors. Among the findings in the consultants’ analysis:

• The number of large gifts to higher education rose 6 percent last year compared with the previous year. Colleges and universities got 204 gifts of $10 million and higher in 2017, up from 194.
• California institutions saw the most big gifts, at $1.4 billion, with New York colleges and universities close behind at $1.2 billion.
• Gifts of $50 million or more made up 19 percent of all megadonations to colleges in 2017 — but at 60 percent of the dollar value.