Should a donor have a say in a university's hiring decisions and research priorities? While the answer to this question might seem obvious, St. Louis University has pushed aside criticisms of a $50 million strings-attached gift from a wealthy libertarian benefactor.
Read MoreA gift to the University of Florida's law school encapsulates three of the big themes reshaping higher ed: increasingly specialized giving, ambitious multi-billion dollar fundraising campaigns, and the emergence of previously under-the-radar alumni mega-givers.
Read MoreA recent $20 million gift from the Windgate Foundation to the University of Central Arkansas—the largest in the school’s 111-year history—is another reminder of the stronger philanthropic ecosystems that are emerging in the South.
Read MoreThe University of Virginia (UVA) recently netted a $120 million gift—the largest in its 200-year history—for a school of data science. What’s not to love? Quite a bit, it seems, judging by criticisms of the donation.
Read MoreFewer than half of all students who start community college finish. In Mississippi, the Woodward Hines Education Foundation sees honor societies as one key to changing that. It’s also connecting schools in the state to a national community college network.
Read MoreA $20 million gift seeks to increase accessibility for underrepresented and first-generation students to Duke’s School of the Environment. It comes at a moment when there’s growing acknowledgement that green groups must do more to diversify their ranks in an era of rapid demographic change.
Read MoreCommunity colleges serve almost half of the country's college students yet receive a shockingly small percentage of philanthropic support. A growing body of research on how these students can go on to succeed at elite institutions hopes to change the narrative.
Read MoreHistoric levels of donor support for higher education has included a surge in big gifts for the liberal arts. We dig into an instructive campaign from a mid-tier public university turning to private dollars as state support lags.
Read MoreThe University of Michigan is wrapping up a historic fundraising campaign that’s pulled in $5 billion and counting. Of the many mega-gifts it received, we dig into one that is solely earmarked for financial aid and reflects growing donor concern around issues of affordability.
Read MoreWith stresses and shocks to U.S. society growing, and government in retreat in many places, a growing range of funders is keen to bolster civil society’s role in promoting resilience. We look at a unique effort along these lines under way in Arizona.
Read MoreA major donation to UT Austin’s business school provides an illuminating look into how donors hailing from the world of finance perceive ideas like “value” and “impact,” concepts which aren’t nearly as clear cut to these givers as you might think.
Read MoreAnother huge campus gift for artificial intelligence research leaves us wondering: Can donors concerned about the ethical, social and humanitarian consequences of the AI revolution keep pace with rapid technological change and the forces of private enterprise?
Read MoreMicron Technology typically isn’t mentioned in the same breath as Google, Microsoft, or Intel, but when it comes to boosting gender parity and diversity in the STEM field, its giving arm punches well above its weight.
Read MoreA big donation to Brown University combines three donor priorities that are currently shaping the higher ed giving space: support for capital projects, funding for the liberal arts, and eliminating student loans and debt.
Read MoreThe Abney Foundation is another funder chipping away at the tuition crisis through scholarship awards. We take a closer look at its local grantmaking in South Carolina, and how it aligns with the founder’s original youth-centric mission.
Read MoreA fundraising arms race is under way as top universities build state-of-the-art facilities to attract high-caliber students and faculty. We look at what’s behind the trend and dig into a big recent gift to Carnegie Mellon to construct a new hall for its College of Engineering.
Read MoreRonda Stryker and William Johnston’s $30 million gift to Spelman College is the largest gift to a historically black college in 30 years. Why is it so hard for these schools to raise big money even as many higher donors profess an interest in equity?
Read MoreAs Ivy League universities work to recruit more low- to middle-income students, the Perelman family's $65 million gift to Princeton raises familiar questions around the best way for higher ed donors to boost economic mobility.
Read MoreFundraising experts have long called for an end to capital campaigns and the pressure they cause for fundraisers and their institutions. Macalester College is an example of a school charting a new path. How’s that working out?
Read MorePrivate companies, lobbying groups, and executives have recently severed financial ties with the Saudi government. The same can’t be said for American universities, which have received million in Saudi gifts.
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