2% of donors supply 89% of college giving — something is going to give

In 1638, John Harvard, an English-born Puritan minister and teacher in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, bequeathed 400 books and half his £779 estate, today equivalent to roughly US$2 million, to the college that would be renamed in his honor after his death. In addition to launching America’s oldest university, Harvard’s donation began a tradition of philanthropy for U.S. colleges and universities that has continued ever since. Today, philanthropy is an important source of higher education funding that covers an average of 10% of college and university budgets. Based on our decades of experience as scholars, academic administrators and school fundraisers, we believe that donors – and not just big ones – are especially important to colleges and universities in tough times. Since January 2025, the Trump administration has targeted colleges and universities with research funding cuts, student financial aid caps and new restrictions on how long…