MOST RECENT
Against the backdrop of rising funder interest and a controversial Supreme Court decision, the big-donor funding collaborative Blue Meridian Partners is tripling its investment in the HBCU Transformation Project.
Across the country, it’s looking as if the days of legacy preferences may be numbered. Will ending the policy hurt revenues, or bring about a welcome change in the higher ed fundraising landscape?
The campaign against affirmative action isn’t a lonely crusade by a committed activist and a band of disgruntled students; it’s an organized effort bankrolled by a powerful network of conservative funders.
Mildred Whittier helped launch Women for Golden Futures, a fundraising effort to support her alma mater Spelman College. We heard from her about the initiative, her history with Spelman, and how HBCUs can pull in more funding.
The longtime American Express chief was one of the first Black CEOs of a Fortune 500 firm. Chenault backs a range of causes alongside his wife Kathryn, with HBCUs and arts and culture looming large.
The Supreme Court decision ending affirmative action sent a shockwave throughout higher ed philanthropy. Leaders in the field offer a to-do list to help fellow funders carry out their missions in this new legal landscape.
HBCUs are poised to become a larger philanthropic cause following the Supreme Court ruling rejecting affirmative action. But for years, Black donors have been among their largest backers. Here are some of the biggest donors.
This basketball and broadcasting star has been supporting higher ed and other causes for years. The Supreme Court’s recent affirmative action ruling influenced one of his biggest commitments to date.
Ronda Stryker and William Johnston are frequent mega-donors with a foundation that’s laser-focused on Kalamazoo, Michigan. Big as the numbers are on paper, there’s reason to think their local support extends far further.
The Russell Sage Foundation's Pipeline Grants Competition, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, promotes the careers of diverse academics who study economic opportunity, equality and social mobility.
Henry and Susan Samueli are continuing their tradition of big giving to UC Irvine. But their support for the school hasn’t always been free of controversy, highlighting concerns over megadonor influence in higher ed.
In February, Jacob Fraire took the helm at this L.A.-based, national higher ed funder. We spoke with Fraire about growing up in a family of migrant farmworkers, his path to college, and the meaning of strategic philanthropy.
The wealth gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” in higher ed continues to grow at an alarming rate. A new book looks at how how trustees at wealthy schools — and their alumni — can reverse the trend.
The megadonor couple just committed $500 million to Stony Brook University in New York. Is this a sign of more huge gifts down the road? And can other states learn from New York’s higher ed endowment matching program?
Does a series of recent awards for climate-related university projects suggest a promising fundraising trend amid a planetary crisis, or is this just a case of more of the same?
One of the founders of the investment giant Carlyle Group, D'Aniello and his wife Gayle have made some big gifts for higher ed, spirituality and Catholic causes, and a leading conservative think tank. Here’s a rundown.
The popular Jewish student organization Hillel is marking a century in operation with an ambitious fundraising campaign. The effort has raised more than $100 million to bolster its work at a critical time.
After selling her company and starting the Barr-Campbell Family Foundation, a UC Berkeley alum awarded the university $10 million to launch an ambitious master’s degree program focused on rural healthcare.
Unlike most nonprofit leaders who’ve received toxic gifts, Bard President Leon Botstein has clearly laid out his reasons for soliciting donations from Jeffrey Epstein. We suspect he isn’t the only decision-maker who thinks this way.
A $260 million gift from the Lord Foundation of California to USC seeded a billion-dollar, campus-wide effort to reshape technology research and teaching. It’s part of a unique windfall of funds that boosted four universities.
A new report shows that after years of underinvestment, HBCUs saw a bump in support during 2020. Such schools have a long way to go toward funding parity, however, and the report’s authors are calling for lasting commitments.
Matt and Lisa Allen derive their wealth from real estate behemoth Related Group. Their family has been donating to hospitals and universities for a while, but recently formalized their giving. Here’s an early look.
David Tepper, founder of Appaloosa Management, is worth $18.5 billion, and has a growing philanthropic footprint that spans New York and New Jersey, South Florida, and the Carolinas. Here are some key causes and grants.
The billionaire’s mega-gift to Harvard isn’t his first such commitment, and it’s one of an endless array of higher ed naming gifts. The practice may be ubiquitous, but that’s all the more reason it should be questioned.
This funder supports universities, policy institutes, media organizations and museums. We check in with the foundation’s leader to discuss her career trajectory, advice for fundraisers and more.
Its founders are long gone, but this 85-year-old, Indiana-based foundation keeps getting bigger — now likely the second-largest in the U.S. Can Lilly’s grantmaking keep up with its explosive growth?
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education found that the stock market peaked in late 2021, just as donors were reaching for their checkbooks. We dig into other findings, including the return of familiar giving habits.
Native Forward, the largest organization supporting Native American scholars in the U.S., is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Even after a gift from MacKenzie Scott doubled its budget, it is able to fund just 14% of applicants.
An iconic journalist and TV personality, Barbara Walters was also an active philanthropist. Here’s an overview of what she supported and some details on her giving vehicle, the Dena Charitable Trust.
For young adults brought to the U.S. when they were children, paying for college can be prohibitively expensive. That’s especially true for graduate school, so Cal Wellness is backing a unique fund that provides financial aid.