Donations to universities decline for first time in 15 years
From Fri 3/14/2003 1:12 AM
I'm not surprised at this news in the New York Times since many universities have built up pretty significant endowments and many have no desire to keep supporting them when there are so many other organizations needing money in these tough times:
For the first time in 15 years, charitable contributions to universities and colleges dropped last year, according to a survey of 960 institutions that will be released today. The figures provide some of the clearest evidence to date of the effect that a shrunken stock market and weakened economy are having on philanthropy.
Educational institutions vie with churches for distinction as the nation's top beneficiaries of philanthropy, but in the year that ended June 30, 2002, donations fell 1.2 percent, to $23.9 billion, compared with $24.2 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to the survey.