While the percentage of alumni making gifts fell to 8.7 percent from 9.2 percent a year earlier, the group remained the most significant contributor after foundations.
“That is troubling,” said Charles Phlegar, vice president for alumni affairs and development at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, regarding lower alumni participation. “That’s something all of us have to be concerned about long term.”
Cornell raised $475 million in the period, ranking it seventh.
Alumni giving increased 17 percent to $9 billion last year from $7.7 billion the year before. Only corporations cut their largesse, with giving falling 2.9 percent to $5.1 billion.
Almost 60 percent of schools said they raised more in 2013 than the previous year. Contributions for current operations increased 6.9 percent, and gifts for capital purposes rose 12.4 percent.
While the current fiscal year still has more than four months left, the “bellwethers for giving” in higher education are positive, Kaplan said in a statement.
“The level of giving in 2013 was indeed impressive and will be challenging to exceed,” she said.
Schools that raised the most in the year ended June 2013
1. Stanford University ($931.57 million)
2. Harvard University ($792.26 million)
3. University of Southern California ($674.51 million)
4. Columbia University ($646.66 million)
5. Johns Hopkins University ($518.57 million)