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  1. Education
  2. Colleges and Universities

American Colleges Raised More Money Than Ever Last Year

Published: Feb 07, 2017 1 min read
Views Of Harvard University And The Massachusetts Institute Of Technology
The Baker Library of the Harvard Business School stands on Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts on, June 30, 2015.
Victor J. Blue—Bloomberg/Getty Images

U.S. colleges raised a record $41 billion in fiscal year 2016—and Harvard University led them all with a record $1.2 billion in donations.

Harvard's intake was still not enough to make up for $2 billion in spending and investment losses, Bloomberg reported, citing a survey released Tuesday by the Council for Aid to Education, which tracks university giving.

Overall, donations were an important source of funding last year, as U.S. college endowments fell 1.9% on average. Stanford, which came second to Harvard, raised $951 million. In third place, the University of Southern California received $667 million in donations.

The survey, which included responses from about 950 schools, showed that wealth was concentrated among the richest schools. The top 20 schools received 27% of all donations, Bloomberg reported.