---
title: American Colleges Raised More Money Than Ever Last Year
description: 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
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published: '2017-02-07T13:49:40.000Z'
modified: '2024-05-16T12:12:30.000Z'
section: Education
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![Views Of Harvard University And The Massachusetts Institute Of Technology](https://img.money.com/2017/02/harvard-university-donations.jpg)
*The Baker Library of the Harvard Business School stands on Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts on, June 30, 2015.*

U.S. colleges [raised a record $41 billion](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-07/harvard-s-record-1-2-billion-haul-erased-by-investment-losses) 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](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-07/harvard-s-record-1-2-billion-haul-erased-by-investment-losses), 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.

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