Donations to colleges up, but for how long?

Harvard University has the largest total endowment, $34.9 billion, of any US college or university. (David L. Ryan/Globe Staff/File 2007)

Donations to colleges and universities rose solidly last year, to a record of nearly $30 billion, with the wealthiest universities again attracting a hugely disproportionate share, a survey shows. But the economic downturn means the fund-raising pace for 2008 could slow.

Private donations to higher education rose 6.3 percent last year to $29.75 billion, according to the annual Voluntary Support of Education survey, to be released today by the Council for Aid to Education.

The already wealthy schools - with leading faculty researchers and the most sophisticated fund-raising operations - had the most success attracting new donations. The top 20 fund-raisers raised $518 million more than last year, and a total of $7.66 billion. They account for just 2 percent of survey respondents, but accounted for more than a quarter of all contributions to colleges and universities, and nearly one-third of the total increase in giving.

Stanford University raised $832.4 million, the most of any institution, though its total was down from the $911 million it raised last year - the largest one-year haul ever for a university.

Next was Harvard University ($614 million), which has the largest total endowment ($34.9 billion as of June 30, 2007), followed by the University of Southern California ($469.7 million), and Johns Hopkins ($430.5 million).

The survey tracks donations by fiscal year, so it essentially covers the 2006-2007 school year and doesn't reflect the economic slowdown that began last fall.

Next year's survey, however, could mark the end of an extraordinary run for higher education that has let at least 76 institutions build endowments of $1 billion or more, according to the most recent figures from the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

During the last economic slowdown, in fiscal 2002 and 2003, fund-raising growth was stagnant for two straight years.

Historically, economic conditions do affect giving to colleges, but not necessarily dramatically, said Ann Kaplan, who directs the survey.

"It tends to be fairly stable once someone has a habit of giving to a college or university," she said. "It's a fairly reliable connection people make to an institution they attended or some of the other institutions."

"The biggest predictor of fund-raising success is generally the stock market - if stocks are doing well, fund-raising does well," said Paul Robell, vice president for development and alumni affairs at the University of Florida.