US universities, colleges get record donations

US colleges and universities raised a record $46.7 billion in donations during the 2018 academic fiscal year, 7.2 percent more than in 2017, and the highest amount ever raised, according to a survey released on Monday.

Harvard, Stanford and Columbia universities led with each receiving more than $1 billion, according to the Council for Advancement and Support of Education's Voluntary Support of Education survey.

Harvard University topped the list, with $1.28 billion raised. The Massachusetts-based school is in the final months of a capital campaign that has raised more than $8 billion, far more than its goal of $6 billion.

The $43.6 billion is the largest amount ever counted by the annual survey since it began in 1957. The survey includes data from 929 institutions this year.

The increase in donations was buoyed by a surge in giving by alumni, a strong stock market and strategically timed gifts allowing donors to prepare for changes in tax laws, according to the survey.

Though the top 10 schools receiving the most donations represent less than 1 percent of all US colleges and universities, they raised 18 percent of all funds last year, according to the survey. Seven schools received gifts of at least $100 million in fiscal 2018.