2% of donors supply 89% of college giving — something is going to give

In 1638, John Harvard , an English-born Puritan minister and teacher in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, bequeathed 400 books and half his £779 estate, today equivalent to roughly US$2 million, to the college that would be renamed in his honor after his death.

In addition to launching America’s oldest university, Harvard’s donation began a tradition of philanthropy for U.S. colleges and universities that has continued ever since.

Today, philanthropy is an important source of higher education funding that covers an average of 10% of college and university budgets .

Based on our decades of experience as scholars , academic administrators and school fundraisers , we believe that donors – and not just big ones – are especially important to colleges and universities in tough times.

In the crosshairs Since January 2025, the Trump administration has targeted colleges and universities with research funding cuts , student financial aid caps and new restrictions on how long international students can stay in the United States .

University endowments have been in the crosshairs since the first Trump administration’s 2017 tax reform package .

The big 2025 tax-and-spending package Trump signed raised the taxes on some schools’ endowments .

A rule the Trump administration proposed in September 2026 would threaten private schools’ tax-exempt status if any of their programs use race-based criteria.

There are demographic problems too.

Fewer students are choosing to go to college, and the number of high school graduates who could attend is falling due to a declining birthrate .

Although colleges and universities are providing more financial aid than ever , students and their families are still struggling to pay for college .

Some schools are being forced to close their doors.

Sixteen colleges shut down in 2025 alone , including Indiana’s only predominantly Black college, Martin University, and ecologically focused Sterling College in Vermont.

And at least 40 colleges have been acquired by other schools since 2020, including Marymount Manhattan College and Mills College , which are now part of Northeastern University’s global network.