Gifts of at least $50 million to colleges and universities announced in 2022 totaled nearly $4 billion, down from almost $4.55 billion the previous year, Barron’s reports. 

The largest such gift was $1.1 billion from Giving Pledge signatories John and Ann Doerr to establish the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford University. The second-largest gift was $425 million from Connie and Steve Ballmer through their Ballmer Group to establish the Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health at the University of Oregon. Other large education gifts include $350 million from Hansjörg Wyss to Harvard University for continued support of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering; $125 million from Estee Lauder heir Leonard Lauder to the University of Pennsylvania in support of an effort to recruit and educate nurse practitioners to work in underserved communities; and $100 million from John and Kathy Schreiber to Loyola University in Chicago to launch a $500 million initiative to assist historically underrepresented students with support services, scholarships, and room and board. 

According to Sue Cunningham, president and CEO of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, a global nonprofit membership organization focused on education, drops in large donations are likely due to circumstance rather than stock market performance. “Significant gifts are almost always the result of relationship building and planning over years and the development of a shared vision between the institution and the potential donor,” said Cunningham. “[They may also] inspire others to give to the same project or institution, or to choose something else that is closer to their passion and values.”

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