With one exception, the 20 private nonprofit institutions that raised the most in private donations in the 2016 fiscal year also ranked in the top 31 among all institutions for the largest endowments. Those top fund raisers in the private nonprofit sector also tended to have graduation rates above 90 percent and percentages of Pell Grant recipients below 20 percent. The University of Miami was the only institution among the top 20 private nonprofit institutions for fund raising that had an endowment of less than $1 billion, and the University of California at San Diego was the only one among the top 20 public institutions. Among all 40 institutions, the San Diego campus also had the second-highest percentage of students who were awarded Pell Grants in 2014-15.
4-year private nonprofit institutions
| 1. | Harvard U. | $1,187,530,292 | $64,400 | 12% | 98% | $34,541,893,000 | 1 |
| 2. | Stanford U. | $951,149,098 | $64,477 | 16% | 94% | $22,398,130,000 | 4 |
| 3. | U. of Southern California | $666,640,686 | $67,212 | 23% | 92% | $4,608,714,000 | 21 |
| 4. | Johns Hopkins U. | $657,292,634 | $65,496 | 12% | 94% | $3,381,281,000 | 28 |
| 5. | Cornell U. | $588,261,922 | $65,494 | 15% | 93% | $5,757,722,000 | 19 |
| 6. | Columbia U. | $584,808,916 | $69,084 | 22% | 95% | $9,041,027,000 | 11 |
| 7. | U. of Pennsylvania | $542,850,553 | $66,800 | 14% | 95% | $10,715,364,000 | 7 |
| 8. | Yale U. | $519,146,339 | $66,445 | 13% | 97% | $25,408,600,000 | 2 |
| 9. | Duke U. | $506,440,564 | $66,739 | 14% | 95% | $6,839,780,000 | 15 |
| 10. | New York U. | $461,149,577 | $68,400 | 22% | 84% | $3,487,702,000 | 27 |
| 11. | U. of Chicago | $443,304,691 | $70,100 | 11% | 92% | $7,001,204,000 | 14 |
| 12. | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | $419,752,498 | $63,250 | 18% | 92% | $13,181,515,000 | 6 |
| 13. | Northwestern U. | $401,679,496 | $68,060 | 14% | 93% | $9,648,497,000 | 10 |
| 14. | U. of Notre Dame | $371,762,438 | $64,775 | 11% | 97% | $8,374,083,000 | 12 |
| 15. | Washington U. in St Louis | $269,876,662 | $67,751 | 7% | 93% | $6,461,717,000 | 16 |
| 16. | Princeton U. | $267,875,832 | $61,160 | 15% | 97% | $22,152,580,000 | 5 |
| 17. | U. of Miami | $236,333,647 | $62,329 | 16% | 82% | $844,643,000 | 106 |
| 18. | Dartmouth College | $227,037,580 | $67,044 | 14% | 94% | $4,474,404,000 | 22 |
| 19. | Brown U. | $207,725,021 | $65,380 | 16% | 96% | $2,963,366,000 | 31 |
| 20. | Emory U. | $192,699,880 | $63,058 | 20% | 89% | $6,401,650,000 | 17 |
4-year public institutions
| 1. | U. of California at San Francisco | $595,940,070 | — | — | — | $1,138,815,000 | 80 |
| 2. | U. of Washington, multiple campuses | $541,444,150 | $27,034 | 24% | 84% | $2,968,013,000 | 30 |
| 3. | U. of California at Los Angeles | $498,800,296 | $33,391 | 35% | 91% | $1,803,671,000 | 47 |
| 4. | U. of Michigan, multiple campuses | $433,775,518 | $27,812 | 15% | 90% | $9,743,461,000 | 9 |
| 5. | Ohio State U., multiple campuses | $386,111,783 | $25,579 | 21% | 83% | $3,578,562,000 | 25 |
| 6. | Indiana U., multiple campuses | $360,935,740 | $24,539 | 16% | 77% | $1,986,464,000 | 42 |
| 7. | U. of California at Berkeley | $348,865,132 | $35,255 | 31% | 92% | $1,585,935,000 | 56 |
| 8. | U. of Texas at Austin | $345,991,576 | $26,322 | 25% | 80% | $24,203,213,000 | 3 |
| 9. | U. of Minnesota, multiple campuses | $345,640,311 | $26,304 | 20% | 77% | $3,280,681,000 | 29 |
| 10. | U. of Oklahoma at Norman | $322,435,573 | $25,160 | 23% | 66% | $1,520,354,000 | 60 |
| 11. | U. of Wisconsin at Madison | $318,828,052 | $24,673 | 14% | 85% | $2,419,161,000 | 33 |
| 12. | U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | $308,694,373 | $24,349 | 22% | 90% | $2,889,679,000 | 32 |
| 13. | U. of Colorado, multiple campuses | $281,481,973 | $31,393 | 17% | 71% | $1,062,664,000 | 89 |
| 14. | Texas A&M U. at College Station | $276,474,802 | $24,772 | 22% | 79% | $10,539,526,000 | 8 |
| 15. | U. of Virginia | $245,391,966 | $29,572 | 13% | 93% | $5,852,309,000 | 18 |
| 16. | U. of Florida | $243,666,490 | $20,661 | 30% | 87% | $1,461,347,000 | 65 |
| 17. | U. of Nebraska, multiple campuses | $214,458,958 | $23,377 | 21% | 67% | $1,475,090,000 | 63 |
| 18. | U. of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center | $208,481,621 | — | 40% | —
| $24,203,213,000 | 3 |
| 19. | U. of California at San Diego | $206,872,666 | $31,466 | 38% | 87% | $536,134,000 | 165 |
| 20. | U. of Utah | $201,854,380 | $21,777 | 30% | 64% | $1,076,649,000 | 87 |
* Endowment figures may not cover the same-sized entity as the figures for private donations raised in the 2016 fiscal year. For instance, the endowment figure in the row for Texas A&M University at College Station covers the entire Texas A&M University system and multiple supporting foundations, not just the College Station campus. Similarly, the endowment figures in the rows for the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center are for the entire University of Texas system. Many endowment figures include funds from colleges’ related foundations.
† Rankings for the amount raised in private donations are counted separately by sector, whereas rankings for endowments encompass both private and public institutions.
Note: Data on private donations are based on survey responses from more than 950 institutions to the Council for Aid to Education’s Voluntary Support of Education survey. The survey tracked gifts that were received, not just promised, during the 2016 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, 2016, for most institutions. In cases in which multiple campuses are covered in the total fund-raising amount, the figures for tuition, percentage of Pell Grant students, and graduation rates are for the main campus only. Tuition, fees, room, and board are for first-time, full-time undergraduate students in 2015-16. The percentage of Pell Grant recipients is for all undergraduate students in 2014-15. The graduation rate is for bachelor’s degrees earned within six years, current as of August 31, 2015. Endowment market values are as of the end of the institution’s 2016 fiscal year, although New York University’s endowment is as of June 30, 2016, though its fiscal year ended on August 31. Endowment figures are based on responses from 805 institutions participating in the Nacubo-Commonfund Study of Endowments. The notation “—” means “not available” or “not applicable.” The University of California at San Francisco has no data on undergraduate tuition, Pell Grant recipients, and six-year graduation rates because it serves only graduate students. The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center serves undergraduates but had no first-time, full-time undergraduates.
Sources: Council for Aid to Education (private-donation amounts and rankings); U.S. Department of Education (tuition, percentage of Pell Grant students, graduation rates); National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund Institute (endowment market values and rankings)