Annual Fund Donors Join the Revolt
Since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, billionaire megadonors like Bill Ackman, Ken Griffin, and Robert Kraft have made headlines by withdrawing their support from institutions of higher learning. But colleges also must contend with donor revolts among rank-and-file supporters — not to mention affluent donors whose checks may not reach seven figures but still feature a few zeroes, reports my colleague Drew Lindsay.
Drew spoke to Barnard College alum Rebecca Gray, class of 2013, who had donated regularly, attended reunions, and even created crossword puzzles for the college magazine.
Warm feelings for Barnard, a women’s college affiliated with Columbia University, failed to dilute Gray’s outrage watching video of New York City police round up pro-Palestinian protesters, including Barnard students, on Columbia’s campus last month, shortly after the protests began.
Gray wrote and circulated among fellow alumnae a letter denouncing the suspension of Barnard students who had been arrested. The 1,200 signatories — equal to more than a third of the college’s enrollment — call on the college to reinstate the students and divest from Israel. They also pledge to withhold donations and boycott campus events, including reunion.
Gray’s story is yet another sign that America’s most stalwart charity donors — college alumni and parents of students — are choosing sides in skirmishes between campus protesters and administrators. And they’re using their charity as leverage.
Matthew Schweber, a lawyer who graduated top of his class from Columbia in 1991 and later returned for a graduate degree in writing, says he routinely makes small gifts of less than $1,000. His brother and some cousins also attended: “It’s almost default in my family to go to this school.” But Schweber says the university has allowed violence and harassment of Jewish students to go unchecked as its faculty promoted an anti-Israel worldview. “I’m appalled,” Schweber says. “The only time I want to have anything to do with Columbia University is across the table in a lawsuit.”
Such extreme disaffection may not be the norm, but fundraisers worry that the turmoil may lead donors to disconnect and slip away. That’s particularly true now, with commencement and reunion season approaching its zenith. Dozens of colleges and universities are managing protests and encampments even as campuses primp for events that are critical to build connections. “These are the times when the spotlight is on the universities,” says Doug White, a former director of the master’s program for fundraising management at Columbia.
It won’t be clear until later this year, when colleges report fundraising totals, how much giving may be affected. The Chronicle contacted top development officials at Columbia, Emory University, New York University, and the University of Southern California, institutions where protests have led to arrests. They either did not respond or declined to comment.
College observers caution that protests don’t always equate to campus chaos and alumni rebellion. “My sense is that most universities are continuing to function as normal,” says Andrew Seligsohn, president of Public Agenda and a former college professor.
One Ivy League fundraiser who asked not to be named said colleagues at other private institutions are not openly worrying about the effects. “Students are still being students,” the official added. “I think commencement is still going to be about students and all their work and accomplishments.”
For more on the revolt by rank-and-file donors, read Drew’s entire story.