Donations Increase for 3rd Year in a Row

By ERIN STROUT

Bigger gifts account for rise, but fewer alumni gave; foundation grants also up

The country's colleges and universities raised an estimated $28-billion in private donations in the 2006 fiscal year, $2.4-billion, or 9.4 percent, more than in 2005. The significant jump, the biggest one-year increase since 2000, was the result of larger donations from alumni and other individual donors, many of whom were solicited through numerous major fund-raising campaigns.

According to the