What's in a Name? Lately, Not Much

In spate of large anonymous donations, college fund raisers spot a trend

By ERIN STROUT

In the last 20 months, colleges have received more than $725-million in big gifts from anonymous donors.

That's a lot of money, but there's not much more to say. When a donor's name is attached to a big gift, the college gets media attention, alumni interest, and often,...