Fundraising up for colleges in 2011, especially the already rich

The latest annual college fundraising figures from the Voluntary Support of Education survey by Council for Aid to Education show donations to colleges and universities rose 8.2 percent in fiscal 2011, crossing back over the $30 billion mark for just the second time ever.

But the very richest universities accounted for nearly half the growth: Of the $30.3 billion collected by colleges and universities nationwide, $8.2 billion — or 27 percent — was raised by just the top 20 institutions. At those universities, fundraising was 15.3 percent higher than the year before.