When a Major Donor Can't Complete a Pledge

It’s hard to watch $38 million melt away.

But that’s effectively what Marian University in Indianapolis has had to do. The small Roman Catholic university on the city’s west side secured a very public $48 million pledge from a wealthy donor at the beginning of the decade as it sought to expand with a new medical school. Then a series of business troubles hit the donor, drastically cutting his wealth and his ability to pay.

Today, the university said it has received just less than $10 million of the pledged donation. It’s budgeting as if no more is coming.