There are 141 higher-education institutions among the 400 nonprofit organizations receiving the largest amounts of private donations, according to a list compiled by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
By contrast, only one elementary and secondary institution, Phillips Academy, appeared on the list, ranking 360th in donations.
Although there are more than 400,000 nonprofit groups in the country, the report noted, more than one in every eight charitable dollars go to the top 400 recipients, which received a total of more than $17 billion.
The data were based on the organizations’ own fiscal years ending between December 1989 and mid-1991.
The Salvation Army topped the list with $658.7 million in donations. Harvard University, the 10th-biggest recipient with $195.5 million, led all colleges and universities.
Loading youth groups took in the following amounts: the Boy Scouts of America, $194.9 million; Boys and Girls Clubs of America, $157.3 million; Campus Crusade for Christ, $123.5 million; Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., $82.6 million; and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, $70.8 million.
The Annenberg Foundation last month unveiled education grants totaling $1.46 million, the first since the philanthropy announced in May that K-12 education would be its major focus.
The foundation pledged $400,000 to the Teachers Academy for Mathematics and Science in Chicago to improve instruction in Chicago-area primary schools.
It also committed $100,000 to the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia for a weekend academy on the history, culture, and politics of the Middle East for Pennsylvania teachers.
The St. Davids, Pa., foundation will also give $250,000 to the Philadelphia High School Academies project to expand its career-oriented educational program. The Philadelphia Urban Coalitions will receive $250,000 for its efforts to provide inner-city high-school students with personal mentors and educational-enrichment opportunities.
Reaffirming a growing interest in teacher education, the Metropolitan Life Foundation last month awarded $300,000 to five universities and neighboring school districts to improve teacher training, recruitment, and precollegiate curricula.
The winners of the grants, ranging from $30,000 to $75,000, were Michigan State University and the Lansing schools, North Carolina State University and the Franklinton schools, the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Kayenta Unified School District, the University of Louisville and the Jefferson County schools, and the University of Washington and a consortium of schools from Bellevue, Lynwood, and Seattle.--J.W.
