Harvard endowment contributions fall by $150 million following campus turmoil
The decrease in contributions represents a 14 percent drop from 2023.
'The work ahead demands much of each of us,' President Alan Garber says in a new financial report.
Harvard University’s newly published 2024 financial report shows that the school’s yearly donation total fell by $151 million following controversies surrounding campus anti-Semitism and former President Claudine Gay.
Harvard experienced a $193 million decline to its endowment, as noted by The Harvard Crimson. The decrease in contributions represents a 14 percent drop from 2023.
“The work ahead demands much of each of us,” President Alan Garber says in the report. “Our University will emerge stronger from this time — not in spite of being tested, but because of it.”
In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, multiple major donors announced that they would pull donations to the Ivy League institution for the rise of campus anti-Semitism. In November, a “One Dollar Pledge” was launched in response to the campus culture that had formed “in which Jews feel unsafe.”
Vice President of Finance Ritu Kalra was recently asked by The Harvard Gazette about the “challenging” 2023-2024 academic year and the financial impact of “frequent public criticism and scrutiny.”
“Throughout the year, our most immediate focus was to ensure our students had the resources needed to support their physical and emotional well-being,” Kalra said. “Senior leaders across the University and its Schools also invested enormous time and energy in cultivating a campus environment that fosters open inquiry and responsible civil discourse as a North Star for intellectual and personal growth.”
“In fiscal year 2024, current-use giving reached the second-highest level in Harvard’s history, and Harvard Management Company (HMC) generated a 9.6 percent return in the endowment portfolio,” Kalra added. “The future will be more complicated — both the level of giving and the level of returns may be difficult to sustain — but we remain grateful to our donors for their steadfast belief in Harvard’s academic mission.”
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In a recent interview with the Crimson prior to the release of the financial report, President Garber indicated that “[s]ome of the new commitments have been disappointing compared to past years.”
Campus Reform has contacted Harvard University and Harvard President Alan Garber for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
