<p>"DES MOINES, Iowa - A mystery is unfolding in the world of college fundraising: During the past few weeks, at least eight universities have received gifts totaling nearly $45 million, and the schools had to promise not to try to find out the giver’s identity.</p>
<p>One school went so far as to check with the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security just to make sure a $1.5 million gift didn’t come from illegal sources.</p>
<p>“In my last 28 years in fundraising … this is the first time I’ve dealt with a gift that the institution didn’t know who the donor is,” said Phillip D. Adams, vice president for university advancement at Norfolk State University, which received $3.5 million.</p>
<p>The gifts ranged from $8 million at Purdue to $1.5 million donated to the University of North Carolina at Asheville. The University of Iowa received $7 million; the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the University of Maryland at College Park got $6 million each; the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs was given $5.5 million…"
[University</a> mystery: Who gave $45 million? - Giving- msnbc.com](<a href=“http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30252318/]University”>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30252318/)</p>
<p>Wow, that’s amazing. Whether it’s the same person or a bunch of different (generous) people, what a great thing. I do wonder who did it, though, and why they’ve chosen to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>Seriously, I can’t believe how naive all of these university administrators are. Only one contacted FBI/Homeland Security? How can they even accept money from an unknown source? The money could be coming from Osama Bin Laden, or a drug lord. They don’t know and apparently they don’t care. Yes, it could be a criminal trying to atone for his sins. There are many not-so-wonderful possibilities.</p>
<p>I know Kalamazoo College received an anonymous $1 million donation a couple of weeks ago. </p>
<p>The release said they went so far as hiring a third party to deliver the funds. “We have no idea who the person is,” said Victoria Gorrell, vice president for college advancement, “but we are so grateful that he or she recognized that many students and families might be struggling in the current economy.” Gorrell said a representative from an out-of-state bank called in late March to announce the gift on the donor’s behalf. On April 2 the College received a cashier’s check for $1 million along with a letter that states, in part: “It is hoped that this will make a substantial difference to your students during these challenging times, enabling a more confident, sharper focus on their studies with improved career and life prospects.”</p>
<p>It’s not easy to donate anonymously. We often donate to various organizations and ask to be anonymous but someone knows who we are. There has to be a tax trace, no one gives that kind of money away without the tax credit, maybe they’ll know next year!</p>
<p>It is very hard to move money around without any trace. We have pretty sophisticated anti money laundry monitoring systems to track movement of money. In this case, I guess the donor won’t even get a tax deduction?</p>
<p>It would be possible to claim the tax deduction for a donation to a charity without the charity publicly announcing who the donor was. But depending on how anonymous this was at the beginning, it might not stay anonymous if the IRS audits the claimed deduction (which would be very likely, at that dollar amount). Possibly the donor can indeed afford to make the donation without worrying about missing out on a tax benefit from it.</p>
<p>Were all the recipients state schools? Purdue received $8 million - the most, I believe. I am HUGELY grateful to the anonymous donor as my D1 is at Purdue (OOS) in FYE Honors with the $10,000 per year Trustees Scholarship. We’ve been worried about whether Purdue could maintain the scholarship level in subsequent years in the current economy and investment environment. D2 will be going to U Wisconsin-Madison in August, also OOS, with only a few small local scholarships because UW doesn’t offer much in merit scholarship help. </p>
<p>I don’t care what the EFC says, coming up with a little over $50,000 a year (and likely to increase each year) for 2 kids in college is a HUGE struggle for our middle class family. Good grief - my CAR cost less than half that much, new!</p>
<p>I just hope the anony donor knows how much this means to families like ours. A HUGE thank you to the donor!</p>
<p>With assets of that size, the donor probably gave through his/her donor-advised fund at a foundation of some sort. In that case, s/he already received the tax deduction when the money was given to the foundation. It’s relatively easy for a foundation to make a gift without disclosing the donor.</p>
<p>As to why do it anonymously? Like lottery winners, donors don’t want to be on everyone’s hit list. Making gifts anonymously shields them from the public eye.</p>
<p>A very nice gesture indeed. Still, I wish the donor would send some of that $ along to my college! Small 2nd & 3rd tier LACs are struggling. (Ah, I think I just stumbled on one of the main reasons for anonymity.)</p>
<p>I agree that they probably don’t want to be flooded with requests for money from every university in the country. I do grant writing for several non-profits and they are always sending me tips about contacting someone who they read had donated money to somebody else. </p>
<p>It’s refreshing to see that someone doesn’t want their name on a building but then again it does raise questions as to where the money came from. I guess we can rule out the usual big donors who already have their names on buildings.</p>