Jean-Pierre Conte Gives as College Philanthropy Reaches $78 Billion

Colleges and universities in the United States took in about $78 billion from donors in the 2025 fiscal year, a 4% gain over the year before, according to the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, which has tracked the number for decades through its Voluntary Support of Education survey.

Individuals gave $17.5 billion of that total, up nearly 12% from a year earlier, while the money coming from foundations fell about 5% to $13 billion. Jean-Pierre Conte, a 1985 Colgate University graduate and a longtime supporter of higher education, sits among the individual donors stepping forward to help strengthen support for ...