Harvard donations drop by 15% amid antisemitism scandals

‘Some of the new commitments have been disappointing compared to past years,’ Harvard President Alan Garber said in an interview with The Harvard Crimson.

By JNS

Amid dissatisfaction with Harvard University’s handling of antisemitism on campus, donations to that institution this year dropped by 15% over 2023, according to a financial report released on Thursday.

The drop to $1.17 billion in 2024 from $1.38 billion the previous year constitutes the greatest decline in donations in nearly a decade for Harvard, one of the nation’s oldest and wealthiest institutions, Bloomberg reported.

“Some of the new commitments have been disappointing compared to past years,” Harvard President Alan Garber said in an interview with The Harvard Crimson.

Incidents of antisemitism at Harvard over the Israel-Hamas conflict have put the institution at the center of a national controversy.

In January, billionaire donor Ken Griffin cited these issues in announcing that he would cease donations, fearing that the university had “lost its way,” as he put it.

“Until Harvard makes it clear that they’re committed to educating young leaders and tackling tough issues, I’m not interested in supporting the institution,” Griffin told CNBC.

Len Blavatnik also suspended his donations following concerns over the university’s handling of antisemitism, according to Bloomberg. His foundation has donated at least $270 million to Harvard.

Earlier this year, Claudine Gay resigned as Harvard president amid controversy over plagiarism and her testimony in a congressional hearing on antisemitism, in which she said that calls to commit genocide against Jews might not violate Harvard’s code of conduct.

Whether or not such calls constituted a violation of Harvard’s rules “depended on the context,” she said, and answer for which she later apologized.

Despite the overall decline in 2024, however, Harvard’s financial position remains robust. Donations that can be spent immediately, known as “current use donations,” reached over $525 million—the second-highest level in the university’s history.

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