Stanford becomes 1st school to raise more than $1 billion in a year

The nation’s top fund-raising institution last year, Stanford University, raised $1.03 billion from donors, the first to raise more than $1 billion in a given year.

Out of the nation’s top 10 fund-raising institutions, two others were in California, with the University of Southern California raising $492 million and the University of California, Berkeley raising $405 million, according to a list by the Council for Aid to Education.

Among other California schools, UCLA raised $344 million and Caltech pulled in $100 million.

Big donors overall felt a little more charitable toward U.S. colleges and universities last year.

Giving to these institutions rose 2.3% in 2012 over the prior year. A total of $31 billion was given to higher education institutions, still shy of the record $31.6 billion set in 2008, according to the council. About half of the institutions -- 52.8% -- raised the same last year as they did the year prior. The rest reported a decline.

Here are the top 10 in fund-raising for 2012:

1. Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. — $1.035 billion

2. Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. — $650 million

3. Yale University, New Haven, Conn. — $544 million

4. University of Southern California — $492 million

5. Columbia University, New York — $490 million

6. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore — $480 million

7. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia — $441 million

8. University of California, Berkeley — $405 million

9 New York University, New York — $396 million

10. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. — $379 million

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