Between Fundraising and Endowment, Harvard’s Coffers Look Full

Just as everything financial-related seems to be burning to the ground, Harvard reports it has collected $651 million in fundraising this year—the second-largest total in history and 6 percent higher than last year's total, the Crimson reports. The school is not even in the midst of a capital campaign, unlike Stanford, the only school to top Harvard in fundraising. (Stanford is in the middle of five-year, $3.4 billion campaign—one of the largest in higher education history—and raked in $832 million last year.)

Meanwhile, Harvard's endowment isn't doing too badly, either, growing 8.6 percent last year. The single-digit growth doesn't top last year's astounding 23 percent increase, but it compares well with industry standard indices, such as the S&P 500, which dropped 13 percent over the same period.

According to the Yale Daily News , Yale also showed growth in its endowment, although the school's financial officers would not reveal the exact amount.