Yale Sees Donations Dwindle

Yale is reporting a huge drop-off in donations late in the year, recording $59 million in December 2008, compared with $144 million in the same period of 2007, the Yale Daily News reports. Although 2008's number is around the same as the 2006 figure, Yale officials are worried because the rest of 2008 was relatively dismal: down 33 percent from two years prior.

"As we know, it's a difficult time financially," said a development official. "But what's amazing is the speed with which things have happened."