Harvard University is facing a significant decline in donations, attributed to wealthy alumni’s discontent over the administration’s handling of antisemitism. According to a recent financial report released on October 17, donations for the 2024 fiscal year have dropped to $1.17 billion, down 15% from $1.38 billion the previous year.

Bloomberg noted that this marks the largest decline in fundraising for Harvard in nine years. Harvard’s President, Alan Garber, expressed his disappointment in a recent interview with the Harvard Crimson, stating, “Some of the new donations are disappointing compared to the past few years.”

Specifically, contributions designated for Harvard dropped by 34%, falling from $560.6 million to $368.1 million. However, the university’s endowment is projected to grow by 9.6% for the 2024 fiscal year, reaching a total value of $53.2 billion, the highest of any academic institution globally.

The reduction in donations follows a year marked by antisemitic incidents on campus and divisions among students stemming from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. CNBC reported that billionaire donor Ken Griffin, the founder of the hedge fund Citadel, publicly condemned antisemitism in January, expressing concern that Harvard is “lost in the wilderness” and announced he would halt his donations.

Additionally, another major donor, billionaire Len Blavatnik, has also reconsidered his contributions for similar reasons. The Blavatnik Family Foundation has previously donated at least $270 million to Harvard.

Despite the decrease in alumni contributions, Harvard’s overall revenue remains robust, with certain types of donations increasing over the past year. Notably, current use donations reached a record high of over $525 million, making it the second-highest in the university’s history.