In an annual college fundraising survey conducted by the Council for Aid to Education, Stanford University topped the list for 2012. It collected more than $billion in funds in a single year becoming the first such institution in the country to do so.
Stanford raised 46 percent more compared to the $709 million in 2011.
For eight consecutive years, the university has topped the list for collecting the maximum amount in donation.
"We are in awe and remain humbled by this kind of response. It was a remarkable showing of generosity," Martin Shell, Stanford's vice president for development, told Washington Post. "Higher education for most people represents hope for a better future, and donors want to invest in that."
Taking the second spot on the list is Harvard University with $650 million, followed by Yale University ($544 million), the University of Southern California ($492 million) and Columbia University ($490 million).
Last year, around 3,500 universities and colleges in the country gathered $ 31 million, which is 2.3 percent more than the previous year.
The top 10 colleges on the list, altogether raised $5.3 billion, which is 17 percent, out of $31 billion.
Stanford's achievement can be attributed, to its multi-year Stanford Challenge fundraising campaign, which produced $6.2 billion and a $1 billion campaign for its medical school and hospitals.
Also the university's alumni list includes prominent and eminent personalities from companies such as Yahoo, who have donated massively in the recent years.
People outside to the university have also contributed to its success, which accounts for a total of 79,000 donors. Among them, Silicon Valley investor Robert King and his wife Dorothy bestowed $150 million gift to the university. Out of that money, $ 100 million was utilised to establish the Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies.
