The Ivy League donor backlash is a PR nightmare, and that’s the point
Story by Analysis by Allison Morrow, CNN •
1d
Yesterday, we talked about some of the big-name, deep-pocketed businessmen who were, to say the least, disappointed with their alma maters’ responses to what they considered antisemitic behavior at Harvard and UPenn.
The donors’ backlash has become a serious PR headache for the schools. Which is exactly the point.
Donors understand as well as anyone that pulling their funds won’t inflict significant financial damage on Ivy League institutions, which boast huge endowments, my colleague Nathaniel Meyersohn reports. The point of donating — apart from showing support for your school out of the goodness of your heart — is to wield soft power within influential institutions that are shaping the minds of future generations. And to get a tax write-off, of course.
The impact of the angry donors’ pullback is less likely to be immediate, according to Lee Gardner, a writer at the Chronicle of Higher Education who covers higher education finance. But it could, he said, take a bite out of gifts or donations that might have been in the works down the road.
“Ivy League universities have the relative luxury of being enormously wealthy,” Gardner said. “They have a lot more financial insulation from the impact of some donors getting upset.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-ivy-league-donor-backlash-is-a-pr-nightmare-and-that-s-the-point/ar-AA1ixccM?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=67dfc3cf7e644b9d9c279660e8f0c4b6&ei=18
