Mystery Donor Gives Away Millions

By Ed Pilkington /New York

A new parlour game has entered the normally restrained world of US philanthropy: guessing the identity of a mystery donor who is lavishing millions of dollars on colleges with the proviso that his or her identity remains unknown.

The buzz around the anonymous donations - currently 14 of them worth a total of about $75mn - has been heightened by the fact that all but one of the universities are public, with none of the advantages of the Ivy League. Even more intriguingly, all the recipient colleges are led by presidents who are women.

The money started hitting the universities about seven weeks ago and there has been a steady stream of offers since then. A faceless intermediary - often a bank or financial house - contacts the college administrators, offers the donation on behalf of the nameless client, and then send cheques or money orders for millions of dollars.


Michigan State University was given $10mn and 10 colleges have each been handed $5mn or more, with the stipulation that most of the money should go towards financial grants helping poor students, particularly women and people from ethnic minorities.

Speculation is rampant about the possible donor or donors, though recipients have been careful not to follow their curiosity so far that they risk the terms of the gift. The name of Oprah Winfrey has perhaps inevitably been floated, as has the thought that the individual is a publicity-shy billionaire or even dead and leaving instructions in a will.

Melissa Berman, who runs a New York-based advisory service for donors, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisers, said she had no idea who the mystery donor was, but she did have a sense of the character type.

“My belief is that it’s an older woman or her estate, from the Second World War generation ... Women of that generation had no automatic opportunity to go to college even if they came from a family with money, and the role of women in leadership positions was still new and exciting.” - Guardian News & Media