The Charles Koch Foundation is increasing its donations to colleges and universities.
The Associated Press examined the foundation’s most recent tax records. The study found that the organization gave almost $49 million to more than 250 colleges across the U.S. in 2016. That is almost double its 2015 gift amount.
John Hardin is director of university relations for the Koch Foundation. He said the increase is a result of increasing knowledge of the foundation’s program of giving. He said more professors are requesting money for their research. Hardin also said schools receive more money as their relationships with the foundation grow. So, schools that got gifts of a few thousand dollars five years ago now might receive hundreds of thousands, or millions, of dollars.
Hardin said aid requests cover research in economics, criminal justice and free expression.
George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, a public school, receives more money from the Koch Foundation than any other learning center. In 2016, the organization gave GMU more than $19 million. That amounted to almost 40 percent of the foundation’s total gifts that year.
Critics have questioned whether the Koch Foundation support has affected independent thought and study at the university.
GMU’s president, Angel Cabrera, and other school administrators have repeatedly said the money has not had such an effect.
