Election Section

SAN FRANCISCO — Stanford University attracted more money from private donors than any other U.S. school last year, according to a new survey by the Chronicle for Philanthropy to be released later this week. 

Stanford raised $580.5 million during the 2000 fiscal year, which university officials attributed to the then-robust stock market. The sum ranked Stanford eighth nationwide among hundreds of competing charitable organizations. 

Harvard University, the only other school in the top 10, raised $485.2 million. 

“Stanford had a phenomenal year,” said David Glen, associate vice president of the school’s Office of Development. “We are very pleased with the results.” 

The figures came from the Chronicle’s annual survey of the top 400 nonprofit fund-raisers. To make that list, a charity needed to raise nearly $31 million from individuals, corporations, foundations and other private sources. 

The Salvation Army ranked first for the ninth consecutive year, pulling in $1.44 billion. The rest of the top 10 were: 

— Fidelity Investment Charitable Gift Fund: $1.1 billion 

— YMCA of the USA: $812.1 million 

— American Cancer Society: $746.4 million 

— Lutheran Services in America: $710.3 million 

— American Red Cross: $637.7 million 

— Gifts In Kind International: $601.9 million 

— Stanford University: $580.5 million 

— Harvard University: $485.2 million 

— Nature Conservancy: $445.3 million 

Glen said Stanford, like any institution, has peaks and drops in donations from year to year, and said the $580 million reflected the school’s best year to date. He said the total was a combination of smaller gifts, not any one large gift in particular. Stanford was 19th in the previous year’s survey. 

Stanford’s 2000 fiscal year ran from Aug. 31, 1999, to Aug. 31, 2000. 

In May of this year, Stanford received $400 million from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the second-largest donation to an institution of higher learning. 

Over the weekend, Gordon and Betty Moore and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation gave the largest donation — $600 million over 10 years to the California Institute of Technology. Gordon Moore was a co-founder of Intel. 

Around the country, charities have raised more than $1 billion to aid victims and support recovery from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, undercutting charities not playing a direct role in the relief effort. 

Groups raising money for causes such as the environment or AIDS research are postponing fund drives and scaling back programs as a result. 

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On the Net: 

http://www.philanthropy.com