An article in the NYTimes suggests that at some prominent colleges and universities alumni donations are down because of campus activism and perceived abandonment of tradition.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/us/college-protests-alumni-donations.html
I'd guess that just about every generation of alumni has bemoaned the values of current students, but in some cases schools are feeling the pinch. Princeton is always a leader in alumni contributions, but, the article notes, "At Princeton, where protesters unsuccessfully demanded the removal of Woodrow Wilson’s name from university buildings and programs, undergraduate alumni donations dropped 6.6 percent from a record high the year before, and participation dropped 1.9 percentage points."
While the article doesn't demonstrate a connection between the activism and reduction in donations, they do cite some examples at other schools. They don't really present enough data to connect the dots, IMO.
I also wonder about whether the enormous donations from the super-rich discourage smaller donors. These days, multi-billion dollar fundraising goals are common. And when a hedge fund billionaire kicks in a few hundred million, do alums of mosdest means decide their $100 or even $1,000 is just a rounding error and not worth bothering with? That hundred bucks won't mean much to the school, but keeping that alum engaged as an annual donor could pay off in a much bigger way when he/she sells a company or leaves a bequest.
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