<p>The donor has specified that Tufts must invest the gift in "microfinance" loans to poor people in developing countries. </p>
<p>What I've read about microfinance sounds really impressive---the economic payback is very good (because of the built-in community incentives to make sure that these loans are repaid) and the SOCIAL payoff is huge--in terms of giving poor people the tools to become self-sufficient and achieve a better standard of living.</p>
<p>And to top it all off, the Tufts students can learn from watching the investment process.</p>
<p>That's really exciting. And I like how the proceeds are going to be spent--it includes loan forgiveness for graduates working in the public sector, and tuition remission for disadvantaged students attending summer programs.</p>
<p>Hmmmmmmm, armies of people to process and monitor small loans in other countriesl--sound like a surefire winner to me. I hope Tufts is not planning on spending much of that $$$$.</p>
<p>First of all, the gift is going to be used quite differently. Due to the complexity of the arrangement, I am sure this gift has been in the works for a very long time.</p>
<p>I remember when Brown announced their huge gift (for aid) right after Michigan announced theirs (for the business school) and thinking that Brown gift definitely stole a little of Michigan's thunder. However, I assume the planning, down to the day of the announcement, was decided long before and without knowledge of the other institution's plans. I can see an institution putting off an announcement if they were inadvertantly planned for the same day (who wants to share headlines), but moving it up to be on the tails of another school's large gift seems far less likely to me.</p>