I was poorly saying that $50 to the Hurricane Club every year isn't the same as $50 to the university every year because consistent alumni donations is one of the measures of a university. That was the case before US News as well because it was supposed to indicate how well alumni valued their...
All most people see is a large donation that names a building. Alumni write checks to increase the value of their degree and that's what counts, both in dollar amount and number of donors. Right or wrong, that's part of a university's ranking.