A fundraising campaign, drawing the support of alumni and a host of other philanthropists, more than doubled the charitable contributions George Washington University received last year. Giving at the tony private school in Washington, D.C., soared to $248 million in the 12 months ending June, up from $98.5 million a year earlier.

And new data shows it’s not the only area school benefiting from the largess of donors, who were buoyed by a strong economy. An annual survey from the Council for Aid to Education found that 20 colleges and universities in Maryland, Virginia and the District scored a 20 percent or higher bump in charitable contributions in the 2015 fiscal year. Some of the largest gains occurred at GW, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, University of Maryland College Park, Virginia Wesleyan College and the University of Mary Washington.

Private elite schools Stanford ($1.6 billion) and Harvard ($1.05 billion) topped the national list, well ahead of the rest of the nation’s schools.

[See the national top 20 list for charitable fundraising]
[See the local top 10 list for charitable fundraising]

Not every college and university in the region participated in the study, but nearly 1,000 institutions across the country responded to the survey, which captures cash and other assets in hand, not pledges that schools often include in their fundraising stats. Of the 63 area schools to participate, half reported an increase in gifts.

For GW, the outpouring of support signals that the school is well on its way to meeting its goal of raising $1 billion by June of 2018. The university launched its largest fundraising campaign, dubbed “Making History: The Campaign for GW,” in the summer of 2014. Proceeds are earmarked for increased financial aid, research projects, and the expansion of the school’s science and technology offerings, among other things.

“We are starting to see some significant momentum building for the campaign,” said GW spokeswoman Candace Smith. “We have seen an increase in annual giving and major gifts, which are apparent in the fundraising totals.”