Tough economic times contributed to an overall dip in private giving to higher education institutions in 2009. But for the fifth straight year, this school pulled in more than any other.

Charitable contributions to U.S. colleges and universities fell by nearly 12% last year, according to a survey by the New York-based Council for Aid to Education.

Stanford University was not immune to the sting of tighter purse strings: It collected about $140 million less in 2009 than it did in 2008, a decline of more than 18%.

Yet Stanford still headed the CAE’s list of top fundraising institutions for the year, taking in $640.11 million.

Rounding out the top five were Harvard University, Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University.

Of the 1,027 survey respondents, the top 20 fundraisers collected more than 26% of all 2009 gifts. Two-thirds of the schools that participated in the survey in 2008 and 2009 reported a year-to-year decline in support.

CAE also said gifts for capital purposes sharply declined and alumni participation fell to 10% — the lowest level ever recorded in the 40-year history of the survey.

For more information, including information on how to order full survey results, click here.

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Tags: Cornell University, Council for Aid to Education, fundraising, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania