Last September, the department chair of the physics department at City College of New York discovered a plain cardboard box about the size of a toaster. The box was addressed to “Chairman, Physics Department” and contained $180,000 cash as a donation with an unsigned note reading: “a long, productive, immensely rewarding scientific career after graduating from CCNY long ago with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics.”
The box was so heavy (apparently the sender did not use the USPS flat rate box) that the postage paid was $90. The box was turned over to authorities and university officials to see if the money had come from any criminal activity. Agents eventually determined that the cash had been withdrawn from banks in the state of Maryland in recent years and had not been unscrupulously obtained. On December 31, 2021, the college’s Board of Trustees voted to accept the money as a gift.
The cash donation, according to the college, will be used to fund two full scholarships. In this case, the cash donation worked out for the good.