The rise of the American auto industry decades ago brought with it an economic boom in southeast Michigan. The industry brought financial security to millions and was a benefactor to countless charities and foundations.

One of the biggest recipients of the auto company's largesse was the University of Michigan. The land for its Dearborn campus was even donated by the Ford Motor Company.

Times have changed. The Big Three are in financial trouble. While the economic struggles have brought with them some drop-off in donations from the industry to the University, the decline hasn't been as dramatic as some might expect.

Donations from Ford and DaimlerChrysler have fallen over the last five years. General Motors, though, has tripled its giving to the University, according to data supplied by Judith Malcolm, the University director of development communications.

GM gave almost $2 million to the University in the 2006 fiscal year, more than it had in the previous four years. That upward trend seems likely to continue - GM has already given the University more than $2 million in the current fiscal year.

The three companies gave the University a combined $4.4 million last year, slightly down from the $4.6 million the University received from them in 2002.

According to the data, Ford gave the University about $2 million in the 2006 fiscal year - less than half than what the company gave it in the 2005 fiscal year, when it donated $4.469 million.

Ford has given the University about $850,000 in the 2007 fiscal year to date, Malcolm said. With the fiscal year ending in June, it seems likely that Ford's total donations will drop again.

In 2005, Ford suspended a program in which the company would match every contribution its employees made to the University, said James Vella, the president of the company's charity fund.

"We've had to cut back in some areas in terms of community support," Vella said.

The program yielded $333,000 for the University in 2005, Vella said. Of that, $302,000 went to the University's Ann Arbor campus and $31,000 was split between the University's Dearborn and Flint campuses. In 2004, the University received $341,000 from the matching program.

Vella said Ford hopes to reinstate the program within the next two years.

DaimlerChrysler's donations have fluctuated over the past several years. Last year, the company gave the University about $490,000. That's about $150,000 more than it gave in 2005, but still less than the roughly $720,000 the company gave in 2002.

DaimlerChrysler has given the University about $375,000 so far this year.

Although the company's donations have changed from year to year, it has remained dedicated to supporting the University, said Brian Glowiak, vice president of DaimlerChrysler's charitable fund.

"If you look at the past five years, the fund has been consistent in giving to the University in support of scholarships, curricular development and lab equipment, for example," he said.

The auto industry will continue giving to the University in part to court graduates who might otherwise ignore a career in the American auto industry, Vella said.

"The University has so many talented students on campus, and we work hard on our relationship in order to attract many of them," he said.