The Philanthropy 50 2009 Gift Profile: John and Mary Pappajohn

John and Mary Pappajohn: $47.3-million

Biggest beneficiary: University of Iowa Foundation

Other key beneficiary: Des Moines Art Center

Donors’ background: Mr. Pappajohn founded Equity Dynamics, and Pappajohn Capital Resources, both venture-capital companies in Des Moines.

Mr. Pappajohn, 81, and his wife, Mary, 76, pledged $26.4-million —of which $13.6-million has been paid— to the University of Iowa Foundation, in Iowa City. The Pappajohns have directed the money to construct the university’s new Institute for Biomedical Discovery, which will be named for the couple, and to support the institute’s programs.

A 1952 graduate of the university, Mr. Pappajohn has served on the foundation’s Board of Directors since 1989. He and Mrs. Pappajohn plan to pay off the remainder of the pledge in cash and stock by the end of 2013. He said they hope their donation helps the university consolidate all its biomedical-research programs into one center, and result in additional medical and technology breakthroughs.

The couple also gave eight works of art valued at about $13-million to the Des Moines Art Center, on whose board Mrs. Pappajohn serves. The donation, which includes pieces by Deborah Butterfield, Sol LeWitt, Ugo Rondinone, and other contemporary artists, is in addition to a group of 16 art works, valued at about $25-million, the Pappajohns previously gave the museum in 2008. Many of the pieces will be displayed in a newly opened sculpture park the museum named for the couple.

In addition, Mr. and Mrs. Pappajohn gave a total of $7.9-million to a variety of nonprofit organizations, including Iowa State University’s Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, in Ames; the National Gallery of Art, in Washington; the Walker Art Center, in Minneapolis; and other groups.

Mr. Pappajohn was born in Greece and came to the United States with his family when he was an infant.. A self-made venture capitalist, he began to accumulate wealth in the 1960s, and since 1961, he and Mrs. Pappajohn have been donating to charity.

“We’ve found that giving gets easier as you move through life,” said Mr. Pappajohn. “I believe that if you can get new college graduates to make even a modest gift of $10 as soon as they leave school, they’re far more likely to develop a lifelong habit of giving.”

Mr. Pappajohn serves on the board of the University of Iowa Foundation, as well as the boards of Anatolia College, in Thessalonika, Greece; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, in Washington; the Horatio Alger Association, in Alexandria, Va.; and several other organizations. Mrs. Pappajohn serves on the Walker Art Center’s Board of Directors.

—Maria Di Mento

View more profiles of donors who gave the most in 2009.