A Sampling of the Largest Grants in 1998 From the Nation’s Top Foundations
By Debra E. Blum and MARINA DUNDJERSKI
February 25, 1999 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Some of the country’s largest foundations — their endowments flush with several years of good investment returns or new money from their donors — took the opportunity to make large gifts in 1998.
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One of the biggest winners in last year’s unpredictable stock market was the nation’s wealthiest grant maker, the Lilly Endowment, in Indianapolis. With most of its portfolio invested in the pharmaceutical company established by its creator, Lilly’s assets grew last year 21 per cent, to about $15.4-billion. And it gave one of the year’s single largest awards: $50-million to the United Way of Central Indiana for its endowment.
Among other big gifts from top grant makers:
* The William H. Gates Foundation gave $100-million to the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, known as PATH, a Seattle group that is working to speed up the time it takes for new vaccines to reach children in economically depressed countries. (The Chronicle, December 17).
* The J. A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation, in Boise, Idaho, gave $28-million to the state’s public-school system to help put computers in the classrooms and to help develop curricula. The money was part of a larger commitment — nearly $100-million — that the foundation made last year.
* The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute received about $34-million for general expenses from its primary benefactor, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, in Los Altos, Cal. The institute is dedicated to the study of the ocean.
* The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in Princeton, N.J., gave almost $23-million to the Center for Studying Health-System Change, in Washington, for a health-care study in 60 U.S. cities.
* The Meadows Foundation, in Dallas, gave about $19-million to Southern Methodist University to help build the Meadows Museum, which will house the fund’s collection of Spanish art. Part of the gift will be put into the museum’s endowment, and some will be used for programming and maintenance costs.
* The Wayne & Gladys Valley Foundation, in Oakland, Cal., gave $8-million to nearby Chabot Observatory & Science Center. The new center, which is scheduled to open later this year, aims to use new technologies to bring science to the public. Among other things, it will house the largest public telescope in the country; house a 250-seat planetarium; offer hands-on, interactive science and technology exhibits; and feature a center for space-flight simulation.
