September 18, 2011 | Read Time: 1 minute
How much: $10-million
Who gave it: Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon.com, the online retailer in Seattle
Who got it: The Museum of History & Industry, in Seattle. It is the largest gift the organization has ever received.
What the gift will support: A Center for Innovation in the museum’s new building, scheduled to open next year. The center will teach young people about the role of industry in the Seattle area.
How the gift came about: Mr. Bezos, whose family has visited the museum, came up with the idea to create the center.
Impact of the gift: Leonard Garfield, the museum’s executive director, says the gift “gives us the capacity to do something that history museums often don’t talk about explicitly, but is why we’re in business, which is that in engaging people in these important stories of our history, we’re empowering them to shape our future in smart, creative ways.”
For details about other new gifts, including $20-million to the Mayo Clinic, go to http://philanthropy.com/topdonors. Send gift news to gifts@philanthropy.com.
