Denny Sanford Commits $35 Million for Sioux Falls Zoo and Aquarium

A roundup of notable gifts compiled by the Chronicle:

Great Plains Zoo and Butterfly House and Aquarium

The billionaire banker Denny Sanford has pledged $35 million to support the merger of the two South Dakota animal attractions. The new organization will be known as the Sioux Falls Zoo and Aquarium.

Under the terms of the commitment, the zoo and aquarium must raise $25 million in matching gifts from other donors to build the new aquarium, education center, and butterfly rainforest. Upon completion of the challenge, Sanford will give an additional $10 million to make further campus enhancements. He has given multiple gifts previously to support the zoo’s brown bear habitat and African lion exhibit, and has paid to build its Sanford Family Carousel.

Sanford is the chairman of United National Corporation, a banking company in Sioux Falls. A longtime fixture on the Philanthropy 50, he has appeared on the Chronicle’s annual ranking of donors 13 times, including in 2017 in part for giving $30 million to back a new children’s zoo at the Zoological Society of San Diego.

Endeavor Health

Karen and William Davis gave $10 million to establish the Davis Family Center for Preventive Genomics. The center will enhance personalized medicine and genomics testing within the Illinois health system’s primary care clinics; enable early diagnosis and prevention strategies; and help patients and their families to make informed decisions about their care and personalized treatment options.

Bill Davis retired in 2004 as chairman and CEO of RR Donnelley, a publication, catalog, and commercial printing company. His first wife, Judy Davis, died in 2019 from lung cancer, which was untreatable at that time due to a rare gene mutation.

Nassau County Council on Aging

Julie Wood donated $4.9 million through the Tom and Julie Wood Family Foundation to create an endowment, back programs that help older people remain in their homes as they age, enhance nutrition programs, and pay off the mortgage for the organization’s Janice Ancrum Senior Life Center, in Fernandina Beach, Fla.

The donor’s late husband, Tom Wood, was an Indianapolis auto executive who died from lung cancer in 2010. She now lives on Amelia Island, in Florida.

Eastern New Mexico University

Linda and Steve Loy have given $2.5 million to endow a scholarship and leadership program for student-athletes in football and basketball, and strengthen the university’s athletics programs and coaching. In recognition of the gift, its football stadium and sports arena will be named for the Loy family.

The couple are both 1974 graduates of the university. Steve Loy was captain of its football team during his time as a student. He went on to become president of the golf division at Lagardere Unlimited, a sports agency where he has long served as lead manager for golf star Phil Mickelson.

Miami University

William McIntyre has donated $1 million to endow an adviser position in its Mallory-Wilson Center for Healthcare Education. The center houses a variety of programs and services for future health-care professionals, including the premedical and pre-health studies co-major, the Premedical Living Learning Community, internships, scholarships, and professional mentorship opportunities.

McIntyre graduated from the university in 1968 with a degree in biological sciences. He went on to become a gastroenterologist and chief of medicine at the Cheyenne VA Medical Center, in Wyoming, where he oversaw the endoscopy lab and liver and oncology clinics. He also taught as an associate professor of medicine at the Medical College of Virginia, the University of Colorado Medical School, and the University of Wyoming Family Practice Residency.

Yeshiva University

Robert Kraft gave $1 million to establish the Blue Square Scholars program, which will provide aid to students who are transferring to the Jewish university. Yeshiva reports an increase in transfer applications following months of protest over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza on other college campuses.

Kraft is the chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group and the owner of the New England Patriots football team. He is also the founder of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, and made headlines this spring after withdrawing his support from his alma mater Columbia University for its handling of campus protests.

To learn about other big donations, see our database of gifts of $1 million or more, which is updated throughout the week.