Two Big Gifts Seek to Combat Autism

How much: $29-million

Who got it: Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston.

Who gave it: Nancy Lurie Marks, whose fortune comes from controlling stakes she and her family once had in Harcourt General, and Neiman Marcus.

Purpose: The gift will establish an autism center that provides clinical care, conducts research, and analyzes public policies. Helping autistic adults will be a priority for the center.

How it happened: The donation grew out of Ms. Marks’s more than 40 years of supporting autism causes through her Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation, in Wellesley, Mass. Ms. Marks started her foundation in 1977 after witnessing the struggles of a relative who has autism.

Other recent big gift made for autism: John P. Hussman, through his Hussman Foundation, in Ellicott City, Md., pledged last month to give $20-million to the Miller School of Medicine, at the University of Miami. The grant money will support research, including genetic sequencing of autism.

Mr. Hussman runs an investment firm in Ellicott City. His son was diagnosed with autism 12 years ago.

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To see details about other big gifts made in recent weeks, go to our database.