One year ago, the nonprofit world changed forever. In a stunning announcement, Warren E. Buffett, ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: Surge of Employees at Gates Foundation Brings New ChallengesARTICLE: Buffett Siblings’ Giving Is More Ambitious in Wake of Big InfusionARTICLE: Charity’s Colorful Style Wins Warren…
By Ben Gose and Ian Wilhelm
Cornell University and Kenyon College Each Win $25-Million; Other New Gifts
Six institutions have received big gifts: Cornell University, in Ithaca, N.Y., has received $25-million from Peter Meinig, chief executive officer of HM International, a management and holding company in Tulsa, Okla., his wife, Nancy, and their family, to support faculty awards in life-sciences…
By Anne W. Howard
Contributor
Three Universities Receive $100-Million Apiece
Three universities have announced that they received gifts of $100-million apiece: Thomas M. Siebel, chairman of First Virtual Group, a holding company in Palo Alto, Calif., has pledged to give the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign $100-million to endow science and engineering research,…
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Corporate Gifts Rose 4.7% Last Year
Corporations increased their giving by a median of 4.7 percent last year, say preliminary findings from a new study. The median value of company contributions last year was nearly $33.3-million, which means half the companies gave less than that amount and half gave more. The growth, fueled mostly…
By Regina Nuzzo
Contributor
Charity Donors Don’t Necessarily Give to Political Groups
People who give primarily to charities are more likely to see nonprofit groups, not political candidates, as agents of change on important issues, a new study has found. The study, by the Women’s Campaign Forum Foundation, in Washington, found that only 22 percent of women who regularly give to…
By Regina Nuzzo
Contributor
Foundations Urged to Forge Alliances to Meet Global Challenges
Foundations in the United States and Europe have much to learn from each other as they grapple with increased scrutiny and demands for accountablity and results, said speakers here at last week’s annual meeting of the European Foundation Centre, which drew nearly 700 participants. “This is an…
By MARTY MICHAELS
Contributor
Children who are blind often feel like they are living in a world where little is designed for their needs. However, the Braille Institute of America, in Los Angeles, has given such youngsters a chance to compete in an arena tailored for them. It runs an annual national competition that encourages…
By Noelle Barton
Contributor
American Foundation for Clinical Pharmacology (New Hartford, N.Y.): Appointed Andrew J. Thompson, director of advancement at the Michigan Land Use Institute (Traverse City), to be executive director. American Philosophical Society (Philadelphia): Appointed Mary Patterson McPherson, vice president…
Grant maker: Home Depot Foundation (Atlanta) Purpose: To support increased availability of low-cost homes for working families and to plant and preserve trees in urban areas Amount available: $100-million over 10 years Web site: http://www.homedepotfoundation.org Grant maker: Morris Animal…
Donor ‘Giving Circles’ Awarded $13-Million in Grants to Charities Last Year, Report Says
By Elizabeth SchwinnGroups of people around the country who pool their contributions and then decide collectively how to donate them gave an estimated $13-million to charity in 2006, according to a new report. Over all, such “giving circles” have raised a total of about $88-million. Most of the…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Private Sources in the United States Provided $95-Billion in Overseas Aid
Foundations, individuals, and other private sources in the United States provided more than $95-billion in aid to developing countries in 2005, more than triple the amount given by the federal government, according to a new study by the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank. The bulk of the…
By Holly Hall
Contributor
Art Pieces Worth $100-Million Donated to Colby College
By Maria Di MentoPeter H. Lunder, a retired businessman, and his wife, Paula, have pledged to give Colby College Museum of Art, in Waterville, Maine, an extensive collection of art valued at more than $100-million. The gift includes works by Mary Cassatt, Edward Hopper, Sol LeWitt, John Singer…
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Culinary School Receives $35-Million; Other Gifts
Ten institutions have received big gifts: The Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park, N.Y., has received a pledge of $35-million from Christopher (Kit) Goldsbury, former owner of Pace Foods, in San Antonio, and founder and chairman of Silver Ventures, a private investment firm in San Antonio,…
An Oil Tycoon Places Unusual Conditions on $100-Million Donation to Texas Institutions
T. Boone Pickens, the oil billionaire who has courted controversy when both making money and giving it away, has given $50-million apiece to two Texas medical institutions, gifts that come with an unusual string attached. The money must be invested so it grows by at least 10 times, and the…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor