Donors Discuss Accountability and Their Motivations for Giving
Evelyn H. Lauder, senior corporate vice president of the Estée Lauder Companies, in New York, recently decided to phase out her gifts to a nonprofit group because she felt the organization did not spend enough on its charitable programs. After reading the group’s publicly available financial…
By nicole lewis
Contributor
Grant Makers Shift Focus From Welfare to New Projects to Reduce Poverty
As foundations move away from supporting projects related to the federal welfare system, some grant makers have begun financing several new programs aimed at decreasing poverty. The Annie E. Casey Foundation, in Baltimore, which spent more than $70-million on welfare-related grants in the past…
By Michael Anft
Contributor
Grant makers and charities seek new ways to meet needs of poorA 30-year-old mother of three who lives in Seattle, Chevaughn Stephens knew that after four years of relying on welfare checks ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: Grant Makers Shift Focus From Welfare to New Projects to Reduce Poverty to get by, she had…
By Michael Anft
Contributor
THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPYSung to Their Rest
While all musicians strive to please and entertain people with their music, Sharilyn Cohn, a harpist and vocalist, carries an extra burden: Her music may be some of the last sounds her listeners ever hear. Ms. Cohn is a “music thanatologist,” a performer who plays music for people who are dying or…
By BRENNEN JENSEN
Contributor
Grant Seekers Complain About Donor’s Actions
A grant-making organization established by Pierre Omidyar came under fire this month when several nonprofit leaders complained that the group had treated them unprofessionally. The public spat over the Omidyar Network is unusual in the often congenial world of philanthropy, where most charities…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
$264-Million Bequest Sparks Court Fight
A legal fight has erupted over a bequest of $264-million from a couple who kept quiet about their wealth throughout their lives. Doris and Hector Guy Di Stefano left their money to eight charities, and said they should divide the money evenly. The Di Stefanos said the charities could use the money…
By Noelle Barton
Contributor
New Brain Study Hints at Why People Are Altruistic
Scientists at Duke University Medical Center, in North Carolina, have found a link between altruistic behavior and activity in an area of the brain associated with the perception of meaning, a discovery they say may influence the way charities solicit donations. Unlike past studies, which examined…
By Anne W. Howard
Contributor
$40-Million Donated to Oregon University for Medical School; Other Recent Gifts
Five institutions have received big gifts: The Oregon Health & Science University, in Portland, has received $40-million from an anonymous donor to help build a new medical school on the university’s planned campus near Portland’s South Waterfront. The Des Moines Art Center has received a pledge of…
Additional donors and a knack for teamwork have helped Ted Turner’s U.N. charity thrive Last fall, the United Nations Foundation, an organization here that supports United Nations humanitarian efforts worldwide, ALSO SEE:DATABASE: America’s Most-Generous DonorsARTICLE: Record-Breaking…
By BRENNEN JENSEN
Contributor
Five years later, a charity begun with a big gift and a wish to aid Africa measures its growth One night in 1984, Donna Berber sat in her London flat watching a news program featuring ALSO SEE:DATABASE: America’s Most-Generous DonorsARTICLE: Record-Breaking GivingARTICLE: How The Chronicle’s Survey…
By nicole lewis
Contributor
Washington-Area Donors Support Struggling Wisconsin Towns
Most of Gilbert D. and Jaylee M. Mead’s giving is in the arts. Just last year, the couple pledged $35-million to a Washington theater. But their love of ALSO SEE:DATABASE: America’s Most-Generous DonorsARTICLE: Record-Breaking GivingARTICLE: How The Chronicle’s Survey of Last Year’s Top Donors Was…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
A pair of retired scientists indulge a love for theater with their philanthropy When Gilbert D. and Jaylee M. Mead first went to see shows at Arena Stage, a nonprofit theater in Washington, they were looking ALSO SEE: DATABASE: America’s Most-Generous Donors ARTICLE: Record-Breaking Giving ARTICLE:…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
An oil-company founder places a bet on Denver’s needy students Tim Marquez co-founded an oil company, Venoco, with $3,000 in 1992, and turned that investment into ALSO SEE: DATABASE: America’s Most-Generous Donors ARTICLE: Record-Breaking Giving ARTICLE: How The Chronicle’s Survey of Last Year’s…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
More than 20 Americans contributed at least $100-million to charity last year, a Chronicle survey findsTwenty-one Americans gave at least $100-million to charitable causes last year, breaking a new record in philanthropic giving, according ALSO SEE: DATABASE: America’s Most-Generous Donors ARTICLE:…
By Maria Di Mento and nicole lewis
THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPYHealing Waters
Photograph by J. Adam Fenster
By Caroline Bermudez
Contributor
How The Chronicle’s Survey of Last Year’s Top Donors Was Compiled
The Chronicle’s seventh annual list of the biggest donors is based on gifts and pledges of cash ALSO SEE:DATABASE: America’s Most-Generous DonorsARTICLE: Record-Breaking GivingARTICLE: Gambling on EducationARTICLE: Box-Office BonanzasARTICLE: Washington-Area Donors Support Struggling Wisconsin…
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor