AMERICA’S MOST-GENEROUS DONORS
By Maria Di Mento and nicole lewis
How The Chronicle’s Survey of Last Year’s Top Donors Was Compiled
The Chronicle‘s sixth annual list of the nation’s biggest donors is based on gifts and pledges of ALSO SEE:DATABASE: America’s Most-Generous DonorsRELATED STORIES: Top Donors of 2005 cash and stock to charitable institutions, as well as donations of artworks and land for which it was possible to…
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
U. of Chicago Receives $42-Million for a Pediatric Center; Other Big Gifts
Seven institutions have received big gifts: The University of Chicago has received a $42-million gift from Gary C. Comer, founder of the Lands’ End clothing company, and his wife, Frances, of Chicago, to establish a pediatric-care center. The gift, which the university says is the largest single…
Three Education Institutions Get Multimillion-Dollar Gifts
Three higher-education institutions have received gifts of $100-million or more: Peter B. Lewis, chairman of the Progressive Corporation, in Cleveland, has pledged $101-million to Princeton University, in New Jersey, for a large-scale, multifaceted arts program. Baylor College of Medicine, in…
By Sun Jung Kim
Contributor
Oil Tycoon Gives $165-Million for Athletics Facilities at Oklahoma State
Boone Pickens, the oil and investment executive, has donated $165-million to support athletics at Oklahoma State University, in Stillwater. The gift is the largest single donation to a college athletics program in U.S. history, university officials said. Mr. Pickens graduated from the university in…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Ford Heiress Leaves $50-Million to Detroit College; Other Gifts
Nine institutions have received big gifts: The College for Creative Studies, in Detroit, has received a $50-million bequest from Josephine Ford, of Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., for its endowment. Mrs. Ford, the only granddaughter of Henry Ford, the Ford Motor Company founder, died in June. Earnings…
Real-Estate Mogul Pledges $100-Million to Arizona State U.; Other Gifts
Nine institutions have received big gifts: Ira A. Fulton, founder of Fulton Homes, a residential real-estate development company in Tempe, Ariz., and his wife, Mary Lou, have pledged $100-million to Arizona State University Foundation, in Tempe. The Fultons stipulated that the money is to be split…
Biggest Grants Announced in 2005
Amount Foundation Recipient Purpose $750-million Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle) Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (Geneva) To strengthen vaccine services in poor countries, expand the use of vaccines in regions where they are urgently needed, accelerate the development of new…
Biggest Gifts and Pledges Announced by Individuals in 2005
Amount Donor Purpose or beneficiary $400-million (bequest) Cordelia Scaife May, an heiress to the Mellon fortune To the Colcom Foundation (Pittsburgh) $320-million William H. (Bill) Gates III, chairman of Microsoft, and his wife, Melinda F. Gates To the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle)…
Nearly 60 percent of Americans believe that a charity should return a donor’s money if the organization intentionally ignores what the donor wanted done with it. Ninety-seven percent of Americans say that charities’ spending donations on unauthorized projects would be a “serious” matter, according…
By Harvy Lipman
Contributor
How Much Americans Donate to Charity
By Income Bracket Adjusted gross income Number of filers Salary and non-investment income Average start-of-year investment assets Average total gifts Total gifts as a percentage of salary and non-investment income Total gifts as a percentage of investment assets $10,000,000 or more 6,126 $5,314,955…
Twenty-Nine Percent of Americans Volunteer for Good Causes, New Study Finds
Twenty-nine percent of Americans volunteered in the past year, a percentage that has held steady for the past two years, according to a report released last month by the U.S. government. However, the amount of time people spent volunteering declined slightly, the Bureau of Labor Statistics survey…
By Leah Kerkman
Contributor