Obituary: Henry Rowan, Who Gave $100 Million to Remake a College
A 1992 donation from Mr. Rowan, an engineer and industrialist who died Wednesday at age 92, enabled Glassboro State College in New Jersey to grow its programs and facilities and become Rowan University, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Kirk Douglas Donates $15 Million for L.A. Alzheimer’s Center
The legendary Hollywood actor and his wife, Anne, made the gift to the Motion Picture & Television Fund to support construction of a care center for Alzheimer’s patients at the charity’s assisted-care campus in Los Angeles, Variety reports.
Boston Museum Receives Art Gift Worth $42 Million
The philanthropist and art collector Barbara Lee has donated 20 works by major female artists, collectively valued at approximately $42 million, to the city’s Institute of Contemporary Art, The Boston Globe writes.
Lilly Fund Grants $26.6 Million to Fight Indianapolis Blight
The Lilly Endowment donation could help the nonprofit Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership reach a longtime goal of purchasing and maintaining abandoned homes until they can be rehabbed, reports The Indianapolis Star.
Microsoft Co-Founder Backs Contest to Find Traffic Solutions
The tech billionaire Paul Allen is supporting a multimillion-dollar prize announced by the U.S. government to encourage innovative solutions to traffic and transportation problems, reports Seattle TV station KOMO.
Gates Sees Low Oil Prices Hampering Anti-Poverty Efforts in the Gulf
Traveling in the Gulf states to raise money for a $2.5 billion fund to tackle poverty in the Muslim world, Bill Gates said the global plunge in oil prices is having an impact on the effort, Reuters reports. But he said a growing culture of giving in the region could counter the impact of the oil decline.
Opinion: Zuckerberg-Chan ‘Charity’ Plan Is Really a Business Strategy
Linsey McGoey, a sociology professor and critic of modern mega-philanthropy, argues in the Guardian that announced plans by the Facebook co-founder and his wife to give away 99 percent of their Facebook shares should be viewed as business rebranded as philanthropy.
Gifts Roundup: Dolby Laboratories Founder Gives $52.6 Million to the University of Cambridge
Other gifts include $10.2 million for golf programs at California Polytechnic State University and $2 million to the Bartlesville Community Foundation.
$45 Billion Zuckerberg-Chan Pledge Has Charities Excited — and Wary
Grant-seeking nonprofits say the unusual legal structure of the philanthropic effort may offer benefits like those enjoyed by businesses, but some worry about the Facebook co-founder’s priorities.
By Megan O’Neil
Contributor
$53 Million Gift for U. of Cambridge; $25 Million for U. of Wisc.
The University of Cambridge has received a $52.6 donation from the estate of sound-technology innovator Ray Dolby, an alumnus of the British institution, the San Francisco Chronicle writes, and the Mead Witter Foundation is giving $25 million to University of Wisconsin-Madison to support the building of a music performance venue, reports the Wisconsin State Journal.
$37.5 Million Gift Renames Hospital for Child Lost to Cancer
Canadian industrialist Myron Garron and his wife, Berna, have donated $37.5 million to Toronto East General Hospital, which will be rechristened for Michael Garron, the son they lost to cancer 40 years ago, The Globe and Mail writes.
A Roundup of Views on the Zuckerberg Pledge
A Wall Street Journal column says the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative takes “a new approach to the kinds of problems with which philanthropy has long struggled.” Fast Company, The New York Times, and Politico, among others, have also weighed in.
Zuckerberg’s Previous Giving Focused on Health and Public Education
The Facebook co-founder, who signed the Giving Pledge in 2010 at age 26, has provided plenty of signals about where his philanthropic interests lie.
By Maria Di Mento and Megan O’Neil
Newark to Create Community Schools With Zuckerberg Funds
The Foundation for Newark’s Future announced a $12.5 million plan Tuesday to develop new schools with significant community input and local service programs, one of the last investments from the philanthropic pot built upon Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million donation five years ago to the New Jersey city’s school system, Associated Press writes.
Zuckerberg and Chan Pledge Nearly $45 Billion to ‘Improving This World’
The couple promised to give away 99 percent of their Facebook shares, with a focus on advancing human potential and promoting equality.
By Rebecca Koenig
Contributor
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett Optimistic on Future of Philanthropy
The two were among several high-profile philanthropists who gathered at a Smithsonian museum to help launch an effort to examine charitable giving in America.
By Drew Lindsay
Senior Editor, Special Projects