2 Universities Get $100 Million Donations
Plus, Morehouse and Spelman Colleges get $1 million apiece from legendary business leaders Ken Chenault and Joan Johnson.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
A Focus on Strengthening Leaders Is Key to Advancing Justice
Laurene Powell Jobs’s philanthropy focuses on offering general operating support, leadership training, communications support, and inspiration and self-care for social-justice leaders. And it makes small grants at times, such as small financial incentives to families that take in people who just left prison.
Laura Arnold, a Giving Pledge, says traditional approaches to philanthropy provide instant gratification from a person who got help while seeking systemic change is a battle that takes a long time and can get nasty. Still, she says, philanthropists are in the best position to fight for new approaches, even controversial ones, because they don’t have to worry about protecting their brand as business leaders and politicians do.
Plus, billionaires George and Judy Marcus gave $10 million to Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School, and Arlene Schnitzer donated $10 million to the Portland Art Museum.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Soros Urges World Leaders to Back His $1 Billion Global Education Network
The philanthropist cited climate change, authoritarianism, and displaced people as among the growing problems the project aims to address.
By dan.parks
Contributor
Plus, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, City College of New York, Long Island University, and Ursinus College land big gifts.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Australian Philanthropist Travels to the U.S. to Seek Support for Plan to Prevent Wildfires
Billionaire Andrew Forrest and his wife, Nicola, have pledged $48 million. Much of the money will go to efforts to mitigate the effects of future fires.
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Interest in Spend-Down Philanthropy Surges Among Wealthy Families
A report also found that education and health were the most popular causes among families with net wealth of at least $100 million.
By dan.parks
Contributor
Donations Grew Last Year. Here’s What You Can Learn for 2020
Nonprofits and consultants attribute the increase to a strong stock market and intensified efforts by fundraisers.
By Emily Haynes and Eden Stiffman
UVA Nursing Gets $20 Million; Charles Barkley Gives $1 Million to Miles College (Gifts Roundup)
Plus, Hope for Haiti, an Oregon YMCA, and Dana-Farber land big gifts.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
‘Philanthropy Is Something We Live’
Mark and Brenda Moore are founding donors of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, but they say Mark’s two strokes at age 46 were the beginning of their philanthropy.
By Ariella Phillips
Contributor
Businessman Gives $25 Million to Endow New Institute for Data and Society (Gifts Roundup)
Also, Michigan Medicine receives $20 million to develop new lifesaving therapies, a financier provides money to help those leaving foster care gain independence, and a nurse who got her degree at age 59 leaves scholarship money for students who face extraordinary demands, such as caring for a parent or spouse.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
A Banner Year for Big Gifts in 2019, With Jim Walton and Eric and Wendy Schmidt Leading the Way
The Chronicle’s annual top-10 list of the largest gifts announced by individuals or their foundations total more than $6.2 billion in 2019.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
The 7 Most Interesting Big Donors of 2019
Taking on racial inequities was a major theme among several of the major donors profiled by the Chronicle this year.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Dos and Don’ts When Recognizing Planned Gifts
Here’s donor-relations advice for those just getting starting with planned gifts.
By TONY MARTIGNETTI
Contributor
Ronald Lauder Gives $25 Million to Fight Anti-Semitism (Gifts Roundup)
Also, Min and Fan Kao give $20 million to Cedars-Sanai Medical Center, and the Lincoln Park Zoo landed a $15 million gift to revamp its lion habitat.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor