Elton John’s $10 Million LGBT Fund Makes 1st Grants
Groups taking on AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean are the inaugural beneficiaries of a $10 million fund established last year by the singer and activist to fight discrimination and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reports.
Grants From Fidelity Donor-Advised Funds Jump 14%
The funds gave out $1.6 billion to charities in the first half of 2016, far higher than in the first six months of the previous year, according to a new report.
By Timothy Sandoval
Contributor
Powerball Co-Winners to Donate Most of $528 Million Windfall
A California couple who came forward last week to claim a third of a nearly $1.6 billion drawing six months ago have pledged to give most of their winnings to charity, the Associated Press reports.
Gallery Owner Gives $20 Million to Boost UCLA Arts School
The donation from art dealer and alumna Margo Leavin will go into rebuilding and expanding studio facilities for graduate students at the campus’s School of the Arts and Architecture, writes Artnet News.
Donor Relations: Beyond the Basics
A selection of resources from The Chronicle on building strong, smooth relationships with the big contributors who provide critical support for your nonprofit.
Gifts Roundup: U. of Oregon Gets $10 Million to Endow Volcanology Professorships
Other major donations include $20 million to Harvard Medical School for global-health work and $10 million to establish a center for history studies at Villanova.
By Eden Stiffman
Senior Editor
Warren Buffett Donates $2.9 Billion in Annual Stock Gift
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four grant makers associated with Warren Buffett’s family received Berkshire Hathaway shares worth $2.86 billion in the philanthropist and investor’s yearly charitable stock donation, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal report.
Schwab Donors Gave 12% More to Charities in Fiscal 2016
Noncash gifts like stock and real estate made up nearly 60 percent of contributions to the organization’s donor-advised funds.
By HEATHER JOSLYN
Contributor
Central Park Nonprofit Launches $300 Million Drive
The Central Park Conservancy kicks off the public phase Thursday of a 10-year campaign to raise money for renovations and improvements of many of the park’s iconic but aging features, reports The New York Times.
A Major-Gift Ask Is About Much More Than Just the Dollars
Before talking amounts, fundraisers hoping to secure big contributions need to find out what prospective donors hope to accomplish with their philanthropy.
By Ronald J. Schiller
Contributor
Aussie Finance Mogul Donates $75 Million to Alma Mater
The gift from commodities billionaire Graham Tuckwell and his wife, Louise, to Australian National University is the largest donation for higher education in the country’s history, The Canberra Times writes.
World Monuments Fund Cuts Back as Big Donation Runs Out
The international preservation charity is reducing its staff by a quarter as a major source of its funding — a large matching gift from the late hedge-fund mogul Robert Wilson — expires after a decade, The New York Times writes.
Use Meetings With Wealthy Donors to Build Connections
Nonprofit leaders and major-gift fundraisers offer tips for using face-to-face contact to strengthen ties with big donors.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Trump Bid $120,000 for Paris Trip With Foundation Money
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump won a luxurious vacation to Paris at a 2008 charity auction with a $120,000 bid using money from the foundation bearing his name — but the funds likely included little of his own money, according to BuzzFeed News.
Gifts Roundup: Harvard Law Alumnus Donates $15 Million for Cyberspace Studies
Other notable donations include a $7.8 million bequest to Randolph College and $5.5 million for dinosaur programming at the Field Museum.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
German University Rewrites Gift Deal Amid Donor-Control Flap
Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz is overhauling contracts governing about $166 million in foundation funding amid controversy over provisions critics said gave the donor too much influence over faculty hiring and publications, Science magazine reports.