More Nonprofits Ramp Up Their Donor Stewardship
Fierce competition for support results in new and expanded donor-relations staffs and creative ways of saying thanks.
By Timothy Sandoval
Contributor
The Rich Feel Strongly About Giving to Improve Society, Study Finds
Environmental and health-care causes mattered most to people with at least $3 million in investable assets who were polled by the private bank U.S. Trust.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Gifts Roundup: $25-Million Donations Back Cornell Business School and Dartmouth Engineering
Also, the University of Notre Dame received a pair of $20-million contributions from alumni to expand student housing.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Gates CEO Pledges to Listen More and Share Fund’s Failures Along With Successes
In an interview, Sue Desmond-Hellmann said she recognized that many people consider the foundation’s work “fuzzy or not so clear,” and she vowed to seek out complaints from grantees and others.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
Parents’ Volunteerism Has Big Impact on Kids’ Charity Choices, Study Says
Shared experiences help convey philanthropic values, according to a new report that offers insights for charities on how to build a donor support base that will last through generations.
By HEATHER JOSLYN
Contributor
Virginia Board Lets Scalia Law School Renaming Stand
In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the State Council of Higher Education said it does not have authority to weigh in on George Mason University’s plan to rename its law school for Antonin Scalia per the terms of a $20 million donation, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
$35 Million Gift Establishes Harvard Early-Childhood Program
The university’s Graduate School of Education will use the donation from the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation to launch an intensive effort to research and support early-childhood learning, Harvard Magazine writes.
Charity’s Push to Get Women Donors More Actively Involved Yields Big Gifts
A new Melinda Gates-backed venture taps female philanthropists for their talent as well as their wallets.
By Megan O’Neil
Contributor
George Mason May Not Need State OK to Name School for Scalia
The state body that oversees Virginia’s public colleges — which was set to vote Tuesday on George Mason University’s plan to rechristen its law school for the late Supreme Court justice at the behest of a $20 million donor — now says the university may not need its approval to make the controversial change, The Washington Post and the Associated Press report.
$25 Million Donations for Cornell U. and Dartmouth College
The gifts, both from alumni, will support construction of a new business-school building at Cornell and an expansion of the engineering school at Dartmouth, The Cornell Daily Sun and Valley News respectively report.
Gifts Roundup: $200 Million for USC Cancer Studies; $20 Million for Carleton College Music Center
Other notable donations include a $55-million pledge to the Curtis Institute of Music from its outgoing board chair.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
DePauw University Alumnus Gives Alma Mater $20 Million
Among other programs, the donation from trucking magnate Don Daseke and his wife, Barbara, will bolster the DePauw Trust, the university’s endowment to support needy students, according to the Indianapolis Star.
Simons Fund Gives $40 Million to Study Origins of Universe
The foundation led by mathematician, hedge-fund billionaire, and science donor James Simons is funding a telescope to search for signs of gravitational waves physicists believe may hold clues to the beginnings of space and time, Scientific American writes.
Tech Mogul Ellison Gives $200 Million for USC Cancer Center
The donation from Oracle Corporation co-founder Larry Ellison will establish an institute where physicists, mathematicians, engineers, and other researchers will address fundamental questions about the disease, according to Bloomberg.
Outgoing Chair Gives Philadelphia Music School $55 Million
The donation to buttress the Curtis Institute of Music’s endowment comes as Nina von Maltzahn ends a two-year term leading the prestigious, tuition-free conservatory’s Board of Trustees, writes The Philadelphia Inquirer.
$20 Million Donations for Cal Poly and Carleton College
A pledge from California Polytechnic State University alumnus Bill Frost and his wife, Linda, will support a new center for research and technology, reports The Tribune of San Luis Obispo, and Carleton College announced a $20 million gift from Barbara and Wally Weitz and their children to help fund an expansion of the Minnesota campus’s performance venue.