Small College Aimed to Bring Big Donors Into the Fold — and Won a $500 Million Pledge
The small liberal-arts institution shifted its fundraising strategy. The college now seeks to inspire potential supporters with a bold vision for its future instead of just meeting with their lawyers and accountants.
By Emily Haynes
Senior Editor, Nonprofit Intelligence
New Names Join Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg on List of Charity’s 50 Biggest Donors
The roster includes not-so-typical megadonors — among them a professional clarinetist, a Ph.D. in meat science, and a lawyer who regularly argues before the U.S. Supreme Court. Plus: See the rest of our Philanthropy 50 special report and our entire February issue.
By Maria Di Mento and Drew Lindsay
How the Chronicle Compiled Its List of the Top 50 Donors of 2022
The 23rd annual Philanthropy 50, the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list of America’s biggest donors, is based on gifts and pledges of cash, stock, land, and real estate to nonprofit organizations in 2022.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Houston Grand Opera Receives $22 Million for Young Artists Program
Plus, Temple University landed more than $10 million to help students with physical disabilities, and three other universities and a community foundation received big gifts.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Community Foundation Lands $100 Million From Late Clarinetist and Entrepreneur Jay Kahn
Plus, hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin gives Florida pediatric hospital $25 million, and three universities received major gifts.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
UVA Lands $100 Million From Paul and Diane Manning for New Biotech Institute
Plus, Denny Sanford gave $70 million to a medical research institute, and NYU’s Stern School of Business received $25 million from Ken and Elaine Langone.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Jeff Bezos Says Giving Is Hard. That Trope Goes Back to Andrew Carnegie
When invoked too zealously, it can deflect attention from what grantee leaders often find most difficult about philanthropy: a lack of urgency, a failure to deliver resources expeditiously, and the imposition of burdensome restrictions.
By Benjamin Soskis
Contributor
Retired Construction Executive Gives $75 Million to U. of St. Thomas
Plus, four Mars candy company heiresses together gave $22 million to support a science, technology, engineering, arts, and math programs at a prep school for girls.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Harvard Lands $50 Million Gift to Launch Program Honoring Paul Farmer
Plus, gifts from MacKenzie Scott and Michael Jordan inspired a Washington State couple to give Friends of the Children $33 million to expand its youth mentoring and family services programs.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Dead Billionaires Whose Foundations Are Thriving Today Can Thank Henry VIII and Elizabeth I
History explains why American donors get to give from the grave.
By Nuri Heckler
Contributor
FedEx Founder and Veteran Fred Smith Offers Unusual Gift
He financed the production of the film Devotion, about two Navy pilots in the Korean War. The film’s proceeds will go in part to endow a new scholarship fund for the children of Navy service members pursuing studies in STEM.
By Thalia Beaty
Associated Press
Muslim Couple Give Big to Autism and Promoting Religious Understanding
Rafat and Zoreen Ansari are Indiana physicians who are devoting their fortune to fostering a better understanding of the world’s religions and ensuring people with autism get the care they need.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Top 10 Donations of 2022 Totaled $9.3 Billion
Much of the money went to private foundations or to universities, but some went to cancer research and treatment, housing, youth programs, and reproductive health.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
He says his hands-on approach is working, as he laments inaction on climate change and the way the pandemic upended progress on fighting disease.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
Ga. Senate Race Shows Why the Fraying Line Between Charity and Politics Must Be Repaired
As election-related activities such as get-out-the-vote efforts in Georgia become more common in the nonprofit world, greater scrutiny is needed of practices that allow people to give to 501(c)(4) groups and avoid paying taxes on those contributions.
By Craig Kennedy
Contributor
Museum Trustee Merges Social Justice and Art
Victoria Rogers, who helped start the Black Trustee Alliance for Art Museums and serves on the board of the Brooklyn Museum, has asked insightful questions about diversity and equity from a young age.
By Jim Rendon
Executive Editor