$50 Million Gift Continues Billionaire’s Run of Medical Center Contributions
Plus, a South Dakota public school system and university are sharing a $33 million donation that will provide students and teachers scholarships.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Philanthropy’s Road Forward: 6 Takeaways From Traveling the U.S. in Precarious Times
Over seven weeks, 22 book tour events, and discussions with thousands of funders, the message was clear: the structures of the past are damaging the sector and must change.
By Dimple Abichandani
Contributor
Why Big Gifts Dropped in 2025 and Will Soon Rise
Tax-code changes and other political and economic forces are causing some ultra-wealthy donors to wait until the end of the year or to give quietly.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
And $2 Billion More — Phil and Penny Knight Strike Again With Mega-Gift
Their latest gift to Oregon Health & Science University for its Knight Cancer Institute is the biggest donation the Nike co-founder and his wife have ever given.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Weills Give $100 Million for Tech-Driven Cancer Research
Plus, tiny Harcum College, whose enrollment stands at about 1,150, received a $40 million bequest. Three other institutions received big gifts.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Rich Donors Must Push Each Other to Give More
The Giving Pledge’s failures show why philanthropists like me should hold our peers accountable
Is the Giving Pledge Living Up to Its Potential?
Only 13 percent of U.S. billionaires have signed the Giving Pledge, and almost 80 percent of the original signers’ gifts have gone toward their foundations.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
8 Things a Mega-Donor Did Right to Engineer a ‘Miracle’
How $160 million from Netscape pioneer Jim Barksdale — a newcomer to social-change philanthropy — helped make schools in his native Mississippi a source of pride, not shame.
By Drew Lindsay
Contributor
Abigail Disney: The Philanthropist
The philanthropist is using her “weird voice and weird position” as an heir to the Disney fortune to challenge rich Americans who are afraid to step up.
By Sara Herschander
Contributor
Depression Research Gets Big Boost From Steel Magnate’s $40 Million Gift
Plus, Amway heirs gave $20 million to Northwood University, medical students in Ellsworth, Kan., will benefit from a $15 million donation, and a $10 million gift will support budding lawyers pursuing public service careers.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Why Elon Musk’s $34 Billion Loss Wasn’t Really That
What it tells us about the philanthropy of the ultra-wealthy.
By Tobias Jung
Contributor
Leonard Lauder, Philanthropist Who Globalized Family Cosmetic Business, Dies at Age 92
His giving centered on the arts, education, and diseases such as Alzheimer’s and breast cancer.
By Anne D'Innocenzio
AP Retail Writer
Lurie Family Gives $50 Million to Back Autism Research
Plus, Vassar College received $28 million for its music programs, a Chicago art collector sold her collection to back quantum science, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center got $50 million.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
In Praise of ‘Old Philanthropy’
A Chronicle op-ed wrongly dismisses the contributions of Carnegie and others, a reader writes.
Colgate U. Lands $105 Million for Student Housing Campus
Plus, the widow of the founder of Cintas gave the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra $60 million, and the Heinz History Center and two universities received big gifts.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
MIT and Other Institutions to Share $90 Million Gift
Plus, construction projects at three universities attracted more than $35 million from private donors, and nursing students at an HBCU will benefit from a $1 million windfall.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor