“While we do our good works let us not forget that the real solution lies
in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary.”
"The fact that we live in a world that Food Banks are now a necessary part of our society is testament in and of itself that our society has failed to take care of not only its most vulnerable, but also of its working classes." Mike Towner
Philanthropy is greatly rewarding and can be a lot of fun. But how do you turn good intentions into a lasting change?
Many philanthropists choose their recipient charitable organizations through a very personal connection, either through education, business or personal exposure or, at times, personal tragedy.
In 2018 in Florida, the Patel Family Foundation (Kiran and Pallavi Patel) who made their fortune in health care insurance, donated $25 million to Nova Southeastern University, Nova also received $5 million from Ron and Kathy Assaf, who made their fortune in tech. Hyatt and Cici Brown (insurance) pledged $15 million to the City of Daytona Beach. Anna Mann (media and entertainment) donated $1 million to the Lord's Place Men's Campus in Boynton Beach.
In 2018 in Colorado, Richard and Susan Rogel (health care investments) pledged $110 million to University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Philip Anschutz (professional sports, real estate) donated $4 million to St Simon's Land Trust (St. Simon's Island, Georgia) and $1 million to the Elton John AIDS Foundation in New York. The Anschutz Foundation gifted $120 million to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, in Denver.
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In 2018 in California, Kevin Durant gifted $3 million to the University of Texas at Austin. The Wunderkinder Foundation (Steven Spielberg) gifted $2 million to the National Women's Law Center (DC), as did JJ Abrams and Katie McGrath. Herb Alpert Foundation (Herb Alpert and Lani Hall) gifted $2 million to Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services (Los Angeles). Gary Carlson (healthcare) gifted $50 million to Oregon state University (Corvallis). Ernest and Evelyn Rady (real estate) gifted $50 million to the San Diego Salvation Army and the Rady Family Foundation did a gift/challenge for the Jewish Family Service of San Diego in the amount of $20 million. Denzel Washington pledged $1 million to Wiley College (Marshall, Texas). Brian Acton (tech) gifted $50 million to Signal Foundation (San Francisco). Smidt Foundation (Eric and Susan Smidt - retail) gifted $50 million to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles). Mark Zuckerburg and Priscilla Chan (Tech) gifted $30 million to Harvard University. William K Bowes Jr Foundation (Ute Bowes - Finance, Pharmaceuticals) gifted $46.4 million to San Francisco conservatory of Music. Seth McFarlane gifted $2.5 million to National Public Radio (Washington). There was also an anonymous donation of $20 million to the California Community foundation, Los Angeles and an anonymous gift/challenge of $100 million to Amherst college (Mass.)
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In 2017, colleges and universities received the largest percentage of donations by far. California has the highest percentage of big donors, followed by New York and Texas. California also receives the highest amount of philanthropic donations, followed by New York and Oregon.
The Chronicle's 17th Annual Ranking of America's Biggest Donors in 2017 features Bill and Melinda Gates, financier Robert Smith, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, hotel magnate Elaine Wynn and Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg.
In 2016 Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny topped the list, giving $900 million - $500 million to the University of Oregon and $400 million to Stanford.
*Source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy