Big Giving Makes a Comeback

By Nicole Lewis and Matt Murray

Big donations to charity rose along with the nation's economy and stock market last year, as

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many of the largest donors increased their foundation endowments or supported big projects at universities, arts groups, and the Salvation Army, according to a Chronicle survey.

The newspaper's fourth annual survey of America's most generous donors shows that gifts and pledges by the 60 largest contributors in 2003 totaled $5.9-billion, compared with $4.6-billion in 2002. The median giving total, including pledges, was $32.5-million in 2003, meaning that half gave more and half gave less. The median total rose $7.5-million, from $25-million in 2002.

Pledges declined from the previous year's total, however, to $959.6-million, less than half the $2.1-billion pledged in 2002. Bequests rose 50 percent from 2002 to 2003, to $2.7-billion, accounting for 46 percent of all gifts last year. In 2002, gifts from estates totaled $1.8-billion and represented 39 percent of all gifts.

Cautious Optimism

Bequests totaling $1.9-billion put Joan B. Kroc, heir of the McDonald's fast-food empire, at the top of the list of the biggest donors. Mrs. Kroc, who died of brain cancer in October, left $1.5-billion -- more than 75 percent of her estate -- to the Salvation Army, in Alexandria, Va., to build between 30 and 50 recreation centers around the country. Her gift is thought to be the biggest single gift ever to a charity. Mrs. Kroc's second-largest gift, $200-million to National Public Radio, in Washington, was a record for the broadcaster.

Despite the rise in big gifts, fund raisers say they are cautious in their outlook for multimillion-dollar donations in coming months.

"People are optimistic, but in a guarded kind of way," says Jennifer R. Darling, director of development and membership at the Denver Art Museum. "It's not that idealism that we had a few years ago, when everyone was jubilant and the future was bright. I think we are definitely coming out of the hard times. But people are going to be really cautious about their giving and making sure they are investing in a good opportunity."

Last year the Denver Art Museum received a $20-million pledge, its largest gift ever, from Frederic Hamilton, a business executive who has been chairman of the museum's board for the last decade. The money will be used to help build an addition that will nearly double the museum's size.

Fund raisers across the country share the cautious optimism of Ms. Darling. A Chronicle spot check of more than 50 charities found that even with last year's growth in big gifts, many charities are struggling to increase donations.

Texas Couple Ranks No. 2

Michael S. Dell and his wife, Susan, newcomers to the list, rank second behind Mrs. Kroc, with a donation of $673.7-million to the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, in Austin. Mr. Dell is the founder of a computer company in Round Rock, Tex., that bears his name. Mrs. Dell runs the foundation, as well as her own clothing business.

"Michael and I are committed to helping children achieve their greatest potential, and such a major goal requires a major financial commitment," Mrs. Dell said in an e-mail message.

Grants from the Dell foundation last year included $446,000 to the University of Texas at Austin to increase the number and quality of math and science teachers in public schools in the Austin area, and $73,841 to Any Baby Can, in Austin, to expand the charity's family-literacy program.

Eli and Edythe L. Broad rank third on the list, with $409-million in gifts to their three foundations, which support medical research, improvements in urban public schools, and the arts. Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Whitehead Institute, in Cambridge, Mass., will share $100-million to create the Broad Institute, a biomedical-research institution that will apply human-genome research to clinical medicine. In addition, $60-million will be used to construct a building for contemporary art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and for the museum's endowment. The Broads made their money in finance and real estate.

Another museum, the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, will benefit from a pledge of more than 100 pieces of artwork valued at $300-million, from the list's fourth-place donors, Robert and Jane Meyerhoff. The collection of 20th-century European and American art includes works by Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, and Frank Stella. Mr. Meyerhoff, who lives in Phoenix, Md., is a real-estate developer.

John A. (Jack) Johnson, a retired oil executive who died in March 2003, is fifth on the list, with a bequest of $247-million to the University of Texas at Austin.

Technology Money

For the second year in a row, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is not on the list. While Mr. Gates, his wife, Melinda, and fellow board members distributed millions from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in Seattle, last year, he did not make a gift to increase its endowment.

However, in addition to Mr. Dell, seven technology magnates are among the top 30 donors this year: Paul G. Allen (Microsoft, No. 6), Irwin Jacobs (Qualcomm, No. 10), Jeffrey S. Skoll (eBay, No. 11), Pierre Omidyar (eBay, No. 13), Charles Simonyi (Microsoft, No. 23), Roland Tseng (Cyperion, No. 25), and Lawrence J. Ellison (No. 27, Oracle). Mr. Dell, Mr. Simonyi, and Mr. Tseng are all new to the Chronicle list this year.

Also making her debut, at No. 21, is Oprah Winfrey, the popular television personality, with a $50.7-million donation to the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, in Chicago. Last year the foundation gave $2.5-million for scholarships at Morehouse College, in Atlanta, and pledged $1-million to Help the Afghan Children, in Alexandria, Va., to build schools, train teachers, and provide educational and health-care supplies for children in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ms. Winfrey is chairman of Harpo, a production company, and host of The Oprah Winfrey Show.

"You can change lives through education and we are basically in the business of changing lives," says Dianne Atkinson Hudson, president of the Oprah Winfrey Foundation.

The Oregon Community Foundation, in Portland, logged its largest gift, a $32-million bequest from Reed and Carolee Walker (No. 28), whose wealth came from Anheuser-Busch stock.

The Virginia College Fund, in Richmond, also received a record gift, a $40-million pledge from Guy Beatty (No. 24), a real-estate developer in McLean, Va., and his wife, Virginia (Betty). The pledge will eventually increase the group's annual distributions by almost 300 percent, says William E. Pearson, the fund's president. The money, which will be transferred to the fund after Mr. Beatty's death, will pay for scholarships as well as technology and facility improvements at five colleges and universities in southern and southwestern Virginia. Mr. Beatty has been on the fund's board since 1991.

Musical Gift

While multimillion-dollar gifts usually arrive in the form of cash, stock, or real estate, this year a hefty donation came with bows attached. Herbert and Evelyn Axelrod (No. 31) effectively made a $32-million donation by selling the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, in Newark, 30 rare violins, violas, and cellos for $18-million. The instruments, valued at $50-million, were crafted in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, known as the "Golden Age" of violin making. An amateur violinist, Mr. Axelrod made his fortune through publishing.

Jerome A. Chazen (No. 56), a co-founder of Liz Claiborne, a clothing company, along with his wife, Simona, a psychotherapist, pledged $12-million to the Museum of Arts & Design, in New York, for a flagship building that will nearly triple its space. Mr. Chazen is chairman emeritus of the museum's board.

The High Museum of Art, in Atlanta, received a pledge of $12-million from John and Sue Wieland (No. 49) to help construct three buildings. Mr. Wieland, chairman of John Wieland Homes & Neighborhoods, a home-building company, is the former chairman of the museum's board.

Health charities and hospitals did not receive as many large gifts last year as they did in 2002, with one notable exception: a $50-million pledge from Morris Silverman (No. 22) to the International Center for Nursing, in Albany, N.Y. The center, which is not yet built, will support the nursing profession through scholarships, fund raising, and other programs. "The reason why doing something to help the nursing shortage is important to me is that I recognize and respect the need," says Mr. Silverman, founder of National Equipment Rental, in New York. He adds: "Everyone, in the hospitals, in government, is talking about how we don't have any nurses, so the obvious thing to do is, let's go make nurses."

Colleges and Universities

While large donations to private colleges and universities are relatively common, this year's list shows an increase in big gifts to state institutions. For example, Boone Pickens (No. 20) donated $55-million to Oklahoma State University Foundation, in Stillwater. Mr. Pickens, an alumnus of the university, is chief executive of BP Capital, in Dallas.

A $20-million pledge from Milan Puskar (No. 38) to the West Virginia University Foundation, in Morgantown, helped propel the university's capital campaign past the $300-million mark at its close in December, at least $50-million above the original goal. Mr. Puskar is co-founder and chairman of Mylan Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company in Canonsburg, Pa.

F. Duke Perry, the foundation's president, says state universities are actively recruiting big donors to make up for lost dollars from state governments stretched thin by other budget demands.

"More and more colleges are having to increase our private support substantially, and so we are more involved now in private fund raising than probably ever before," says Mr. Perry.

As more nonprofit organizations compete for a small number of donors able to make multimillion-dollar gifts, many fund raisers say the path to success lies in continuing to seek donors who already have a relationship with the institution.

"During the worst economic times, we were pleased that no one was questioning the projects that we were presenting to them, nor the amounts -- it's just that the timing was wrong," says Patricia P. Jackson, associate vice president for development at Dartmouth College, in Hanover, N.H. "Now people are honoring what they said to us all along, and it really shows the wisdom of sticking close to your friends throughout good times and bad."

The college, which will announce a billion-dollar-plus capital campaign in the fall, had its best fund-raising month ever in December.

Still, with memories of the stock-market slump fresh in their minds, Dartmouth's fund raisers are not taking the good news for granted. "We celebrated briefly," says Ms. Jackson, "and then we got back to work."