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The Philanthropy 50: Americans Who Gave the Most in 2008
Robert L. and Catherine H. McDevitt
Rank: 8
Total amount committed in 2008: $250-million
Location: Binghamton, New York
Source of wealth: Investments
Other key beneficiaries: Le Moyne College, Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, various other churches and universities
Donors' background: Mr. McDevitt owned the McDevitt Brothers Funeral Home, in Binghamton, N.Y. His mother was secretary to A. Ward Ford, president of the company that eventually became IBM. She bought IBM stock early in the company's history and gave the stock to Mr. McDevitt, who spent 70 years accumulating additional shares. The majority of the bequests he left will be paid in IBM stock.
Mr. McDevitt, who died in September 2008 at the age of 90, and his wife, Catherine, who died in April 2008 at the age of 84, left bequests estimated at $250-million to 14 charities, most of which are religious groups or universities.
The largest bequest was left to Georgetown University, in Washington, which received about $75-million, or 30 percent of the couple's total estate. The gift will be used to establish an endowment, the annual income of which will support faculty positions in theology, computer science, philosophy, and law. The bequest represents the largest single donation the university has ever received. Mr. McDevitt graduated from Georgetown in 1940 with a bachelor's degree in social science.
The couple also left 20 percent of their estate, worth about $50-million, to Le Moyne College, in Syracuse, N.Y., to be added to the college's endowment. The gift will endow professorships in computer science, information processing, physics, and religious philosophy. It will also support research, staff assistance, equipment, and technology. This gift is the largest that has ever been made to Le Moyne College. Mr. McDevitt had been a regent emeritus at the college since 1972 and had served as a member of the college's Board of Trustees from 1977 to 1980. In 1947, Mr. McDevitt's cousin, the Rev. Edward McDevitt, helped establish the college's physics department.
The third largest gift from Mr. and Ms. McDevitt was about $45-million, representing 18 percent of the estate, to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse. The money will go into two endowments, one named for the couple and one named in honor of the couple's parents. The annual income from those funds will be used for the Diocesan Hope Appeal, the diocese's annual fund-raising campaign; the education of seminarians and the medical care of bishops and priests of the diocese; the benefit of Seton Catholic Central High School, in Binghamton, N.Y.; and the maintenance of a residence home named for the McDevitts that is for retired priests.
The remainder of the estate will be distributed as follows: Five percent of the estate will go to the Legionaries of Christ, a Roman Catholic religious congregation of priests and of men studying to enter the priesthood, in Cheshire, Conn.; 4 percent will go to the Lourdes Hospital Foundation, in Binghamton; 3 percent will go to each of the following churches or religious organizations: the Jesuit Seminary and Mission Bureau, in Baltimore; the New York Province of the Society of Jesus; St. James Church, in Johnson City, N.Y.; St. Patrick's Church, in Binghamton; St. Thomas Aquinas Church, in Binghamton; and Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (Albany Province), in Latham, N.Y.; and 2 percent of the estate will go to both the University of Scranton, in Pennsylvania, and the College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester, Mass. The United Way of Broome County, also in Binghamton, will receive 1 percent of the total estate.
The McDevitts' estate has not yet been entirely settled, but estimates are based on dollar figures left to some groups compared against the percentages named in Mr. McDevitt's will. The couple's lawyer, Stuart M. Pearis, did not respond to The Chronicle's inquiries about the total amount of the estate.
About These Data
The giving figures listed for each individual are based on donations announced to date by the donors or their beneficiaries. In cases of bequests, most of the figures are estimates because the wills have not been settled. For news of gift announcements in 2009, visit the America's Top Donors database.
If you know about a recent gift of $1-million or more that should be added to this directory, please send a message to gifts@philanthropy.com.