Northern Trust Reports Global Philanthropy Contributions of $17.5 Million in 2007

Northern Trust Corporation announced today that its 2007 global corporate philanthropy program awarded $17.5 million in cash contributions to nonprofit organizations, and more than $240,000 in gifts in-kind, once again exceeding its previous record for charitable giving around the world.

Full-text press release available via CNNMoney.com, 1.29.08.

Mystery Donors Push Marquette Past Halfway Point

Marquette University has a generous, though shy, family to thank for helping to raise half of the $100-million for a new College of Engineering facility.

The anonymous family of a Marquette alumnus donated $25-million, officials announced this week, which brings the family’s total to $50-million given to the College of Engineering.

The university is spending a total of $167-million on the engineering school. Its strategic plan includes a new Discovery Learning Complex, seven endowed faculty chairs, and scholarships.

Full-text article (above) by Erin Strout published via the Chronicle of Higher Education, 1.30.08.

America's Richest Counties

Forbes recently published a list of America's richest counties based on median household income data from the 2006 census. Fairfax County, Va., Loudoun County, Va., and Howard County, Md., top the list.

Full-text article by Matt Woolsey is available via Forbes.com, 1.22.08.

Updates on Billion Dollar Campaigns

Cornell University recently announced that it had surpassed the halfway point in its $4-billion drive. The University of Illinois is ahead of schedule in raising $2.25-billion by 2011 for all three of its campuses. The University of North Carolina ended its largest campaign ever on December 31, far exceeding the original goal of $1.8-billion, with a total of $2.38-billion raised.

Full-text article by Erin Strout is available via the Chronicle of Higher Education, 1.28.08. [Subscription required.]

Nonprofits Escape Economic Slowdown

One sector of the economy that seems to be thriving is the philanthropic sector. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, "Twenty donors made gifts of $100 million or more last year, just shy of the record of 21 such gifts made in 2006, according to The Chronicle's annual ranking of the 50 most-generous Americans. And despite a turbulent economy, fundraisers seeking donations of $10 million or more predict another strong year of big gifts in 2008."

Full-text article by Bonnie Erbe is available via U.S. News & World Report, 1.28.08.

Schools Call on Alumni Networks to Help Fill Coffers

Rich prep schools benefit from having a pool of wealthy alumni, a well rounded portfolio, and a professional money manager.

Full-text article by Geraldine Fabrikent is available via the New York Times,
1.26.08.

Rio Salado College: Not for Sale

An offer by a private investor to buy Rio Salado College is presently on hold.

Full-text article by Scott Carlson is available via the Chronicle of Higher Education, 1.24.08. [Subscription required.]

Colleges Saw Endowment Gains of 17.2 Percent Last Year but Don't Expect a Repeat

Colleges earned an average of 17.2 percent on their endowments in the 2007 fiscal year, impressive returns that could prove to be an important financial cushion against a possible recession.

The overall return for the fiscal year that ended June 30 was the highest in nearly a decade, according to the annual report released today by the National Association of College and University Business Officers in conjunction with TIAA-CREF Asset Management.

Full-text article by Goldie Blumenstyk is available via the Chronicle of Higher Education, 1.24.08. [Subscription required.]

College & University Endowments Database (FY1995 - FY2006) [Subscription to Chronicle of Higher Education required.]

U. of St. Thomas Receives Anonymous $50-Million Gift

An anonymous donor has given $50-million to the University of St. Thomas’ Opus College of Business, officials announced today.

The Minneapolis university is in an eight-year, $500-million fund-raising campaign. So far it has raised $317-million.

Full-text press release is available on the University of St. Thomas website.

Can an Investor Buy a Community College?

A private investor has offered to buy the online operations and students of Rio Salado College — a community college in Arizona where about half of the 60,000 students study only online — for at least $400 million, and officials at the Maricopa County Community College District, of which Rio Salado is a part, are considering the offer.

Full-text article by Doug Lederman is available via InsideHigherEd.com, 1.23.08.

Here’s My Check; Spend It All at Once

Restricted gifts and donor stipulations have increased throughout the last decade. This trend has forced many charities to reconsider their donor relations policies and accountability practices.

Full-text article by Stephanie Strom is available via the New York Times, 1.20.08.

Oral Roberts U. Accepts $62-Million Gift, Agrees to Change Its Board

Oral Roberts University's board of regents unanimously accepted on Monday an offer of $62 million from the family that founded Hobby Lobby and Mardel Christian and educational supply stores.

The board agreed to a proposal from Mart Green's family that will replace the existing board of regents, largely made up of the superstars of the charismatic Christian world, with a new board of trustees.

Full-text article published via Tulsa World, 1.15.08.

Colleges Are on Solid Financial Ground but Face New Demands, Moody's Says

The immediate financial picture for American higher education is stable, despite signs that the economy is weakening, according to Moody's Investors Service.

The report, 2008 U.S. Higher Education Outlook, highlights several factors that could spell longer-term problems—most notably rising public scrutiny of colleges' financial practices.

Copies of the report can be requested by sending an e-mail message to highereducation@moodys.com.

Full-text article by Goldie Blumenstyk is available via the Chronicle of Higher Education, 1.15.08. [Subscription required.]

Philanthropy in 2007

The Philanthropy 50: Americans Who Gave the Most in 2007. Twenty donors made gifts of $100-million or more last year, just shy of a record of 21 such gifts in 2006.

Donors Increasingly Make Their Big Gifts Anonymously, Chronicle Analysis Finds (article by Sam Kean). Anonymous giving hasn't had a year like 2007 in recent memory, according to a Chronicle analysis of donations of $1-million or more. Unnamed donors made at least 87 such donations.

Search The Chonicle's database to learn more about all the donors on the Philanthropy 50, plus gain access to information on all the gifts of $1-million or more listed in the Chronicle in the past year.

Published via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 2008. [Subscription required/]

Prospect Research Resource Recommendations

The Rich 100: Canada's Wealthiest People [Canadian Business Journal, 1.14.08]
Best & Brightest of 2007 [Esquire, 11.01.07]
The 2007 Silicon Alley 100 [Silicon Alley Insider, 2008]

$20 Million to Fund Stanford's Stem Cell Research

John Scully and his wife, Regina, have chosen to fund work in stem cells through a $20 million gift to the Stanford University School of Medicine and Stanford Hospital & Clinics.

Scully started his own investment management firm when he was 26. More than 30 years later, he's applied the principles he learned from commercial investing - putting money into promising projects with extraordinary potential - to his private philanthropy.

Full-text article is available via HealthNewsDigest.com, 1.9.08.

AT&T Philanthropy in North Carolina Tops $2.5 Million in 2007

AT&T is quickly building a reputation for corporate citizenship and community engagement in North Carolina.

AT&T Inc. has announced that, in 2007, philanthropic giving in North Carolina exceeded $2.5 million. Nearly 350 organizations in North Carolina received a contribution or grant from AT&T or the AT&T Foundation, the company's corporate philanthropy organization.

Full-text article is available via CNNMoney.com, 1.10.08.

Universities Consider Naming Rights

Universities are taking a close look at the kind of deals that have made corporate naming rights a staple of professional sports.

Full-text article by Tim Simmons is available via The News & Observer, 1.10.08.

Millionaire Corner: How Much Does One Need to be Rich?

Spectrem's Millionaire Corner: Wealth Insight & Action is a website focused on the wealthy. Resources include: millionaire profiles, millionaire indices (includes investment preferences, perception of issues, affluent outlook), affluent investing, millionaire lifestyles, real estate cornerstone, innovative enterprise, and philanthropy.

How Much Does One Need to be Rich? The wealthy say at least $5 million.

Why Donating Millions Is Hard To Keep Secret

As anonymous giving to charities increases, it's getting harder for donors to maintain the anonymous part.

Wealthy philanthropists last year made 37 gifts of $5 million or more without publicly revealing their names. That's up from 27 such gifts in 2006, and just 13 in 2004, according to an analysis by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Full-text article by Sally Beatty is available via the Wall Street Journal, 1.9.08.

Updates on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 31 Universities

The 31 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected a total of $637.3-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they had data available. Complete list available via The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, 1.9.08. [Subscription required.]

Facebook Generation: Is Philanthropy Ready for the Revolution?

The recent issue of Contribute considers the imapact of social networking on philanthropy (see links below).

Innovators
Virtual Communities
Q&A with virtual philanthropist, Anshe Chung
Viral Advocacy
Security

Contribute Magazine

Noted philanthropist to close his foundation in St. Petersburg, FL.

After a five-year run, philanthropist Kiran Patel is closing the doors on his public Foundation for Global Understanding and returning to the managed health care business.

Patel said he will continue his support of health, education and cultural programs through a private foundation of the same name.

But he said he no longer wants to be involved in fundraising or answer to a board of directors.

"I like to be hands on," he said.

Patel is one of the Bay area's most noted philanthropists. He donated $18.5-million to the University of South Florida to establish the Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions.

Full-text article by Janet Zink is available via the St. Petersburg Times, 1.8.08.

Suburban Hospitals "Greening" Their Facilities

Some suburban hospitals have been making strides toward the increasingly important goal of “greening” their facilities as much as possible to become more environmentally friendly.

Realizing that such efforts are not only good for their bottom line in that energy savings and pollution reduction equipment and materials can reduce costs, hospital officials in the area know that it’s also a stance that’s increasingly popular to the public.

Full-text post is available via the Business Ledger, 1.7.08.

Eli Broad Decides to Lend -- Not Give Away -- His Art

Eli Broad, the billionaire philanthropist and art collector, has decided not to donate his extensive collection of modern artwork to any one museum, but instead to form an independent foundation that will loan the work to many institutions, reports The New York Times.

Full-text article by Edward Wyatt is available via the New York Times, 1.8.08.

Direct Mail Appeals Suffer Setback

A recent survey by the Target Analysis Group reports that direct-mail appeals sent by charities are not producing as much money as they did in years past because the number of people who give through the mail is declining. Charities have increased the amount raised per solicitation, but not enough to make up for the failure to recruit new donors through the mail.

A complete summary of the survey is available via Target Analysis Group, 1.2008.

Audubon scoping out a diverse membership

Facing an uncertain future as its aging, mostly white membership begins to retire, the Audubon Society has launched an initiative to recruit a new generation of environmental stewards in minority neighborhoods in Los Angeles and across the nation.

Full-text article by Louis Sahagun is available via the Los Angeles Times, 12.30.07.

As wealthy institutions report record fund-raising gains, social-service groups struggle to stay afloat

Signs of a growing fund-raising divide between wealthy organizations and other charities are growing starker.

Full-text article by Holly Hall is available via the Chronicle of Philanthropy, 1.10.08. [Subscription required.]

Private Cash Sets Agenda for Urban Infrastructure

Article examines how private spending, supported handsomely by a growing number of very wealthy families, is gaining ground on traditional public investment.

Full-text article by Louis Uchitelle is available via the New York Times, 1.6.08.

Can Foundations Take the Long View Again?

As business leaders have invested their private wealth in philanthropy, the metrics used in the for-profit and not-for-profit world have become the same. A group of foundation leaders is challenging using such a business approach in the philanthropic sector.

Full-text article by Denise Caruso is available via the New York Times, 1.6.08.

Michigan hospitals report record fund-raising results

Contributions from Michiganders and companies helped to make 2007 a record-breaking fund-raising year for many hospital systems despite the state's slumping economy.

Full-text article by Patricia Anstett is available via Freep.com/Detroit Free Press, 1.5.08.

Job slump latest omen of recession

The Labor Department recently reported that U.S. employers last month added the smallest number of new jobs in more than four years -- driving the unemployment rate to a two-year high of 5%. Article reflects on 2007 and forecasts 2008's economic activity.

Full-text article by Peter G. Gosselin is available via the Los Angeles Times, 1.5.08.