News

University of Houston receives $10 million from Hilton Foundation
The gift will create an unrestricted endowment to help the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management navigate challenges that have resulted from the coronavirus pandemic....

Bloomberg commits $150 million to Harvard for Center for Cities
Building on the success of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, the foundation will endow a new center designed to strengthen the capabilities of mayors and their teams, advance effective organizational practices in city halls around the world, support a new generation of public servants, and produce new research and instructional materials....

Netflix commits $100 million for creative equity
With the goal of expanding opportunities for underrepresented creators, producers, writers, and directors to have their voices heard, the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity will invest in efforts to identify, train, and provide job placement for up-and-coming talent....

University of Pittsburgh receives $25 million from Hillman Foundation
The gift includes $20 million for vision care research, including support for breakthroughs in vision restoration; advanced technologies and therapies to address vision loss; reduced barriers to health care; and the growth of the city's biotech sector....

Amazon commits $15 million to Code.org for computer science education
Awarded through Amazon Future Engineer, the online retailer's computer science education program, the funding will support initiatives designed to increase students' awareness of academic and career pathways in computer science and prepare them for success in college-level CS courses and beyond, with a focus on students from underrepresented groups....

Global Fund commits $64 million in Republic of the Congo
The two grants will support efforts to expand HIV status awareness and access to lifesaving antiretroviral therapy, boost the national tuberculosis response, and expand access to quality malaria diagnostics and treatment tools and distribute 3.5 million mosquito nets by 2023....

Santa Clara University receives $25 million from alumnus
The gift from tech entrepreneurs John Ocampo ('79) and his wife, Susan, will fund the completion of interdisciplinary space in the north wing of the Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation....

National Air and Space Museum receives $10 million for exhibition
The gift from the Kislak Family Foundation will support an exhibition aimed at exploring the changes to flight and culture that developed during World War II....

American Academy of Arts & Sciences receives $10 million gift
The gift from David M. Rubenstein, the largest in the 240-year history of the institution, will support efforts to strengthen and advance democracy and justice in the United States....

Friday Foundation donates works to Seattle Art Museum
The gift from the foundation, which owns the collection assembled by the late Richard E. Lang and Jane Lang Davis, include nineteen Abstract Expressionist works and $10.5 million in dedicated funds....

$250 million gift launches cancer research foundation
Launched with the help of a $250 million pledge from William H. Goodwin, Jr. and the estate of William Hunter Goodwin III, Break Through Cancer will fund collaborative, multidisciplinary research by teams from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT....

Rockefeller Brothers Fund to focus on anti-racism, anti-sexism
RBF president and CEO Stephen Heinz and Mark Adiedo, vice president for people and culture/chief diversity officer at the foundation, write that "becoming an anti-racist, anti-sexist institution is not only a moral imperative but central to effectively realizing our mission of a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world...."

UC Davis receives $1.5 million for African American, African studies
The gift from alumni Lois ('85) and Darryl Goss ('83) will establish the Austin and Arutha Goss Presidential Chair in African American and African Studies, which is named for Darryl Goss's parents, whom the couple credit with teaching them the value of education and lifelong learning....

People in the News (02/28/2021): appointments, promotions, obituaries
The latest staff and board announcements from the philanthropic sector....

Mother Cabrini Health Foundation awards $115 million in grants
The grants, which boost the foundation's total grantmaking to $165 million in 2020, include funding for COVID-19 relief as well as $44 million in support of general services for low-income individuals and families....

Green Finance Institute, Laudes Foundation partner on decarbonization
The foundation will support the efforts of the institute's Coalition for the Energy Efficiency of Buildings, which works to bring the public and private sectors together to establish and scale new markets and financial mechanisms aimed at mobilizing capital for the decarbonization of buildings....

Bristol Myers Squibb awards $11 million for health equity
Part of a $150 million commitment to advance diversity, inclusion, and health equity announced by the company in August, the grants were awarded in support of efforts to boost diversity among clinical researchers, improve access to high-quality care, and increase disease awareness and education in racially diverse and medically underserved communities....

Rainwater Charitable Foundation announces Prize Program recipients
The prizes recognize scientific progress toward new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases associated with the accumulation of tau protein in the brain, including Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia....

University at Buffalo receives $10 million for diversity initiatives
The gift from Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation, a venture created by the late Carl V. Granger, an African-American physician, professor emeritus, and former chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, will support initiatives aimed at increasing equity, diversity, and inclusion at the university....

Community Foundation Update (02/27/2021)
News and staff announcements from community foundations in California, Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Wisconsin....

Marriott Foundation awards $20 million to Howard University
The gift will create the Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership in honor of Marriott International president and CEO Arne Sorenson, who passed away earlier this month after battling pancreatic cancer....

JPMorgan commits $350 million to boost underserved small businesses
Part of the bank's $350 billion commitment to provide economic opportunity to underserved communities and advance racial equity efforts, the pledge includes low-cost loans and equity investments, support for policy solutions aimed at improving Small Business Administration programs, and philanthropic investments....

Wofford College receives $150 million endowment gift
The endowment gift from alumnus, businessman, and former Carolina Panthers owner Jerome J. Richardson will support four areas: need-based financial aid, student and faculty research and off-campus study and experiential learning opportunities, a $15 minimum wage for all college support staff, and a capital improvements fund....

College fundraisers optimistic about FY21, survey finds
A survey conducted in January by consulting firm Washburn & McGoldrick found that 65 percent of college fundraising professionals were "confident" they would meet their FY21 goals, up significantly from 40 percent in September and 17 percent in June....

Cognizant announces $250 million global CSR initiative
The five-year commitment includes support for efforts to advance economic mobility, educational opportunity, health and well-being, and diversity and inclusion....

Knight Foundation awards $15.3 million for data, computer sciences
The grants include $10 million to Florida International University and $4.3 million to the University of Miami in support of computing and data science education, and $1 million to Baptist Health South Florida in support of a healthcare technology initiative....

Center for Black Entrepreneurship launched with $10 million
To be located on the campuses of Spelman and Morehouse colleges, the Center for Black Entrepreneurship will work to eliminate access barriers to capital and expertise for Black entrepreneurs....

American Family Insurance announces $105 million equity initiative
The ‘Free to Dream’ initiative will focus on strengthening efforts related to economic empowerment, education and health equity, climate resilience, criminal justice reform, and workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion....