Charitable Gifts by America's Most Generous Down in 2005
Charitable Gifts by America's Most Generous Down in 2005
America's top philanthropists donated a total of $4.3 billion to charity last year, down from the more than $10 billion given by the most generous donors in 2004, the Chronicle of Philanthropy and Slate magazine report.
According to the annual list of the country's sixty most-generous donors, which debuted in Slate in 1996 and more recently has been compiled by the Chronicle, the median amount given by donors on the list in 2005, including pledges, was $32.5 million, down from $40.8 million in 2004. In addition, for the first time since 1998 no one made a gift of $1 billion or more. Twenty-two donors have made the list of top 60 donors at least once before, counting appearances on the lists published jointly by the Chronicle and Slate since 2000, as well as the lists that were compiled by Slate alone from 1996 to 1999.
The largest donation in 2005 was a $404 million bequest from Cordelia Scaife May — heiress to the Mellon banking fortune — the bulk of which went to the Colcom Foundation in Pittsburgh, which May created to support the environment and stricter immigration limits in the United States. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, ranked second with a $320 million donation to their foundation, part of the $3.35 billion they pledged to the foundation in 2004.
Charity experts cite the flat stock market and skepticism about how much additional money charities with large endowments need for their work as key reasons for the decline. "Last year the market ended within 1 percent of where it began," Gary L. Rathbun, president of Private Wealth Consultants in Toledo, Ohio, told the Chronicle. "People are a little gun-shy about their wealth."
Other experts, however, say that charities need to do more to give wealthy donors a reason to give. "There remains a tremendous amount of money in the woodwork that could be philanthropic," said H. Peter Karoff, founder of the Boston-based Philanthropic Initiative. "People continue to hold back — one reason, not being sure how they can make a difference."
For the complete list of 2005's most-generous donors, see: http://philanthropy.com/free/articles/v18/i09/09000601.htm.
Mallaby, Sebastian.
“The Slate 60 Turns 10.”
Slate Magazine
2/20/06.
Di Mento, Maria.
Lewis, Nicole.
“How the Wealthy Give.”
Chronicle of Philanthropy
2/23/06.
Primary Subject: Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Location(s): National, United States
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