philanthropy

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Flint Thanks Elon Musk for a Promise Kept

Donation will pay for water filtration systems at schools

(Newser) - Clean drinking water—it's an underappreciated luxury coming at long last to students in Flint, Mich., thanks to Elon Musk. Following his July vow to assist in the Flint water crisis, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO and the Musk Foundation donated $480,350 to the Flint City School District,...

Laurene Powell Jobs Is Rebooting Philanthropy
Laurene Powell Jobs Is
on Her Own Mission Now
longform

Laurene Powell Jobs Is on Her Own Mission Now

Widow of Steve Jobs is investing in various fields though her Emerson Collective

(Newser) - She's 54, the widow of Steve Jobs, one of the richest women on the planet, and the founder and driving force behind what might be "the most influential product of Silicon Valley that you've never heard of," according to a lengthy profile in the Washington Post ...

Secretary Lived Frugally for 96 Years, Then Donated Millions
Frugal Secretary
Dies at 96, Leaves an
'Oh My God' Moment
in case you missed it

Frugal Secretary Dies at 96, Leaves an 'Oh My God' Moment

Sylvia Bloom surprised everyone with the $9M fortune she'd amassed, then donated

(Newser) - When Sylvia Bloom died at the age of 96 in 2016, her niece experienced an "oh my God" moment. "I realized she had millions and she had never mentioned a word," says Jane Lockshin, also the executor of Bloom's estate. More than $9 million, in fact,...

University Donors Want $100M Gift Returned

Suit claims U of Chicago hasn't followed 2015 agreement

(Newser) - A $100 million donation to the University of Chicago, meant to fund research on global conflict resolution, is now at the center of a conflict itself. With a lawsuit filed late last month, the Pearson Family Members Foundation aims to reclaim what would be the third-largest donation in the university'...

Drake Drops $200K on Strangers in Miami

Good deeds will feature in upcoming music video

(Newser) - Further showing Canadians to be oh so nice, rapper Drake surprised a hotel maid with a spa visit, a lobster dinner, and a $10,000 shopping spree—though, to be fair, Odelie Paret truly deserved it. The mother of five, born in Haiti, has spent that last 20 years cleaning...

Warren Buffett Just Gave Away $3.2B
Warren Buffett Just
Gave Away $3.2B

Warren Buffett Just Gave Away $3.2B

Largest chunk to go to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

(Newser) - Warren Buffett remains the fourth-richest person in the world, but his pockets are now significantly lighter. As part of his annual giving spree, the billionaire announced Monday he would donate $3.17 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to five charities. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will receive the largest...

His $1K Investment Became $2M. Then He Gave It All Away

'You have to do some good in this world,' says Russ Gremel

(Newser) - It cost Chicago's Russ Gremel $1,007 to buy almost 28,000 shares in local company Walgreens some 70 years ago. Today, those shares are worth $2 million, but Gremel isn't enjoying the payoff of his good investment—at least not in the traditional sense. Instead, he's...

Amazon Is Putting a Homeless Shelter in Its New HQ

The move is being called the company's 'biggest philanthropic venture to date'

(Newser) - Amazon has announced what the Seattle Times is calling its "biggest philanthropic venture to date." Inside an office building at its new Seattle headquarters will be 47,000 square feet of space dedicated to a homeless shelter known as Mary's Place. Since April 2016, Amazon has allowed...

Little Caesars Founder Quietly Paid the Rent of Rosa Parks

Story resurfaces about the late Mike Ilitch and his generosity

(Newser) - The death of Mike Ilitch , founder of Little Caesars, has brought back into the public eye a little-known story about his hometown philanthropy in Detroit: Back in 1994, he began covering the rent for civil rights icon Rosa Parks. That year, Parks had been robbed and assaulted in her central...

Tales of George Michael's Secret Philanthropy Emerge

He donated millions to charity, funded couple's IVF treatment

(Newser) - A day after a contestant on the UK version of game show Deal or No Deal said his wife needed $28,500 for in-vitro fertilization treatment, the show's producers got a phone call. It was George Michael offering to pay the sum in full, says executive producer Richard Osman...

Study: Lucy Fell 40 Feet to Her Death 3M Years Ago

But not all agree with the new theory

(Newser) - The famous human ancestor known as Lucy walked the Earth some 3 million years ago , but it was her tree climbing that might have led to her demise, a new study suggests. An analysis of her partial skeleton reveals breaks in her right arm, left shoulder, right ankle, and left...

$100 Bills Have Been Hidden All Over Oregon's Capital

You can thank 'Benny'

(Newser) - Oregon's capital is rolling in Benjamins thanks to a generous yet mysterious "Benny-factor." The Statesman Journal reports $100 bills began appearing around Salem in May 2013 and more than $50,000 has been discovered since, including $8,600 last month alone. The individual responsible—nicknamed "Benny"...

Female Shaman Buried in Strangely Elaborate Grave

Many others were buried nearby, but this woman was treated differently

(Newser) - The 4-foot-9 woman may have been diminutive in height, but the manner in which the 40-something was buried suggests a sizeable social stature. Since researchers discovered her 12,000-year-old grave in Israel in 2005, a team has been piecing together the story behind a woman they are calling a "...

Sean Parker Just Made 'Unprecedented' $250M Cancer Move

New institute will bring together leading research centers

(Newser) - Big news in cancer research Wednesday: Sean Parker, the founder of Napster and a co-founder of Facebook, is giving $250 million to six leading cancer centers so they can collaborate on immunotherapy in what Fortune calls "unprecedented" fashion. The nitty gritty:
  • The new Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy will
...

$102M in Donations, but Not a Penny From Trump Himself

Lots of rounds of golf and other giveaways, though: 'Washington Post' analysis

(Newser) - Last year, Donald Trump's campaign gave the AP a 93-page list it claimed documented $102 million that he's donated to charity over the past five years. The AP didn't print the list—though it published a story deeming Trump's philanthropy "elusive"—but it's...

Nike Co-Founder Rains $400M Donation on Stanford

Philip Knight's gift, one of the biggest to a college ever, will fund scholarship program

(Newser) - Stanford University is launching a program it's calling the "largest single increase in student financial aid in Stanford's history," and it has Nike's chairman to thank for the lion's share of it, NPR reports. Philip Knight, also one of Nike's co-founders, has pledged...

Philanthropist Gives $18.5M to Fix Up Lincoln Memorial

'I’m very honored as an American to be able to contribute in this way'

(Newser) - The Lincoln Memorial will be getting a much-needed facelift in the coming years thanks to an $18.5 million donation from one history-loving philanthropist, CNN reports. "Lincoln deserves to have his memorial in tip-top shape," David Rubenstein tells the AP . The president of the National Park Foundation admits...

North Face Founder's Widow Is Giving Away a Lot of Land

Kristine Tompkins is working with Chile

(Newser) - When North Face founder Doug Tompkins died in December in a kayaking accident, it seemed as if his South American conservation efforts had come to a premature end. But his widow is looking to carry on his philanthropy, with the BBC reporting she has offered a huge chunk of land...

Zuckerbergs&#39; Philanthropy: A &#39;Big Waste&#39;?
Zuckerbergs' Philanthropy:
A 'Big Waste'?
OPINION

Zuckerbergs' Philanthropy: A 'Big Waste'?

Move meets some scorn online

(Newser) - The announcement by Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan Zuckerberg that they'll donate 99% of their Facebook shares—$45 billion at today's value— to a foundation they created with the birth of their daughter isn't being met with universal praise. Some examples:
  • 'Big waste': "It
...

Real-Life Santa Buys Entire Toy Store for Homeless Kids

'I know everyone can use a gift around the holidays'

(Newser) - How does someone who regularly purchases hundreds of toys per year for New York City's foster kids step up her philanthropic game? By buying an entire toy store. The idea came to Carol Suchman when she noticed a closed shop with a for rent sign in her neighborhood, NY1...

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