Where The Big Money Goes
How efficient are America's largest donors?
by Andrew Heck, Charity Navigator
May 1, 2007
In an effort to make giving money away as competitive among the rich as making it, the online magazine Slate, with the assistance of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, releases the "The Slate 60", which is an annual list of "60 largest American charitable contributions of the year." Click here to view the full list for 2006.
In the eyes of Charity Navigator how much people give away is not nearly as interesting how efficient their donations are. As we have done in the past, we have examined the giving of the philanthropists on the Slate 60 list who have given to one or more of the over 5,000 charities Charity Navigator rates, listed in the table below. Although not every philanthropist in the Slate 60 appears in the table below, 34 of the 60 largest charitable givers made 60 contributions or pledges to one or more charities evaluated by Charity Navigator in 2006. Below are some highlights from our analysis:
Wealthy donors continue to give efficiently
- None of the 34 philanthropists gave to a 0 star organization
- Only 4 wealthy donors gave to a 1 star charity and only 3 gave to an organization with a 2 star rating
- Of the 60 contributions from 34 donors made to charities rated by Charity Navigator the vast majority, 37, went to 4 star organizations
Poverty is still not a popular cause among America's wealthy
- None of the contributions made by the 60 largest donors went to a human service charity--not one of the many food banks, homeless shelters, or other poverty-centered programs rated by Charity Navigator received a donation in 2006
- Despite the celebrity and media focus on the global poor, only 4 of the 60 contributions made by wealthy donors went to international charities
Higher education and arts groups are high priorities among the rich
- 20 donors made 24 gifts to colleges and universities
- Stanford University received 7 gifts from big donors
- Arts, culture, and humanities groups received 12 different gifts from America's wealthiest donors in 2006
| Slate 60 Rank | Donor | Charity Name(s) | Category |
| 5 | Hector Guy, Doris Di Stefano | Direct Relief International | International |
| Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust | Public Benefit | ||
| The Humane Society of the United States | Animals | ||
| World Wildlife Fund | Animals | ||
| 6 | David Rockefeller | Colonial Williamsburg Foundation | Arts, Culture, Humanities |
| Harvard University | Education | ||
| International House | International | ||
| Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics | Public Benefit | ||
| 7 | Mary Joan Palevsky | California Community Foundation | Public Benefit |
| Los Angeles County Museum of Art | Arts, Culture, Humanities | ||
| National Parkinson Foundation | Health | ||
| United Negro College Fund | Education | ||
| 10 | Lorry I. Lokey | Stanford University | Education |
| 11 | Robert W. Wilson | American Bird Conservancy | Animals |
| Environmental Defense | Environment | ||
| The Nature Conservancy | Environment | ||
| Wildlife Conservation Society | Animals | ||
| World Monuments Fund | Arts, Culture, Humanities | ||
| 12 | Arthur Zankel | Carnegie Hall | Arts, Culture, Humanities |
| The Nature Conservancy | Environment | ||
| Skidmore College | Education | ||
| Teachers College, Columbia University | Education | ||
| UJA-Federation of New York | Religion | ||
| 14 | Dan L. Duncan Family | Baylor College of Medicine | Education |
| 16 | Philip H. Knight | Stanford University | Education |
| 17 | Ronald P. Stanton | Yeshiva University | Education |
| 18 | John Arrillaga | Stanford University | Education |
| 22 | Peter B. Lewis | American Civil Liberties Union Foundation | Public Benefit |
| Princeton University | Education | ||
| 23 | Tim Marquez, Bernadette Marquez | Denver Foundation | Public Benefit |
| 26 | T. Denny Sanford | Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International | Health |
| 27 | Gary C. Comer, Frances Comer | University of Chicago | Education |
| 29 | Irwin Jacobs, Joan Jacobs | American Technion Society | International |
| Cornell University | Education | ||
| San Diego Natural History Museum | Arts, Culture, Humanities | ||
| 30 | Ronald O. Perelman | Carnegie Hall | Arts, Culture, Humanities |
| 31 | Edward P. Bass | Yale University | Education |
| 35 | Oprah Winfrey | Oprah's Angel Network | International |
| 36 | Thomas M. Siebel | Stanford University | Education |
| 37 | H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest, Marguerite B. Lenfest | Columbia University | Education |
| The Franklin Institute | Arts, Culture, Humanities | ||
| Gesu School | Education | ||
| Opera Company of Philadelphia | Arts, Culture, Humanities | ||
| 39 | David H. Koch | American Museum of Natural History | Arts, Culture, Humanities |
| 40 | Frederic N. Schwartz, Eleanor H. Schwartz | Brown University | Education |
| Syracuse University | Education | ||
| 42 | Peter S. Bing, Helen Bing | Stanford University | Education |
| Johns Hopkins University | Education | ||
| 43 | John Weberg, Jacque Weberg | Opportunity International | International |
| 47 | Jonathan M. Tisch | Tufts University | Education |
| 48 | Jack Lord, Marie Lord | Hawaii Community Foundation | Public Benefit |
| 49 | Sanford I. Weill, Joan Weill | Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation | Arts, Culture, Humanities |
| National Academy Foundation | Education | ||
| 50 | Gilbert D. Mead, Jaylee M. Mead | Arena Stage | Arts, Culture, Humanities |
| 51 | Eugenia J. Dodson | Diabetes Research Institute Foundation | Public Benefit |
| 53 | Jeannik Mequet Littlefield | San Francisco Opera | Arts, Culture, Humanities |
| 53 | Ming Hsieh | University of Southern California | Education |
| 55 | Burt McMurty, Deedee McMurty | Rice University | Education |
| 56 | Jay A. Precourt | Stanford University | Education |
| 56 | Ward W. Woods, Priscilla Woods | Stanford University | Education |
