The Largest Charitable Gifts WYDE Has Tracked
A running cross-cause ranking of the biggest philanthropic gifts and grants WYDE Newsroom has reported, spanning higher education, health care, hunger relief and conservation.
Updated · 43 gifts
This list pulls together the largest philanthropic commitments WYDE Newsroom has covered, across every cause we track, so the biggest checks of the year can be compared in one place. It draws on the same gifts that appear on our education, health and hunger relief lists.
Dates are when each gift was announced or reported. The ranking updates whenever a new gift is added to the ledger.
| # | Donor | Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ken Griffin | Carnegie Mellon UniversityNew Miami campus ($2 billion) and Pittsburgh priorities including the School of Computer Science ($1 billion) | $3 billion |
| 2 | Michael Bloomberg | Johns Hopkins UniversityUndergraduate financial aid | $1.8 billion |
| 3 | John and Ann Doerr | Stanford UniversityStanford Doerr School of Sustainability | $1.1 billion |
| 4 | Ruth Gottesman | Albert Einstein College of MedicineFree tuition for medical students | $1 billion |
| 5 | Phil and Penny Knight | University of OregonNew Knight College of Engineering | $1 billion |
| 6 | Bill Ackman and Neri Oxman | Ackman Oxman InstituteTo launch the Ackman Oxman Institute, a New York brain research, rehabilitation, recovery and longevity center, with a donation of 10 million shares of Pershing Square Inc. | $400 million |
| 7 | John Paulson | Hebrew University of JerusalemEngineering, medicine, and trauma recovery, per the university release, with the Mount Scopus campus named The Alina and John Paulson Campus | $250 million |
| 8 | Anonymous donor | Centre CollegeCreates the Centre Forever Fund, which will provide endowed merit- and need-based scholarships and support for academic excellence | $225 million |
| 9 | Boston Celtics ownership group | Boston Children's HospitalA pediatric mental health facility, research into childhood diseases, advanced training for pediatric nurses, an innovation fund and family programs. The total of more than $200 million includes Rob and Karen Hale's $100 million from December | $200 million |
| 10 | Harold Hamm | University of OklahomaHealth education and research, the diabetes center, and the health campus that will be renamed for Hamm | $150 million |
| 11 | Felicia and Ben Horowitz | Intermountain HealthCommitment to Nevada's first stand-alone children's hospital in Las Vegas, to be named the Intermountain Health Felicia and Ben Horowitz Children's Hospital and expected to open in 2030 | $150 million |
| 12 | Dean Weidner (estate) | EvergreenHealthPlanning for a new patient-care tower on EvergreenHealth's Kirkland campus; the largest gift in the public hospital district's history | $100 million |
| 13 | George E. Norcross III | Cooper University Health CareInvestments in the City of Camden and Cooper's service area in South Jersey, prioritizing education and community programs that create jobs, training, and opportunity, benefiting the health system and the MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper. | $100 million |
| 14 | Anonymous donor | The Princess Margaret Cancer FoundationSupports the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre's highest-priority needs across research, education and care | $100 million |
| 15 | The Duke Endowment | North Carolina Children's HospitalGrant to help develop a new pediatric health system in North Carolina, toward the hospital's creation in Apex | $100 million |
| 16 | Larry Gies | Gies College of BusinessMatching pledge to match the next $100 million in qualifying donations to Gies College of Business, potentially generating $200 million | $100 million |
| 17 | Chang K. Park | Michigan Technological UniversityFully fund construction of the Chang K. Park Center for Student Wellness | $55 million |
| 18 | Gates Foundation | Uzima: A Stillbirth Prevention ProgramCommitment to the Uzima stillbirth prevention program, over the first three years | $50 million |
| 19 | Wellcome Leap | Uzima: A Stillbirth Prevention ProgramCommitment to the Uzima stillbirth prevention program, over the first three years | $50 million |
| 20 | Linda T. and John A. Mellowes and the Charter Manufacturing Foundation | Medical College of WisconsinExpand precision medicine research, develop genomic data infrastructure and recruit leading medical talent, per BizTimes | $50 million |
| 21 | Farmer Family Foundation | The Christ HospitalModernization and expansion of facilities at the Mt. Auburn campus | $50 million |
| 22 | Dudley Mecum II and Harriet Zahn Mecum | Ohio Wesleyan UniversityTrust commitment for an endowment dedicated to faculty compensation and the Mecum College of Arts and Humanities | $40 million |
| 23 | Peter Gilgan Foundation | The Ottawa HospitalC$50 million, the largest philanthropic gift in Ottawa's history, naming the Peter Gilgan Critical Care Tower at The Ottawa Hospital's new campus, toward the C$500 million Campaign to Create Tomorrow | $35.7 million |
| 24 | The Bill Gatton Foundation | The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of KentuckyTo transform The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky. Details of the planned improvements and renovations to be announced at an Oct. 29, 2026 celebration. | $30 million |
| 25 | Publix Super Markets Charities | More than 350 food banks and nonprofits in the SoutheastHunger Action Month donation, including 43 Feeding America partner food banks | $25 million |
| 26 | John and Ann Tickle | Ballad HealthTo support the future of local health care in Bristol, Tennessee, through the Ballad Health Foundation | $25 million |
| 27 | Coca-Cola Consolidated | North Carolina Children's HospitalGift to build and expand behavioral health programs; the first significant gift toward a goal of more than $1 billion for the campus in Apex | $25 million |
| 28 | Kinder Foundation | University of MissouriEndowment of the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy and an expanded partnership with the University of Oxford | $25 million |
| 29 | Richard Levy | Dartmouth HealthLaunching Dartmouth Health at Home, which brings primary and palliative care into patients' homes, and a Family Caregiver Institute | $20 million |
| 30 | Larry and Judy Tanenbaum Family Foundation | Terry Fox FoundationC$25 million, the largest single donation in the Terry Fox Foundation's history, announced at the launch of Powered by Terry and unlocking Government of Canada matching funds for cancer research | $17.8 million |
| 31 | John Deere Foundation | Feeding AmericaThree-year commitment to expand access to nutritious food and support food banks | $17 million |
| 32 | Walmart | Feeding AmericaFood bank equipment, storage, transportation and technology, expected to help rescue 500 million pounds of food over 18 months | $15 million |
| 33 | R. William (Bill) Cornell Jr. and Chloe T. Cornell | Case Western Reserve UniversitySupport for the Cornell Center and oral healthcare for people with special healthcare needs | $15 million |
| 34 | Bank of America | Boston Children's HospitalConstruction of a new pediatric psychiatric campus at the Franciscan Children's site in Brighton, part of a $640 million project | $10 million |
| 35 | Bank of America | Boston Children's HospitalHelp build a new pediatric behavioral health campus at Franciscan Children's in Brighton | $10 million |
| 36 | Michael Jordan | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social WorkExpand the Deloris P. Jordan Global Social Development Innovations Center and the Jordan Institute for Families and fund Master of Social Work scholarships | $10 million |
| 37 | DataPhilanthropy (Jeff Green) | Food Share of Ventura CountyLead gift in a $50 million campaign for a new food bank facility | $8.5 million |
| 38 | Marymount Education Foundation | Loyola Marymount UniversityEstablish the Marymount Scholars Program, supporting up to 18 new Catholic high school students a year at LMU | $5.6 million |
| 39 | Tecsys Inc. | Prisma HealthBehavioral health hospital near Easley, South Carolina, paid over five years | $5 million |
| 40 | Health Resources and Services Administration | Viterbo UniversityScholarships for Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling students through the Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program | $3.3 million |
| 41 | U.S. Department of Education | Viterbo UniversityTitle III Strengthening Institutions grant for nursing, pre-health, student success and lab upgrades | $2.9 million |
| 42 | Action Initiative Team | OceanaUnrestricted grant from the America's Favorite Couple competition for ocean conservation | $1.3 million |
| 43 | Action Initiative Team | Los Angeles Regional Food BankUnrestricted grant from the America's Favorite Couple competition for hunger relief | $1.3 million |
This list covers gifts WYDE Newsroom has reported on or verified against a primary source. It is not a complete census.