philanthropy news stories on Newser

Mystery Donor Hiding Envelopes of Cash in Town

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 13:15:05 CST

One man in the small German town of Braunschweig was slipped an envelope filled with cash after he lost thousands of euros in a burglary. Another family, whose son was disabled in an accident, discovered a similar envelope. A hospice worker found yet another white envelope with $13,218 under...

Billionaire Pays to Fix Washington Monument

Kevin Spak — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:33:57 CST

Billionaire history buff and Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein has agreed to chip in $7.5 million to help repair the damage the Washington Monument suffered in the August earthquake that shook the region. Congress had already allocated $7.5 million to the task, and expected an equal amount to...

ACLU Sues Newark Over Zuckerberg Donation

Rob Quinn — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 03:37:21 CDT

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing Newark on behalf of a parents group that wants to know exactly what the city plans to do with Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million gift to its school system . The ACLU is demanding that the city release all correspondence between the Facebook founder, Newark...

Americans Gave More to Charity Last Year

Matt Cantor — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 06:43:23 CDT

Charitable giving increased last year as the economy improved, rising 3.8% to $290.89 billion, up from $280.3 billion in 2009. "There was a lot more optimism, all relative, in 2010," says an analyst. "People are still generous despite uncertainty, despite not having jobs, and despite confusion about...

Donald Trump Is a Lousy Philanthropist

Kevin Spak — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:10:05 CDT

Donald Trump is not a particularly giving man. Sure, he heads up a charity, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, but after reviewing that charity’s IRS forms, the Smoking Gun concludes that Trump “may be the least charitable billionaire in the United States.” Trump's foundation gave just $6.7 million to...

Plans for Madonna's Malawi School Collapse

John Johnson — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 20:36:25 CDT

A plan spearheaded by Madonna to build a $15 million school for impoverished girls in Malawi has been officially scrapped amid charges that the people running the project on her behalf squandered millions, reports the New York Times . In addition, the foundation Madonna founded with other Kabbalah devotees, Raising Malawi,...

Bill Gates Even Gave Away Richest-Guy Title

Polly Davis Doig — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 07:33:15 CST

Forbes will unveil its 2011 billionaires list tomorrow, and Bill Gates will certainly make an appearance, reports Reuters . But it turns out the longtime richest guy in the world fell to No. 2 last year not because of Microsoft's waning fortunes, but because he literally gave away the title. "It...

Zuckerberg, 15 Other Tycoons Vow to Give Away Fortunes

Rob Quinn — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 06:00:00 CST

Facebook founders Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz, the youngest billionaires in America, have become the youngest billionaires in history to pledge to give away most of their money. The pair are among 16 billionaires who have recently signed the "Giving Pledge" organized by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, the Wall...

Charities Take Biggest Hit in 20 Years

Emily Rauhala — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 04:18:17 CDT

Charitable donations plunged 11% in 2009, the worst drop in 20 years, a new report has found. The Philanthropy 400, to be released today by the Chronicle of Philanthropy , found that even the country's top charities, such as the United Way and the Salvation Army, were hit hard by the...