A Slow Year for Big Gifts Spurs Creativity by Wealthy Donors
By Maria Di Mento and Caroline Preston
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
February 7, 2010
In purely financial terms, last year was a dismal one for megagifts. The donors on the Philanthropy 50, The Chronicle’s annual list of the most-generous people in America, gave a total of $4.1-billion to charity in 2009, less than in all but one year since the newspaper began tracking the biggest philanthropists in 2000. The median gift was $41.4-million, meaning that half of those on the list gave more and half gave less. That figure compared with $69.3-million in 2008 and $74.7-million in 2007.