Transformational Gift Tracker: May 2023

BY Ashley Roberts

GOBEL’s Research Team keeps track of all publicly announced healthcare gifts of $10M+. Below find a list of principal/transformational gifts that were announced in May 2023.

Did we miss a principal/transformational healthcare gift at your organization, or somewhere else? Send the information to research@gobelgroup.com and we’ll add it to our tracker!

Individual $10M+ healthcare gifts in May 2023:

• Harvard professor and entrepreneur Tim Springer Ph.D. and his wife, Chafen Lu Ph.D. donated $210M to allow the Institute for Protein Innovation to establish an endowment, allowing the institute to scale.
• The Laygend Foundation donated $100M, the largest gift in the institution’s history, to Brigham and Women’s Hospital to create The Gene Lay Institute of Immunology and Inflammation of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, addressing the steep rise in cancer and other immune-mediated and inflammatory diseases.
• Wellcome directed £73M ($90.1M) into eight new Discovery Research Platforms to bring together researchers, teams, and collaborators to address a range of practical, technological, and methodological barriers holding up progress in many fields.
• Inova Health System received $75M from Dwight and Martha Schar to support cardiovascular care at the Inova Heart and Vascular Institute.
• IQVIA and (RED) joined the Abbott Fund, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to invest a total of $54M to address pandemic preparedness in low- and middle-income countries.
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center announced a $40M gift to establish The Marie-Josée Kravis Center for Cancer Immunobiology, funded by Harry R. Kravis in honor of the leadership of his wife, Marie-Josée Kravis, vice chair of the MSK Board of Trustees.
• Johns Hopkins Medicine received $35M from Theodore Giovanis in a commitment over 15 years to study cancer metastasis.
• The University of Maryland School of Medicine received $30M from the Kahlert Foundation to create the Kahlert Institute for Addiction Medicine.
• Beilinson Hospital in Israel received $25M from Susan and Henry Samueli. While their gift establishes an integrative cancer institute in the couple’s name, it is combined with a $9M gift from Clalit Health Services, also supporting the institute.
• Project HOME, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit, was the recipient of a $25M donation from Pam Estadt and Ira Lubert to combat addiction by addressing primary care and housing needs during treatment.
• CancerCare Manitoba announced a $27M CAD ($20.07M USD) gift from the Paul Albrechtsen Foundation to support cancer patients. The gift is the largest single donation to any healthcare facility in the province.
• Dick Schulze, the founder of Best Buy, donated $20M to NCH Healthcare System to support the new cardiac and stroke center. The gift was made via the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation.
• The University of Houston received $20M from alumnus Andy Gessner and his wife, Barbara, in support of its College of Nursing. The University will rename its nursing college the Andy and Barbara Gessner College of Nursing.
• The Medicines for All Institute at Virginia Commonwealth University will create 14 new global health projects and increase programming to improve access to medicines globally, thanks to a $18.7M grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
• Two Bangor, ME area hospitals – Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, and St. Joseph Healthcare Foundation – announced a total $18M bequest from the late John Webber’s estate. Both organizations anticipate several million dollars more at a later date, following the estate’s settlement.
• Bringham and Women’s Hospital announced the creation of the Charles and Amelia Gould Center for Asthma and Pulmonary Disease Research. The center is made possible by a $17.5M bequest from the late Amelia “Margie” Gould and Charles Gould.
• The Stupski Foundation announced $15M in grant funding which will support seven community-based health centers across Hawaii in an effort to improve health equity.
• The Grand River Hospital Foundation announced a $15M donation from the estate of the late Ralph and Dorothy Kraft. The hospital will use the funds to support patient experience, staff wellness, and innovation.
• Shirley Ryan AbilityLab received a $15M donation from John and Kathy Schreiber, creating the John and Kathy Schreiber Brain Innovation Center.
• Mackenzie Scott made a $15M donation to support the Fistula Foundation. The funding supports surgery for women who have experienced injuries from childbirth in sub-Saharan African and Asia.
• The Ohio State University College of Medicine received a $15M donation from Sarah “Sally” Ross Soter and the Soter Kay Foundation, establishing the Sarah Ross Soter Women’s Health Research Program.
• The American Heart Association awarded $15M to The Ohio State University, the University of California Davis, and Virginia Commonwealth University to study the mechanisms of how chronic stress affects cardiovascular health.
• The Heinz Endowments awarded nearly $11.1M in grants to support programs to strengthen children and families, focusing on areas including food insecurity, education, housing, and environmental health in the Pittsburgh area.
• The Royal Flying Doctor Service received $10M AUS ($6.62M USD) from Clive Berghofer to continue delivering vital emergency services across Queensland, Australia.
• Kaiser Permanente has committed up to $10M to Denver Health, a safety-net hospital, to support their continuing operations. Part of the gift is in the form of a challenge grant

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