by Evan Sparks
From Philanthropy magazine, Spring 2012
It is remarkable that, in survey after survey, at least 10 of the world’s 20 best universities bear the names of private American citizens who have used their wealth to create world-class institutions of higher learning. Private, voluntary support has long been a source of great strength for American higher education. In our Spring 2012 cover story, managing editor Evan Sparks highlights three donors and the universities they recently created: the F. W. Olin College of Engineering, Ave Maria University, and Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.
by Evan Sparks
Desires—like Tom Monaghan’s—to strengthen religious faith are responsible for a flurry of new colleges in recent decades (see the Philanthropy Spring 2012 cover story). In 1990, Pope John...
by Evan Sparks
From Philanthropy magazine, Winter 2012
Meet the philanthropist who is protecting Africans from Joseph Kony. Our exclusive story describes how Houston investor John Montgomery is pursuing an audacious goal for private philanthropy: Ending genocide.
by Evan Sparks
From Philanthropy magazine, Fall 2011
Cable entrepreneur Bill Daniels died in 2000, leaving $1 billion to his foundation. Even though he spent the last years of his life carefully detailing his wishes, within a few years of his passing, the board realized the fund was drifting from his principles. That realization triggered something rare in the annals of American philanthropy. It triggered a process of recovery and restoration, of rediscovering Mr. Daniels’ intent for his foundation and instituting a process by which it would be protected in the future. Managing editor Evan Sparks examines Bill Daniels, the Daniels Fund, and its remarkable efforts to honor the intentions of its founding benefactor.
by Evan Sparks
From Philanthropy magazine, Summer 2011
You could travel the world in search of the rarest biblical artifacts and manuscripts—or, more simply, you could visit Oklahoma City. There Hobby Lobby founder David Green and his family have assembled an unrivaled collection of biblical artifacts and scriptural antiquities. Thanks to the Green family, the city will soon be home to a world-class museum of the Bible—the first of its kind in the country.
by Evan Sparks
From Philanthropy magazine, Spring 2011
Gretchen Reed loves to fly. She owns not one, not two, but eighteen restored, antique aircraft—many of which are still flown. She’s especially fond of her Aeronca Champion, a classic,...
by Evan Sparks
From Philanthropy magazine, Winter 2010
Web 2.0: It’s a fast-paced, interactive free-for-all. On Web 2.0 platforms, Internet users generate their own content. They create massive virtual communities around shared interests. And...
by Evan Sparks
From Philanthropy magazine, Spring 2010
Forty-three. That’s the percentage of college freshmen who will drop out of school before getting a bachelor’s degree. Community colleges—even worse. There, over 69 percent of students will...
by Evan Sparks
From Philanthropy magazine, Summer 2010
It was always a mistake to tell Pierre F. Goodrich you were too busy to read. “What are you doing,” he would reply, “between midnight and 2:00 a.m.?” Goodrich himself spent the wee hours...
by Evan Sparks
From Philanthropy magazine, Fall 2010
Wealth and the Will of God: Discerning the Use of Riches in the Service of Ultimate Purpose by Paul G. Schervish and Keith Whitaker Indiana University Press, 2010 210 pp., $24.95...
by Evan Sparks
From Philanthropy magazine, Winter 2011
Was James B. Duke more successful than Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller? All three men established lasting philanthropic legacies, but unlike the open-ended mandates of the Rockefeller and Carnegie foundations, Duke’s has a clearly defined and carefully observed philanthropic mission. His is a remarkable success story in avoiding the hazards of perpetuity. Duke left much of his fortune to the Carolinas, and his endowment today continues to enrich the land he loved.
by Evan Sparks
From Philanthropy magazine, Spring 2011
Meet the donors who are working to ensure that students today appreciate the benefits of free enterprise tomorrow. Philanthropists like John Allison, Marilyn Fedak, Bernie Marcus, and Robert and Patricia Kern are hoping to make a case for the rightness of the free enterprise system by sponsoring programs to teach the moral benefits of free markets on colleges nationwide.