The size of the biggest gift has fallen significantly in the year 2015 compared to what it was in 2014. “The biggest gift of 2015 was a bequest from the Texas businessman John Santikos, who left property, assets, and cash worth about $605 million to the San Antonio Area Foundation.” The highest amount given in a gift in 2014 involved a $1 billion bequest. Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have promised to dedicate more than 99 percent of their Facebook shares to important causes, but because nothing has yet been pledged to any specific nonprofits that donation did not make The Chronicle’s list. According to this article Universities have benefited tremendously this year from charitable contributions. Included in this article is a list of the biggest gifts that were made in 2015.
See Maria Di Mento, Multimillion-Dollar Gifts Were Sluggish In 2015, The Chronicle Of Philanthropy, December 31, 2015.
