Eradicating Polio
In 1985, the fraternal organization Rotary International began a major project to battle polio. Since then, Rotarians have contributed more than $850 million plus hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours Read more…
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Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies
Roberta Buffett Elliott, the sister of Warren Buffett who has profited from his meteoric investment returns, is an alumna of Northwestern University. By funding the Buffett Center for International and Read more…
A Chinese Rhodes Scholarship
Stephen Schwarzman, co-founder of the Blackstone investment company, has focused his giving on learning. In the U.S. he is a long-time supporter of Catholic schools in New York City, and Read more…
Bolstering Science in Israel
U.S. philanthropists Sheldon and Miriam Adelson made two large gifts in 2014 to bolster the sciences in Israel. They offered $25 million to the school of health sciences at Ariel Read more…
Boosting Art in Hong Kong
Robert Miller, co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers, is a long-time supporter of the arts in Hong Kong. In 2014 he and his wife, Chantal, made the largest gift ever for Read more…
Preserving Jewish History In Tel Aviv and Venice
In Tel Aviv and Venice Beit Hatfutsot, the museum of Jewish history and culture located at Tel Aviv University, first opened in 1978. It needed an overhaul to bring its Read more…
Mission Handbook
American Christians have actively donated to charitable work overseas for more than 200 years. And there is evidence that the level of foreign donations by U.S. Christians has risen briskly Read more…
Clean Water to Drink
Philanthropists Lynn and Foster Friess began supporting the nonprofit Water Missions International in 2005, after a tsunami created a health crisis in south Asia. They have since visited the group’s Read more…
Mobile Payments in Poor Countries
At present, 2.5 billion people in developing countries have no access to formal financial institutions like banks. They must rely on cash, tin-can savings, and other unsafe and inconvenient methods Read more…
Collaborating for a Bigger Bang
“We had become a de-facto co-funder group: We were funding a lot of the same poverty-fighting organizations, had similar philosophies, and liked each other’s company.” That’s what a group of Read more…
Radios Against Genocide
Ever since he learned details of the Holocaust as an eighth grader, John Montgomery has been haunted by the idea of genocide, and determined to do his part to prevent Read more…
Preempting Nuclear Enrichment
Philanthropist Warren Buffett is an adviser to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nonprofit led by former Senator Sam Nunn that seeks to reduce threats from atomic weapons. Working through the Read more…
Giving Pledge Spreads Philanthropy Abroad
The twentieth century has witnessed an explosion in the number of billionaires. Under the leadership of Bill Gates, a group of billionaires announced a “Giving Pledge” in 2010, through which Read more…
American Missionaries
Having done so for two centuries, America still dispatches more missionaries overseas each year than any other nation. Research by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity found that Read more…
Promoting Good Government Abroad
Investor and U.S. immigrant Len Blavatnik made a major gift to Oxford University in 2010 to establish a brand new School of Government at the nearly 1,000-year-old college. The primary Read more…
Robertson Adopts New Zealand
U.S. hedge-fund pioneer Julian Robertson developed a deep affection for New Zealand after taking a sabbatical there with his family in 1978. He subsequently developed a few real-estate properties, and Read more…
Road Safety in Poor Countries
Public health has been a hallmark of Michael Bloomberg’s philanthropy. In 2007, the Bloomberg Family Foundation donated $9 million for pilot programs promoting motorcycle helmet use in Vietnam and Mexico. Read more…
A People’s Bank in Rwanda
In 2002, investment banker and entrepreneur Dale Dawson became interested in efforts to rebuild the war-torn east African nation of Rwanda. (See 2002 entry on our companion list of achievements Read more…
Bolstering Property Rights
The Omidyar Network, the philanthropy created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife, Pam, is organized around five major initiatives. One is property rights. This dates back to 2007, Read more…
Bloomberg Campaign Against Tobacco
It is estimated that tobacco use could kill a billion people globally during this century. One of the major initiatives of Bloomberg Philanthropies since 2007 has been an effort to Read more…