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Biggest Donations of 2014 Announced

January 9, 2015 Posted by Jessica Shofler in Donations, News, Nonprofits

DonationsWhile the two biggest charitable donations in 2014 came from men over 80, the top 10 biggest donors reinforced young technology wealth as an important player in philanthropy. The list includes large donations from Nicholas Woodman, the founders of GoPro camera company, and his wife, and Larry Page, a co-founder of Google.

The top donation was a $1 billion bequest from Ralph Wilson, Jr., owner of the Buffalo Bills. The money went to a foundation in Wilson’s name with his heirs now in charge of fulfilling his charitable goals.

Although the combined top 10 biggest gifts of 2014 total $3.3 billion, about the same as that of 2013 ($3.4 billion), charitable giving by the ultra-rich has not yet recovered from the financial downturn. In 2007, the top 10 biggest gifts totaled $4.1 billion. But we have seen an upward trend from the years directly following the financial crises, when totals didn’t reach above $2.5 billion.

Most of the big donations went to colleges, research institutes, and foundations, with enormous capital campaigns leading the way. Harvard is aiming for a new capital campaign record with a $6.5 billion drive and received two of the donations on the top 10 list.

Check out the rest of the top 10 donors here and let us know which organizations topped your giving in 2014!

NOTE: The information contained herein is not intended to be legal advice and the reader should know that no Attorney-Client relationship or privilege is formed by the posting or reading of this article which is also not intended to solicit business.

Casey Summar, Partner, The Law Firm for Non-Profits,1812 W Burbank Blvd, #7445, Burbank, CA 91506

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