A roundup of notable gifts compiled by the Chronicle:
Montage Health Foundation
Roberta Buffett Elliott gave $105.8 million for a children’s behavioral-health center and programs.
The money will go toward a new building for patient care, and will back outpatient services, early-intervention programs, and partnerships with local nonprofits, schools, and government agencies.
Elliott is the sister of billionaire investor Warren Buffett and was an early investor in his Berkshire Hathaway company. In 2015 she gave $109 million to her alma mater, Northwestern University, landing the No. 21 spot on that year’s Philanthropy 50, the Chronicle’s annual list of the most-generous donors.
Salvation Army
Ernest and Evelyn Rady pledged $50 million for two new facilities to house and help homeless people in San Diego: the Rady Residence at the Door of Hope Rady Campus and the Rady Center at the Centre City Campus.
The money will support construction costs and help provide food and shelter, as well as longer term programs like educational support, counseling and rehabilitation services, and vocational projects.
Mr. Rady founded American Assets, a real-estate development company, and ICW Group Holdings, an insurance company. He and his wife have given extensively to nonprofits in the San Diego area and have appeared on the Chronicle’s annual Philanthropy 50.
Jewish Family Service of San Diego
Ernest and Evelyn Rady also committed $20 million through their Rady Family Foundation, with $17 million of that amount going toward matching gifts from other donors.
The gift will support the nonprofit in its efforts to assist needy people through efforts that include providing hot meals, transportation, youth programs, and employment and career services.
University of Texas Health San Antonio Cancer Center
Lowry and Peggy Mays gave $25 million through their family foundation to endow the director position of the cancer center and establish up to 10 new professorships.
The cancer center will be named for the couple, who gave the center $5 million in 2015. A former investment banker, Mr. Mays founded Clear Channel Communications in 1972.
Ringling College of Art and Design
Dr. Joel Morganroth and his wife, Dr. Gail Morrison Morganroth, donated $15 million for endowment and a variety of programs.
The money will back scholarships, support the Sarasota Museum of Art, and endow the head of the college’s Virtual Reality Development program.
Joel Morganroth is a cardiologist who founded the company that became eResearchTechnology, or ERT, a medical data and technology corporation. Gail Morganroth is a nephrologist who serves as vice dean for education at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.
Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College
Paul and Wendy Raether and their family gave $15 million for financial aid. The Raethers are longtime donors to the business school who have endowed professorships and supported new construction as well as transition programs for military veterans and elite athletes.
Paul Raether is a former head of the Portfolio Management Committee at KKR, an investment firm, and is now a member of the firm’s Private Equity Valuation Committee, the Global Valuation Committee, and the Firm Management Committee. He graduated from Tuck in 1973.
To learn about other big donations, see our database of gifts of $1 million or more, which is updated throughout the week.
