How nine nonprofits moved up the ladder in The Chronicle’s annual ranking of the nation’s charities that raised the most from foundations, corporations, and individual donors:
Challenger School Foundation: +4,390%
Challenger (No. 204) received a bequest from the estate of founder Barbara Baker, who died in 2012. The organization, which runs 26 private K-8 schools in five Western states, spent its first 50 years as a for-profit company, converting to a nonprofit after Ms. Baker’s death in accordance with her wishes. The final bequest could reach $300 million, the school says.
St. Louis Community Foundation: +686%
More than 60 donor-advised funds were opened at the foundation (No. 278), roughly double its average. Several years of increased marketing and community outreach are paying off for the nation’s second-oldest community foundation, says President Amelia Bond. “We sat on a shelf for 80 years,” she says. “This has been a foundation that has had to work hard to find its identity.”
Park Avenue Armory: +179%
The armory (No. 376) made this year’s list for the first time, thanks to a $65 million gift from the family foundation started by the late Airstream trailer mogul Wade Thompson.
Cleveland Foundation: +59%
The foundation (No. 387) makes its first appearance on the Philanthropy 400 in five years, thanks largely to a $23 million bequest, one of the largest gifts in the grant maker’s 101-year history. The donors were longtime supporters Al Higley Jr., who ran a Cleveland-based, family-owned construction company, and his wife, Beverly.
Sierra Club Foundation: +51%
Donors are attracted to the group’s renewable-energy efforts and Beyond Coal campaign, says Mary Nemerov, development chief for the organization (No. 316). But the gains were primarily due to a few big gifts. “It was one of those years where you tell the board, ‘Don’t get your hopes up for next year,’ " Ms. Nemerov says.
Welvista: +24%
Welvista (No. 351), which gives uninsured, low-income South Carolina residents access to prescription medication and pediatric dental services, gets nearly all its support from noncash sources, most of them pharmaceutical companies. This year, says Juanita Wright, the charity’s leader, those donations are headed toward $130 million, up from $78 million in 2015.
Shriners Hospitals for Children: +18%
The hospital system (No. 91) benefited from a reliable source — planned gifts, which made up nearly 60 percent of its private support. John McCabe, executive vice president, says many members of Shriners International, the fraternal organization that founded the system in the 1920s, write it into their wills and recommend friends and family do the same.
UNCF: +14%
The higher-education charity (No. 126) received a $20 million grant from the Fund II Foundation led by philanthropist and tech venture-equity billionaire Robert Smith. Fund II gave the organization $28 million more this year; both grants will pay for scholarships for STEM students.
Junior Achievement Worldwide: +10%
The organization (No. 190) credits its gains to a $25 million campaign, a push to bring more senior-level corporate executives onto the boards of its 109 U.S. affiliates, and appeals tailored to donor interests. “The stars have all aligned for us,” CEO Jack Kosakowski says.
