A roundup of notable gifts he collected Chronicle:
Stanford University
Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, gave $75 million to create the Phil and Penny Knight Brain Resilience Initiative, an effort to learn about the causes of cognitive decline and degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease and how to delay and treat them. Such neurodegeneration. The program will be offered at the Wu Cai Institute for Neurosciences at Stanford University.
“As we get older, we witness the devastating impact of neurodegeneration on our friends and loved ones,” Penny Knight said in a press release. “We’re calling it the Brain Resilience Initiative because we want to focus on the positive outcomes that this important research could produce: healthy aging and the potential to help all people live fuller, more vibrant lives later in life.”
Phil Knight received his MBA from Stanford University in 1962, and the pair have been longtime Stanford University supporters. They awarded the university $400 million in 2016 to launch Knight-Hennessy Scholars, a graduate program designed to prepare the next generation of global leaders. They also awarded the Stanford University Graduate School of Business $105 million in 2006 to build the Knight Management Center.
The Knights also gave huge sums to two other universities, the University of Oregon and Oregon Health and Science University, and directed much of their support to the scientific efforts of these two institutions. Phil Knight received his BA in Business Administration from the University of Oregon in 1959. The Knights appeared in Chronicle’List of annual charities’ 50 largest donors nine times since 2006.
Shepherd Center
Arthur Plank provided $50 million through the Arthur M. Plank Family Foundation to pay for the construction of new family homes. Planck’s donation will double the size of the hospital’s neurological rehabilitation housing and enable more families and caregivers to get closer as their loved ones participate in rehabilitation for spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, multiple sclerosis and other neurological conditions.
Blanc is the chairman, owner, and CEO of the Atlanta Falcons soccer team. He co-founded Home Depot and retired from a home improvement retailer in 2001. He previously provided for the center’s military SHARE initiative, a program that provides treatment at no cost to veterans, service members, and first responders with traumatic brain injury. SHARE clients and their families also rely on the center’s family housing units during their treatment there.
Tampa Museum of Art
Richard and Cornelia provided $25 million to help pay for renovations to expand the Museum’s gallery, collections, and event spaces. The money will also help the museum add an education center, restaurant, and retail space.
Richard Corbett is the president and CEO of Concord Companies, a Tampa-based real estate investment firm. He served as chair of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission for two years, where he helped develop the Florida Youth Conservation Centers network, an effort in partnership with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Foundation to connect youth with outdoor activities.
Intermountain Children’s Primary Hospital
Brad and Megan Bonham gave $15 million to grant the Utah Embryological Center and expand the center’s capabilities. The center will be renamed Grant Scott Bonham Fetal Center after the couple’s infant son, who died a day after his birth due to complications that could not be treated intrauterinely at the time.
Brad Bonham co-founded and is the CEO of Walker Edison, an online home furniture and décor company in West Jordan, Utah. He is also an investor in Journeyfront, an online recruitment platform, and teaches business courses at Ensign College, a private university in Salt Lake City operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints Education System.
University of Wisconsin at Platteville Foundation
Todd and Susan Johnson provided $10 million to create the Capistan Scholarship Program, which will provide scholarships that cover full tuition, room, and board to students from the Midwestern states of Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, or Michigan who plan to major in STEM fields or Accounting and finance.
Todd Johnson is the Chairman and CEO of Capstan Corporation, a Duluth, Minnesota holding company that owns construction, energy, and other businesses. He received a degree in engineering from the university in 1981.
Simmons University
Jennifer Eckert provided $5 million to create the Jennifer Eckert Center for Leadership and Engagement and support the Jennifer Eckert Graduate Student Leadership Program. Her gift will also support the Simmons Bridge Program, which provides first-year black, Indigenous, and other students who identify as people of color with opportunities to connect better with each other across the university and pay for programs that will enable undergraduate students to become more engaged in community service. Citizenship projects and leadership development efforts.
Eckert worked in the fashion industry before going back to school and received her master’s degree from Simmons College of Social Work in 2008. In 2012, she founded Boston Post Acception Resources, a Brooklyn, Massachusetts, nonprofit that provides education and other types of support to people affected by Their lives are foster and caring in one way or another. The organization serves people of all ages.
For other big donations, check out our database of gifts worth $1 million or more, which is updated regularly.
