What do the mega gifts of 2024 say about giving? 

What can we learn from last year’s largest gifts from individuals about the latest giving trends and what to expect in 2025? Candid’s Philanthropy News Digest and the Chronicle of Philanthropy covered 24 nine- and 10-figure gifts from U.S.-based donors in 2024, down just one from 2023. But the total dollar amount of those mega gifts fell more sharply, to about $4.35 billion from $5.4 billion. That means the average amount fell from $216.36 million to $181.62 million.  

Let’s put this in context. Studies like the Generosity Commission’s September 2024 report have shown overall giving rates in the U.S. have been decreasing for decades, while the number and size of mega gifts have increased. According to Dollars and Change, a report from Candid, GivingTuesday, and Network for Good, total dollars awarded and average grant or gift size increased between 2015 and 2022. Those increases, however, have not kept up with inflation: The Giving USA report found that, in 2023, total giving declined by 2.1% when adjusted for inflation.  

Higher education and health institutions top the list of mega gift recipients

Dollars and Change also found that education’s share of total individual giving fell slightly, from 20% in 2015 to 19% in 2022. Still, in 2024, educational institutions, particularly those in higher education, remained the primary recipients of nine- and 10-figure gifts. However, several of those gifts also addressed health and health care, such as Ruth Gottesman’s gift of $1 billion to eliminate tuition at Einstein Medical College and Roy and Diana Vagelos’s $400 million commitment to Columbia University for biomedical research and education. Other mega gifts to higher education included $200 million from an anonymous donor to Catawba College, $150 million from Byron Trott toward recruiting rural students, and a bequest of at least $150 million from Glenn and Barbara Britt to Dartmouth College. 

In the area of health and medical research, City of Hope received $150 million from A. Emmet Stephenson Jr. and his daughter, Tessa Stephenson Brand, in support of pancreatic cancer research. James and Eleanor Randall committed $100 million to Cedars-Sinai in support of the hospital’s department of surgery and its efforts to advance innovation in surgical medicine and research. And Marc Benioff and his wife, Lynne, announced gifts totaling $150 million to hospitals in Hawai‘i to increase access to health care.  

In 2024, mega gifts also went to less common recipients  

What does this mean for most nonprofits, especially those that are not higher education or health care institutions? In 2024, some less common recipients found themselves the beneficiaries of philanthropic largess. For example, the Aspen Institute received $185.7 million from Mike and Jackie Bezos to establish a center for youth leadership development and civic engagement. An anonymous donor committed $100 million to Artists Hub on Market and Mercy Housing California to redevelop a mixed-use building that will include housing for artists, a community center, studios, rehearsal and practice rooms, a black box theater, and a cafe. And Steve and Alex Cohen awarded $116.2 million to LaGuardia Community College—an institution of higher education, but one with a much smaller endowment than those of private institutions.  

Most mega donors give to organizations they know well  

The year also saw significant gifts to numerous organizations totaling at least $100 million each from philanthropists including MacKenzie Scott, Tom Golisano, and Ken Griffin. Typically, those donors give to organizations they’ve previously supported. Golisano has long been a major donor to organizations in upstate New York, especially those working with people with developmental disabilities. In 2024, he awarded $85 million across dozens of organizations in southwest Florida, where he now lives half the year. And Griffin, who has also moved to southern Florida, awarded $50 million each to the University of Miami for its comprehensive cancer center and Baptist Health South Florida to advance neurological care in the region. 

The outlier: MacKenzie Scott gives unrestricted funding to a wide array of organizations  

By contrast, Scott—whose Yield Giving released information on a new tranche of seven-, eight-, and nine-figure gifts totaling more than $2 billion—tends to surprise her recipients. Last fall, at least seven unrestricted gifts were announced: $65 million to Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the largest contribution in the organization’s history; $65 million to Enterprise Community Partners; $40 million to Corporation for Supportive Housing; $15 million to Coastal Enterprises, Inc.; $22 million to Nonprofit Finance Fund; $15 million to Craft3; and $10 million to Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs in Atlanta. Those gifts are in addition to the $640 million she awarded in the first quarter of the year. 

Still, small nonprofits receive a limited share of individual and institutional giving overall, according to Dollars and Change. When it comes to mega gifts, it’s clear they mostly go to large, established institutions with longtime relationships with billionaire and multimillionaire supporters. For the majority of nonprofits of all sizes, the traditional approach of building and expanding relationships with established and potential supporters is likely the best way to maintain a steady flow of support. 

Photo credit: Kharrs0317 via Creative Commons