• ABOUT PHILANTHROPY
• Charitable Planning  »
• Grantmaking »
• Philanthropy Statistics
• Philanthropy Quotes
• History of Philanthropy
• Philanthropy Dictionary
• NPT Publications »
• Links »

(2000 - present)

2000 
United Way and its partner, the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems, successfully petition the Federal Communications Commission to designate "211" for health and human services information and referral. Originally created by United Way of Atlanta, 211 that makes a critical connection between individuals and families in need and the appropriate community-based organizations and government agencies. (Source: United Way of America)

2001 
Over $1-billion is donated to charitable causes in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington D.C. and Somerset County, PA.  The American Red Cross receives over $752-million in charitable gifts by December 31. (Source: AAFRC, Giving USA 2003).  The United Way of New York City and the New York Community Trust establish the September 11th Fund. Four months after its establishment, donations to the September 11th Fund total more than $425 million. (Source: United Way of America).  This is the largest act of collective charitable giving to one event or cause in America to date.

2004 
The Lance Armstrong Foundation creates the LIVESTRONG^TM wristband and “Wear Yellow Live Strong” campaign.  Within two years, approximately 55 million people across the globe wear a LIVESTRONG™ wristband in support of people living with cancer. (Source: Lance Armstrong Foundation).

2006 
In June, Warren Buffett announces that he would give $43.5 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to a number of private foundations and charities.  Most surprisingly the largest disbursement would be to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ($31 billion), making it the largest single charitable gift in history.  The remainder of the gift would be to Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation; Howard G. Buffett Foundation; Susan A. Buffett Foundation; NoVo Foundation; and the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

President George W. Bush enacts the Pension Protection Act which includes a number of charitable giving incentives and reforms.  It defines and regulates donor advised funds and their grantmaking more specifically; allows donors, for only two years, to make contributions up to $100,000 per year from their individual retirement account (IRA) to a qualifying charity; eliminates fractional gifts of art; disallows charitable deductions for taxpayers who do not itemize; reform gifts of clothing and household items to prevent abuse; increases in penalty excise taxes; and new regulatory requirements on of Type III supporting organizations. (Sources: National Philanthropic Trust, Joint Committee on Taxation)

Professor Muhammad Yunus and Grammeen Bank received the Nobel Peace Prize, split into equal parts, “for their efforts to create economic development from below.” Grameen Bank was founded by Professor Muhammad Yunus in 1983, with an idea to provide microloans to the poorest of the poor without requiring collateral.  Today the bank has over 2,500 branches and has given out $ 8.43 billion, since its inception. 

Year 2007
A day after Virginia Tech shooting, the deadliest shooting in the U.S. history, The Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund is established, to help victims’ families.  Later that year the HSMF moves $3.2 million into separate named endowed funds, each created in honor of a victim lost in the tragedy.  By 2009, more than $1 million is raised by charities seeking to help Virginia Tech recover from the disaster.

William Barron Hilton, co-chairman of Hilton Hotels Corporation, pledged $1.2-billion to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, making it one of the wealthiest grant makers in the country. The foundation’s main grant making programs will include preventing and treating blindness worldwide, improving water-sanitation systems in developing countries, curbing drug abuse among young people, providing early-childhood education to disabled children, and helping homeless Americans find housing.

Jewish National Fund raises $2.5 million online, making it the first Jewish nonprofit to raise $1 million on line.

IRS releases a new Form 990, the return that charities and other tax-exempt organizations are required to file annually.  The new form is designed to make non-profit organizations more transparent, therefore making it easier for the public to understand the financial operations of charities. 

Year 2008
American nonprofit groups raise more than $110 million for victims of the natural disaster that hit Myanmar and China.

Leona M. Helmsley, head of the Helmsley Hotel Chain in New York, leaves an estimated $5.2 billion in bequeathed property, cash, stocks and bonds to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust making it one of the wealthiest foundations in the country. According to the mission statement, the foundation will support the care and welfare of dogs. 

Google.org proposes Clean Energy 2030 plan that will reduce fossil fuel energy generation by 88 percent, a plan that will cost $4.3 trillion dollars.

Bill Gates steps down as a chairman of Microsoft to spend more time on his global education and health work at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

An estimated 80 million Americans reported turning off their lights for Earth Hour 2009 in an unprecedented global vote for action on climate change. Globally, nearly one billion people are estimated to have participated in the March 28 event, in which more than 4,100 cities and iconic landmarks around the world went dark for one hour.

Year 2009
President Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, designed to strengthen national volunteer efforts by boosting federal funding.

(1600-1699) | (1700-1799) | (1800-1899) | (1900-1999) | (2000 +)