Four Washington-area philanthropists were among the nation’s top 60 most charitable givers in 2006, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual ranking, released Friday. Gilbert and Jaylee Mead, No. 50 on the list, gave more than $37 million in 2006, with $35 million of that pledged to refurbish and expand Arena Stage. Henry and Wendy Paulson came in at No. 18 by giving nearly $100 million in 2006 to causes primarily outside the Washington region.
The Chronicle’s annual list gives an overall view of the philanthropy landscape in America. Last year’s donations far outpaced 2005, with 21 philanthropists donating at least $100 million, 11 more than the previous year. The top 60 donors contributed more than $7 billion to charitable organizations in 2006, $2.7 billion more than in 2005. The $7 billion figure did not include Warren Buffet’s 2006 donation of $43.5 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which put Buffet at the top of the list. Gilbert Mead, 76, a retired research scientist from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt and heir to the Consolidated Paper fortune, and his wife, Jaylee, also a NASA retiree, pledged $35 million to Arena Stage in December. The donation was one of the largest in the region and the most local. Several other large gifts were on the list, but went to national and global organizations with D.C. headquarters. For example, Warren Buffet pledged $50 million to the Nuclear Threat Initiative in the District.
Securing donations for local nonprofits is closely tied to local philanthropists, said Stacy Palmer, editor of The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
“Most donors feel an allegiance to where they grew up or where they made their money,” Palmer said. “Something important for Washington would be to cultivate relationships with philanthropists.” For example, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson lives here, but gave most of his money to the Bobolink Foundation in Chicago. Paulson said Arena Stage’s fundraising campaign, Next Stage, is a good example of the sophistication it takes to attract large donations.
“I think we have somewhat more sophistication about how we package [our fundraising efforts] with the Mead’s leadership,” said Stephen Richard, executive director of Arena Stage. The theater did a matching campaign among other techniques to pull in more than $100 million — $35 million from the Meads -— for Arena.
