Major Gifts

Jim Justice has fond memories of exploring West Virginia as a Cub and Boy Scout. The chief executive officer of Justice Family Group LLC announced a $25 million gift to the Boy Scouts of America, the largest single philanthropic donation he has made.

The money will support the creation of the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, a 10,600-acre park near his home in Lewisburg, W.V., that will host the organization’s 2013 National Scout Jamboree.

Carnegie Mellon University has received a huge new pledge to expand its programs. The $265 million gift from William S. Dietrich II is one of the largest in recent years from an individual to a private university, and the largest in the school's history, officials told The Associated Press.

The recession has impacted charitable giving, and the Dietrich pledge may be part of a resurgence. Last week the University of Southern California announced a $6 billion capital campaign, and the Dietrich pledge brought Carnegie Mellon close to meeting its $1 billion campaign.

Administrators at Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School said they plan to build an advanced science and math facility with a $21.5 million donation, the largest in the school's history.

MICDS, an independent college prepatory school in Ladue, Mo., announced the gift from the James McDonnell family.

The gift also is the second largest to a grade or high school in the region, behind a $28 million donation in November 2009 to Chaminade College Prep.

St. Edward's University has received a $13 million donation, the largest in the school's history, for a new library and a $1.7 million donation to renovate the alumni gym.

The private Catholic school announced the gifts Thursday.

The library donation came from Pat and Bill Munday of Austin, Texas. Pat Munday has taken classes at St. Edward's and has been a member of the school's Board of Trustees since 2005. Bill Munday operates several car dealerships in the Austin area.

Jeff Bezos, the self-made billionaire who started Amazon.com out of a Bellevue, Wash., garage and built it into the world's dominant online retailer over the past two decades, has given $10 million to the Museum of History & Industry to establish a "Center for Innovation" at MOHAI's new location on South Lake Union.

The gift is the largest in the museum's 59-year history. It also is the most visible sign yet of personal giving by Bezos, who is better known for spending money on space exploration and other business investments than on local philanthropic activities.

The University of North Texas has received the largest gift in its history with a $22 million pledge from a former student from Thailand. The Denton, Texas school said Monday the gift from Charn Uswochoke is intended for professorships, academic chairs, scholarships and programs for the school's music, engineering and business colleges.

Sanford Weill, the former Citigroup chairman, and his wife, Joan, have pledged $10-million to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel, to expand its facilities for treating children with cancer and Palestinian patients, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports.

Also, a Saudi oil executive has donated $10-million to the Mayo Clinic to support reconstructive surgery for victims of war, trauma, and illness, the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, in acknowledgment that thousands of young black and Latino men are cut off from New York’s civic, educational and economic life, plans to spend nearly $130 million on measures to improve their circumstances.

To pay for the endeavor, the city is relying on an unusual source: Bloomberg himself, who intends to use his personal fortune to cover about a quarter of the cost. A $30 million contribution from Bloomberg’s foundation would be matched by fellow billionaire, George Soros, a hedge fund manager, with the remainder being paid for by the city.

At a time when for-profit theaters may be feeling the pressure to cave in to the economic pinch and roll out the revivals, nonprofit San Francisco-based American Conservatory Theater is still taking chances.

The Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania announces the launching of a first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary center focused on discovering novel treatments for orphan diseases. The Center will bring together all necessary approaches to attacking and treating orphan diseases: establishing dedicated research support facilities, translating findings into therapies, fostering targeted grant awards, and educating physicians and researchers.

Formation of the new Penn Center for Orphan Disease Research and Therapy was catalyzed by a $10 million gift from an anonymous donor.