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he stock market may be up and unemployment figures down but no one is kidding themselves that the “Great Recession� is over quite yet. Most worthy causes, whether they are related to education, health care, humanitarian relief or the arts, have yet to recover from the economic downturn. A substantial number have suffered disastrous declines in overall financial support since 2008, not only from individual and corporate benefactors, but public sources as well. Tax dollars that once kept an art gallery or ballet company up and running, for example, can no longer be allocated with police officers, firemen and teachers being laid off and
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public hospital subsidies slashed. The need for philanthropy has never been greater and the individuals included in our Philanthropic 50 List remain as committed as ever with their time, resources and networking abilities. Despite the obstacles, many have stepped in to fill the breach where others have retreated, often relying on ingenious and innovative ways to do more with less while stretching resources to meet needs. Others have simply dug deeper into their pockets to ensure important causes are sustained. These public-spirited citizens are the bedrock of our community and we salute them. We wish there were so many more. WA S H I N G T O N L I F E
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JOHN “CHIP” AND SALLY AKRIDGE Americans can link the current renovation projects on the National Mall to the work of one man: John “Chip” Akridge. As founder of the Trust for the National Mall in 2007, the local developer has helped raise millions to restore America’s 700-acre “Front Yard.” His mission got a major boost in May when former first lady Laura Bush partnered with him and the Interior Department to chair the $350 million fundraising campaign. Akridge also supports the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and has been honored by the National Capital Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. ANDREW AMMERMAN AND THE FAMILY OF H MAX AND JOSEPHINE AMMERMAN The Ammermans are generous donors to Washington’s Arena Stage, a nonprofit theater company that focuses on American productions and acts as a forum for audience discussion. Thanks to their multi-million-dollar donations, Arena Stage partnered with the Georgetown University Theater to create a performance studies program designed to educate a new generation of theater artists. The Ammermans also support a variety of Jewish programs. ADRIENNE ARSHT Well-known for her longtime support and generous donations to the Kennedy Center for musical theater, Arsht has most recently committed to spearheading a $20 million effort by the newly formed Patrons of Diplomacy to improve the State Department Diplomatic Reception Rooms. In Miami, she is widely recognized for her $30 million contribution to that city’s Performing Arts Center and for giving $6 million to support the Arsht Ethics Program at the University of Miami. In 2005, she announced a $2 million gift to Goucher College in Maryland. P H OTO CAPT I O N H E RE
DAVID AND KATHERINE BRADLEY Atlantic Media Chairman David Bradley and his wife Katherine’s CityBridge Foundation does meaningful work in education and health both in Washington, D.C., and abroad, particularly in the Philippines where David Bradley was once a Fulbright Scholar.
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Jean-Marie and Raul Fernandez
Clarice Smith
Ted and Annette Lerner
Jack Davies
David Rubenstein
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catalyst for social change. Locally, she serves on the boards of the Washington National Opera and National Symphony Orchestra.
KEITH CAMPBELL The future of Chesapeake Bay is looking brighter – and bluer – thanks to the efforts of this Baltimore-based investor whose Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment is helping to preserve and sustain America’s largest estuary. Keith also supports the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Coastal Conservation Association, the Oyster Recovery Partnership and the Assateague Coastal Trust, among many other environmental groups. In 2008, the state of Maryland recognized him with the Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year award.
NANCY G BRINKER Brinker is the founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the global breast cancer organization she founded 30 years ago after promising her dying sister, Susan, to do everything she could to end the disease. Komen for the Cure has invested more than $610 million in research and more than $1.3 billion for thousands of community programs that provide education, screening, financial and emotional support for breast cancer patients and their families. In 2009, Brinker received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, from President Barack Obama. She served as chief of protocol and ambassador to Hungary during President George W. Bush’s administration.
STEVE AND JEAN CASE The AOL chief and his wife juggle several philanthropic projects through their Case Foundation, harnessing their technological pedigrees to affect social change both domestically and abroad, especially in areas often overlooked by other philanthropists (interfaith understanding, assisting nonprofit groups to use videos to expand their mission, etc.). Among their many charitable bona fides: Steve Case’s recent election to the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents and their joining the effort led by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates to convince the country’s wealthiest citizens to give away a majority of their assets to charitable causes during their lifetimes.
Bonnie and Kenneth Feld
Katherine recently founded ServiceCorps, a civic engagement initiative for corporations in the greater Washington area. In addition to their generosity, the couple is also known for being generous and impeccable hosts. Katherine recently chaired Teach for America’s first Washington fundraiser, raising nearly $1 million for the nonprofit. David Bradley is known for hosting off-the-record “club house” dinners at the Watergate-based offices of The Atlantic. HILDA OCHOA-BRILLEMBOURG AND ARTURO BRILLEMBOURG Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg’s name is music to the ears of musicians throughout North and South America.The Venezuelan-born president and CEO of Strategic Investment Group is the founding chairman of the YOA Orchestra of the Americas, a multicultural world-class symphony of young musicians who employ music as a
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CALVIN AND JANE CAFRITZ Since it was founded in 1970, the Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the largest private, independent foundation focused solely on the Washington metropolitan area, has given away more than $340 million to organizations that focus on arts and humanities, community services, education, health and the environment. The tradition continues under the supervision of the founders’ eldest son, Calvin Cafritz, who oversees the causes it supports, including the Kennedy Center, George Washington University, the Phillips Collection, Washington Ballet, Brookings Institution, the Holocaust Museum and the National Student Partnership. Jane Cafritz, a former member of the D.C. Commission of the Arts and Humanities, currently serves as chairman of the Washington National Opera.
BETTY BROWN CASEY The grande dame of the Washington National Opera has given the company many millions of dollars since 1974 and recently made headlines by finally donating proceeds from the sale of the old Woodward & Lothrop department store to the WNO’s endowment. When the opera officially merged administrative functions with the Kennedy Center earlier this year, trustees were reminded of her stipulation that the funds of her endowment stay with the Opera as intended. After some discussion, she gave the go-ahead for the merging of funds and will continue to oversee how they are spent in the new administration. As head of the Eugene B. Casey Foundation, the benefactress also directs donations to local hospitals, hospices, schools and colleges. A JAMES CLARK Several collegiate engineering programs in the Washington area owe much to the CEO of the Clark construction empire. The mega-philanthropist gave a $30 million scholarship endowment to the A. James Clark School of Engineering at his alma mater, the University of Maryland, and $10 million to Johns Hopkins University’s Whiting School of Engineering for the next generation of big builders. In 2011, George Washington University was the latest school to benefit from Clark’s largess with his donation of $8 million for engineering scholarships. He also sponsors a number of community service projects, such as the District of Columbia Building Industry Association’s Community Improvement Day and Rebuilding Together’s National Rebuilding Day.
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JACK DAVIES As the founder of AOL International, Davies helped transform the world as we now know it. Venture Philanthropy Partners, one of his “most significant” causes, has raised over $70 million, quickly establishing itself as a major driving force in improving Washington’s community services. Davies is also a strong supporter of education, having raised funds for LIFT DC and the See Forever Foundation, a program founded by Maya Angelou that educates children who have failed in other school settings.
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WHAT WE’VE LEARNED ABOUT GIVING “My
parents instilled in me a strong sense of responsibility to give back to the community and to make gifts that both create something new and are ongoing. The Adrienne Arsht Musical Theater Fund at the Kennedy Center under the guidance of President Michael Kaiser, provides support to present and produce a wide variety of musicals over the next 10 years. The first production was “Follies.” It is thrilling to know that these productions will be enjoyed not just by our citizens, but for the millions of visitors who come to Washington, D.C.” ADRIENNE ARSHT
JOHN K DELANEY AND APRIL MCCLAINE-DELANEY With four children, the Delaneys have made youth issues a major concern. April McClaine oversees the Delaney Family Foundation and the Delaney Family Fund, which provides funding money for education and health causes. She is also the Washington director of Common Sense Media, a child advocacy organization that provides family-friendly ratings for TV, movies and other media. She sits on several other boards, including Children’s Hospital Foundation, Community Foundation of the National Capital Region, Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington and the Discovery Creek’s Children’s Museum. John Delaney’s CapitalSource Foundation is credited with making the largest gift to Teach for America this year. He is also a board member of St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School and the National Symphony Orchestra (where he chairs the nominating committee.
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Michelle Freeman
Paula and Robert Hisaoka
KRISTIN EHRGOOD AND VADIM NIKITINE Ehrgood and Nikitine met as classmates at the Kennedy School of Government in 2001. Since then, their philanthropic activities have remained focused on education reform. The couple (who are both members of Venture Philanthropy Partners) put much of their efforts toward Flamboyan Foundation, a private family foundation that seeks to improve the quality of pre-K through 12 education in Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. She is the founder of Sapientis, which focuses on education in Puerto Rico, and serves on the boards of Stand for Children, Teach for America and D.C. School Reform Now. In addition to working with his wife, Nikitine, also supports efforts to lower energy costs for schools, thus freeing up funds for teacher salaries and bonuses. RICHARD FAIRBANK Capital One founder/chairman/CEO Richard
Catherine Reynolds
Jane and Calvin Cafritz
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and mortar pale in comparison to the satisfaction I derive from preserving and sharing America’s history with future generations through my prized collections.” ALBERT SMALL
Fairbank and his company have people asking, “What’s in your wallet?” Thanks to his generosity, deserving nonprofit groups have more in their coffers. With a focus on community redevelopment and youth education in Washington, Fairbank has devoted time and funding to such organizations as D.C. Cares, the D.C. College Access Program, THEARC and Junior Achievement and has generously donated to his alma mater, Stanford University, and the childhood advocacy group America’s Promise Alliance. His charity work led President Bush to appoint him to the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation in 2008. KEN AND BONNIE FELD As owners of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s circus and Disney on Ice!, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that so many causes the Felds support stem from their love of making people smile. During the circus’s recent Washington run this Spring, Ken Feld partnered with Georgetown Cupcake to raise money for Sunshine Kids, a nonprofit dedicated to providing fun-filled activities and support to young cancer patients. Other recipients of the Felds’ generosity include the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Toys for Tots, the Special Olympics and the Ronald McDonald House Charities.The Felds have also attempted to appease animal rights activists by
Donald Graham
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Tanya and Dan Snyder
committing to animal care and conservation, specifically with the creation of a 200-acre preserve for the Asian Elephant. RAUL AND JEAN-MARIE FERNANDEZ The son of immigrants, Raul Fernandez still remembers the sense of opportunity he felt after receiving his first laptop from Rep. Jack Kemp while serving as his Spanish translation aide. Decades and $450 million later – thanks to the sale of his global Web company Proxicom – he is the one returning the favor to underprivileged children in Washington. He and his wife are the founders of the Fernandez Foundation, which supplies laptops, scholarships and the encouragement they need to succeed. The co-owner of the Washington Capitals, the Washington Wizards and the Washington Mystics also co-founded Venture Philanthropy Partners, a philanthropic investment organization, and sits on various nonprofit boards, including America’s Promise, the D.C. College Access Program (DCCAP) and the D.C. Public Education Fund. In 2010, Jean-Marie served as chairwoman of THEARC and raised $500,000 for that organization. MICHELLE FREEMAN The daughter-in-law of community development scion and arts patron Carl M.
Helen Lee Henderson
Constance Milstein
LEAH AND JACQUES GANSLER The Ganslers have donated to a number of Washington causes and are also affiliated with Venture Philanthropy Partners. In 1999, Leah Gansler founded CharityWorks, a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to ending poverty through education and health initiatives. Over the years, it has raised more than $10 million for such area charities as Habitat for Humanity and the Maya Angelou Public Charter School. CharityWorks 100 Point Wine Tasting continues to be a popular fundraiser, having raised a net $4 million over the past eight years. Jacques Gansler directs the University of Maryland’s Center for Public Policy and Private Enterprise. A former undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, he currently serves on the Pentagon’s defense science board. CARL GEWIRZ BERNARD GEWIRZ AND NORMA GEWIRZ TIEFEL The three Gewirz siblings learned the importance of charity from their father, the late Washington developer and philanthropist Morris Gewirz. Like him, K Street developer Bernard Gewirz established a foundation that repeatedly funds Jewish causes as well as arts and children’s charities. Carl Gewirz has donated to the Washington Hospital Center Foundation and the National Children’s Hospital. Their sister helped found the Virginia Opera and is a member of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts. She is an Endowment Pacesetter of the National Performing Arts Fund, sits on the Circle of the National Gallery of Art and is a patron of the Phillips Collection.
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WHAT WE’VE LEARNED ABOUT GIVING “Bricks
Freeman, Michelle Freeman continues a long family tradition of philanthropy. As head of the family business and foundation, she serves on the boards of the Washington National Opera and CharityWorks and will chair THEARC’s gala this year. She also heads the Joshua M. Freeman Foundation, which honors her late husband’s passion for education and the performing arts. A co-owner of Monumental Sports and Entertainment, she also partnered with Sheila Johnson to produce the documentary, “The Other City,” which focuses on Washington’s skyrocketing HIV/AIDS infection rates.
STEVE AND DIANA GOLDBERG The Goldbergs’ support of pediatric research is the largest in the nation. Their gift of $25 million to the Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 2008 was their second such donation to help fund the recruitment of doctors to research childhood obesity, diabetes and leukemia, a disease their son was diagnosed with at age 37. They have also given to Children’s Law Center, The American Red Cross, Washington AIDS Partnership, B’nai Israel and the Weizmann Institute of Science. DONALD E GRAHAM The chairman of the Washington Post Company not only oversees the city’s paper but also the welfare of many local students. He serves as president of DC-CAP, a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging and enabling D.C. public high school students to attend colleges and universities. In March, he served as the co-chair of the DC-CAPital Stars Talent Competition, the largest fundraiser for DC-CAP that gives scholarships to the top finishers. He also supports the Summit Fund of Washington, the College Success Foundation and KIPP-DC. TERESA HEINZ The Heinz food products heiress donates millions to a variety of causes as chairman of various family philanthropies. She established the Teresa Heinz Scholars for Environmental Research, a program that gives grants to students researching subjects that would increase awareness of environmental problems. She is regarded as a visionary in philanthropic circles, especially for the annual six-figure Heinz Awards bestowed upon groundbreaking innovators in many fields, most recently those devoted to environmental causes.
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HELEN LEE HENDERSON As executive director of the HRH Foundation, an arts-dedicated organization established by her mother, Helen Ruth Henderson, Henderson has been one of the Kennedy Center’s leading donors. Her initial $50 contribution in 1996 has now grown to multiple seven-figure gifts and she has been a principal underwriter of many artistic and educational initiatives, including Arts in Crisis, a program offering consultation
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David and Katherine Bradley
services to troubled nonprofit groups across the country. Henderson also supports the Shakespeare Theater Company, Signature Theater and the National Gallery of Art. ROBERT AND PAULA HISAOKA Since establishing the Joan Hisaoka “Make a Difference” campaign shortly after his sister Joan’s death from cancer, Hisaoka’s fundraiser has helped raise $2.5 million to help those living with the deadly disease. As in past years, the fourth annual gala, scheduled to take place on Oct. 22, will benefit Life with Cancer and Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts. The Hisaokas are also active in Venture Philanthropy Partners. WALLACE AND WILHELMINA HOLLADAY The founders of the National Museum of Women in the Arts have opened the eyes of the world to artwork created by women painters long over-shadowed by their male counterparts. The museum at 13th and New York Avenue NW also serves as a center for performing arts
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and features a library and research center. SHEILA JOHNSON AND JUDGE WILLIAM NEWMAN Johnson is one of the nation’s most successful and influential African-American women and one of the most active philanthropists in the Washington area. She has given millions to the arts, education and health-related causes, including HIV/AIDS. Like her fellow sports team (Wizards, Capitals and Mystics) owner, Ted Leonsis, Johnson has dabbled in “filmanthropy,” using the power of film to bring attention to important causes. Next up? Setting up a microfinance program for Virginia women and establishing the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons The New School for Design in New York City. JEONG AND CINDY KIM After working nights at a convenience store to help pay for college, South Korean immigrant Jeong Kim went on to launch Yurie Systems, which he sold in 1998 to Lucent Technologies for a cool billion. Currently, he is the president of
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thanks to brothers-in-law Robert Kogod and the late Robert H. Smith, whose billion-dollar real estate company is responsible for both the courtyard connecting the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum, and spearheading the development of Crystal City. Beyond just their sturdy physical structures, Smith’s widow, Clarice, and the Kogods are ensuring their names live on through generous philanthropy. Together they donated over $15 million to the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland in addition to the $130 million Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. The two families have also committed $10 million for a transformational renovation of the Charles E. Smith Center at George Washington University and $5 million to the Newseum’s Big Screen Theater.
Stephen and Diana Goldberg
the tech company’s storied Bell Labs, where he continues the company’s innovation streak with such breakthroughs as the 2-inch lightRadio cube, which some say could soon replace bulky cell phone towers.The one-time scholarship student is a big supporter of education and has donated $5 million to the University of Maryland’s engineering school.The couple’s charitable giving
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also extends to the arts and programs for at-risk children in the Washington area. ROBERT AND ARLENE KOGOD AND CLARICE SMITH One would have to try hard not to notice a building with the Kogod/Smith name on it in the Washington metropolitan area. That’s
TED AND LYNN LEONSIS Books. Film.Technology. Sports. Business.There are few areas in which Leonsis’s magic cannot be seen. After graduating from Georgetown University, the Greek American lad from a humble background became a computer and Internet revolution pioneer with AOL. He went on to join Revolution Inc. with Steve Case and further showcased his knack for backing winners with his support of Groupon and Rosetta Stone. The majority owner of the Wizards, Capitals and the Mystics also believes in going “full bandwidth” in philanthropic efforts. His Venture Philanthropy Partners and Leonsis Foundation grants support many causes,
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SAMUEL AND SUSAN LEHRMAN Along with his brother Robert, Samuel Lehrman directs the Jacob and Charlotte Lehrman Foundation, whose mission is to support and enrich Jewish life in Washington, D.C., Israel and throughout the world. Susan Lehrman’s major financial support of the Washington National Opera’s Opera Ball for the past three years has made it one of the city’s most over-the-top charity events. Guests attending the lavish extravaganza may be surprised to learn that she completely underwrites all of the expenses, ensuring that 100 percent of the proceeds directly benefit the company.
but Leonsis also gives his personal time with a focus on establishing long-term relationships with those helped by his many efforts. TED AND ANNETTE LERNER To fans of the Washington Nationals, Ted Lerner is best known as the baseball team’s owner. His influence in Washington spreads much wider because of real estate developments that include White Flint, Tysons Corner and Dulles Town Center. Add philanthropy to the mix and the clan’s influence goes global. The Lerners (whose worth is estimated at $3 billion) have donated funds to a number of schools, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and George Washington University’s law school (and Family Health and Wellness Center), The Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Md., and the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy’s lunchroom. JAMES A MACCUTCHEON After losing his daughter, Halle over 25 years ago to congenital heart disease, MacCutcheon devoted himself to improving the outlook for children born with the same defect. The retired president and CEO of Sunburst Hospitality most recently gave $1 million to Children’s National Medical Center to fund a state-of-the-art cardiovascular operating room. His family’s foundation has also funded the Halle MacCutcheon Playroom in the hospital’s heart and kidney unit.
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J W “BILL” MARRIOTT JR AND RICHARD E MARRIOTT With a family name recognizable around the world, the Marriotts currently manage the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation’s approximately $470 million in assets. The foundation is instrumental in the success of local human service organizations, including Capital Area Food Bank, D.C. Central Kitchen, Food & Friends and Teach for America as well as various hospitality programs at universities throughout the country. Following the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the Marriotts donated over $500,000 to the Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund. More recently, a foundation grant of
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WHAT WE’VE LEARNED ABOUT GIVING “My
parents, who founded our company, always believed in putting people first, and giving back to our communities,” Bill Marriott said. “Our family foundation continues that tradition as we work to make a difference in communities we touch. We are proud of the MLK National Memorial grant as it will help bring greater recognition to Dr. King’s leadership advocating diversity, inclusion and human dignity.” J W “BILL” MARRIOTT
over $1 million is helping to develop the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial, which is planned to open this summer. JACQUELINE MARS Life has not only been sweet for Jacqueline Mars, but also for those to whom she has given many millions. As the fifth richest woman in America, the Mars candy heiress has become as synonymous with philanthropy as her longtime family’s company – the largest privately owned business in the Washington area – has been to M&Ms. Jacqueline, who lives a relatively modest life at the Watergate complex in Washington and the Virginia hunt country, has endowed professorships at Yale University in her late father’s name, is a trustee of the Washington National Opera and supports the Sporting Library in Middleburg. JOHN MCMAHON In 2009, the chairman of Bethesda-based Miller & Long Concrete Construction survived a heart attack thanks to cardiac bypass surgery. Since then, McMahon has worked hard to give back, donating $2 million to the NIH Heart Center
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Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg
Betty Brown Casey
at Suburban Hospital after being treated there in 2009. He and his company have helped the Bethesda Big Train Base Ball Club build baseball fields to serve as after-school programs. JAYLEE MEAD Jaylee Mead and her late husband Gilbert have aided the growth of Washington’s music, theater and dance culture for decades. Thanks to their generous multimilliondollar donations, many of the city’s theaters (Signature, Woolly Mammoth, Studio) were developed or modernized, allowing Washington to become one of the nation’s most important cities for the dramatic arts. Last Fall saw the grand re-opening of the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in Southwest Washington – the largest performing arts center to open in Washington since the Kennedy Center. It will most likely remain the couple’s greatest legacy. CONSTANCE MILSTEIN Real estate powerhouse Constance Milstein’s Ogden CAP Properties was recently behind the remodeling of Washington’s historic
Irene Pollin
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ROGER MODY Mody is the former chairman and CEO of SIGNAL, an IT services company, which he sold in 2002 for $277 million, and the founder and chairman of the Mody Foundation, which provides higher education and health-based funding to needy children. He is actively involved in numerous Washington-based philanthropies, including Inova Fairfax Hospital’s pediatric heart program, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Orphan Network, the Good Samaritan Foundation and Alexandria Rising Stars Basketball. In 2011, he became partner in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, company that owns and operates three professional Washington sports teams and supports dozens of local charities. IRENE POLLIN Abe and Irene Pollin helped shape the face of Washington by sparking the resurgence of downtown neighborhood development with the construction of the Verizon Center. After Abe Pollin’s death, his widow has continued their philanthropic endeavors by sustaining the Pollin Prize for Pediatric Research and Sister to Sister, a women’s heart health foundation. She is a member of the Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Round Table, the DHHS Office on
Jacqueline Mars
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Jeong and Cindy Kim
Women’s Health’s Heart Attack Campaign Expert Panel and Howard University’s Women’s Health Institute Advisory Committee. MITCH AND STEVE RALES They may border on the obsessive when it comes to their privacy, but the two billionaire brothers are certainly quite the opposite about philanthropy. Co-founders of the Danaher business conglomerate, the siblings have given plenty over the years to many causes. For Mitch Rales, it’s all about art (and donating works by de Kooning, Rothko and other masters to the National Gallery of Art). His ultra-exclusive personal collection, viewed by prior reservation only, is rumored to be a promised future gift as well. He sits on the boards of Hirshhorn Museum and is on the board of the SEED Foundation, an organization that prepares underserved students for college. Steve Rales is an avid supporter of the Washington Ballet and his alma mater DePauw University, where he was responsible for the Richard E. Peeler Art Center. A Hollywood film producer as well, he backed the much-buzzed about Wes Craven film “Moonrise Kingdom” at this year’s Cannes’ Film Festival. RUSSELL AND NORMA RAMSEY Russ Ramsey has a deep commitment to helping area families not as lucky as his own. He and his wife Norma helped found Venture Philanthropy Partners, a nonprofit that has donated $70 million to charities with a focus on children from low-income families, among them the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care and CentroNîa. Russell Ramsey currently serves as chairman of the board of trustees of George Washington University, to which the couple have donated millions.
Jaylee Mead
James Clark
CATHERINE AND WAYNE REYNOLDS When Catherine Reynolds was asked to help save a bankrupt company decades ago, no one knew that she would end up making it worth $100 million. Those millions have been put to good use via the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation, which helps many different causes, including the Kennedy Center, Ford’s Theater, the National Gallery of Art, Teach for America, America’s Promise and The Sunlight Foundation. JOE ROBERT In 1990, Robert founded Fight for Children to support quality education for low-income children in Washington. His two signature fundraising events, Fight Night and School Night, have raised over $100 million for this cause. Recognizing the link between health and school performance, Robert also supports pediatric health and recently donated $25 million to the Children’s National Medical Center. He is also a trustee of the Kennedy Center and serves as chairman of Business Executives for National Security, a group that gathers businessmen and entrepreneurs to provide non-partisan advice to national security leaders. DAVID AND ALICE RUBENSTEIN In March, David Rubenstein, co-founder of private equity firm, The Carlyle Group, gave his second donation of $10 million to the Kennedy Center (where he now serves as chairman) to help attract a younger and more economically diverse audience. (His total donations of $23 million make him the largest single donor in the center’s history.) The Bethesda resident has given millions to the Library of Congress and made headlines when he donated a rare copy of the Magna Carta to the National Archives. ROGER AND VICKI SANT Two of Washington’s most influential donors, Roger and Vicki Sant have their hand in a myriad of interests with international reach. Their love of the environment can be seen at Smithsonian Museum of Natural History which received $25 million for ocean projects. They have given $20 million to protect the Amazon, $25 million to preserve the
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Jefferson Hotel, but she also supports many important philanthropic causes. A longtime supporter of medical research, Milstein serves on the board of CURE, a nonprofit group dedicated to finding a cure for epilepsy, and has helped establish the Medical Missions for Children, which focuses on improving the health of children in impoverished communities around the world.
Mesoamerican reef and have donated $800,000 to bring the two beloved Chinese pandas to the National Zoo. Beyond protecting the world’s ecosystems, they are major supporters of the National Symphony Orchestra, the Phillips Collection and the Kennedy Center. ALBERT SMALL Southern Engineering founder Albert Small is dedicated to preserving America’s history. An avid book and manuscript collector, he donated an extensive collection of artifacts related to the signers of the Declaration of Independence to the University of Virginia and in February announced that he was also giving his Washingtoniana collection to George Washington University along with $5 million to display it in an historic house on campus. He also gave a rare 1801 watercolor to the White House that is said to be the oldest known image of the Executive Mansion in existence. Now he is working to renovate the eighth floor Diplomatic Reception Rooms Terrace at the Department of State. DAN AND TANYA SNYDER Dan Snyder’s name may be more associated with his flailing football team and defamation lawsuit against the Washington City Paper, but that hasn’t stopped the Washington Redskins owner from continuing to be active in charitable causes. His most recent philanthropic act occurred in April when he dipped into the team’s charitable fund to aid a Frederick County Little League team that lost all of its baseball equipment and tools in a fire. In 2010, he donated his plane to help Red Cross disaster relief efforts in Haiti. He and his wife have also donated millions to the Children’s National Medical Center, where their daughter was born prematurely. Other recipients of their generosity include the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and victims of 9/11. P H OTO CAPT I O N H E RE
TOM AND RACHEL SULLIVAN The couple’s personal experience with breast cancer inspired Sibley Hospital’s annual fall celebration of Hope & Progress gala more than 10 years ago. With Rachel Sullivan as chairman, the dinner raised over $1 million to benefit Sibley’s cancer programs and services. The Sullivans also
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Trish and George Vradenburg
helped establish the Sullivan Center for Breast Health, which has emerged as a national model in providing expert medical care. GEORGE AND TRISH VRADENBURG After playwright Trish Vradenburg lost her mother to Alzheimer’s disease in 1991, she and her husband, a former high-ranking AOL executive, raised millions for Alzheimer’s Association. They
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are also committed to USAgainstAlzheimer’s, a campaign to eradicate the deadly disease by 2020. The couple’s Vradenburg Foundation gives over $1 million in grants each year to healthcare, arts education and other causes. As chairman of the Phillips Collection, George Vradenburg has spearheaded efforts to substantially increased the museum’s operating, acquisitions and endowment funds.
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