SPECIAL FEATURE | THE PHILANTHROPIC
J W “BILL” MARRIOTT JR RICHARD E MARRIOTT
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED ABOUT GIVING “Be
wary if you hear of a program or idea that is too good to be true. There are no ‘silver bullets’ that can fix entrenched social problems with one, swift, inexpensive intervention. The real solutions generally come at a problem from multiple approaches, and they take time, money, copious talent, and long-term commitment.” DAVID AND KATHERINE BRADLEY
He championed the creation of a city museum for the District of Columbia and gives generously ($1 million) and passionately to the Historical Society of Washington, where the library is named for him. He established the Kiplinger Program at Ohio State in honor of his father, has been on the board of Cornell University since ’61 and serves as chairman emeritus of the Tudor Place Foundation and on the boards of the Federal City Council, National Symphony Orchestra, Levine School, and National Press Foundation.The Kiplinger Foundation is a major donor to public broadcasting and educational causes.
ROBERT AND ARLENE KOGOD ROBERT AND CLARICE SMITH It’s hard to look at a major building in Washington without detecting a Kogod/Smith touch. For years, these brotherin-laws were at the helm of the Charles E. Smith real estate empire and helped to expand it into a billion-dollar-plus enterprise. Kogod recently donated the courtyard to connect the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum at a cost of $25 million. Smith donated the Robert H. Smith School of Business ($15 million) at the University of Maryland in addition to the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the school. The Smiths also donated the Robert H. and Clarice Smith Auditorium at Mount Vernon and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. Recently, both families committed $10 million for a transformational renovation of the Charles E. Smith Center at George Washington University.
TED AND LYNNE LEONSIS An original AOL investor, Leonsis formed Lincoln Holdings, which owns 100 percent of the Washington Capitals as well as a 45 percent interest in Washington Sports and Entertainment, the holding company for properties including the Washington Wizards, the Mystics, the local Ticketmaster franchise, and the Verizon Center. Leonsis has been a member of Best Buddies since 1999, is involved with Hoop Dreams, and YouthAIDS, and also sponsors the Leonsis Foundation, dedicated to creating “opportunities for children that enable them to reach their highest potential.”
TED AND ANNETTE LERNER The Washington metro area is dotted with Lerner real estate, including White Flint, Tysons Corner and Dulles Town Center. With a net worth of $3.2 billion, his
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commitment to the region is also shown in such projects as Bethesda’s Imagination Stage children’s theater and the expansive Nationals ballpark, of which he is the principal owner. Lerner and his wife, Annette, have given substantial gifts to George Washington University, and their synagogue, Ohr Kodesh, a conservative congregation in Chevy Chase. The couple recently gave $3 million to GW’s law school for a new public interest and public service law program.
SAMUEL AND ROBERT LEHRMAN The grandchildren of Giant Foods co-founder Samuel Lehrman direct the Jacob and Charlotte Lehrman Foundation (named for their parents), whose mission is to support and enrich Jewish life in Washington, D.C., Israel, and throughout the world. Contributions in this area include the District of Columbia Jewish Community Center, the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, the Sixth & I Street Historic Synagogue, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Jewish Social Services Agency.The siblings’ mutual interests help propel the foundation’s multi-year support of the arts, health care, the environment, and education.
FORREST JOHN AND JACQUELINE MARS The candy clan has amassed a serious fortune (each sibling has approximately $9 billion) by producing the candy covered treats that don’t melt in your hand at Mars & Company. In 2008 they strengthened they dynasty by purchasing the Wrigley chewing-gum company for $23 billion. Through the years they’ve helped to support a rainbow of causes, endowing professorships at Yale University in their late father’s name, underwriting productions of the Washington National Opera, and supporting the Sporting Library in Middleburg.
One of the largest personal foundations in the city with over $350 million in assets under management, The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation (now under the direction of J.W. Marriott, Jr. and Richard E. Marriott) supports secondary and higher education, mentoring and youth leadership programs, organizations that help provide relief from hunger and disasters, and people with disabilities, among other causes. Established by the Marriott family in 1965, much of the Foundation’s support is awarded to human service organizations in the Washington area such as Capital Area Food Bank, D.C. Central Kitchen, Food & Friends, and Teach for America. The Foundation has provided significant support to select colleges and universities with hospitality programs. Some of the more recent grants including $5 million to the Culinary Institute of America, $1.7 million to Florida International University for the Marriott Tianjin China program, and $600,000 in support of Marriott Hospitality Center at Montgomery College.
JAYLEE MEAD It is no exaggeration to say that the local performing arts scene would not be what it is today without the considerable gifts of Mrs. Mead and her late husband, Gilbert. The couple contributed an estimated $50 million from Mr. Mead’s Consolidated Papers fortune to local theaters, including the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, the Studio Theatre (which named a new stage in their honor), the Cathedral Choral Society, and the Flashpoint arts center. The Meads have committed $35 million to Arena Stage for a new facility to be called the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, and gave generously to Signature Theatre, where the Mead Lobby is named in their honor.
RACHEL “BUNNY” MELLON CATHERINE CONOVER Other American dynasties may have given more, but no one can match the Mellons for arts philanthropy. Andrew Mellon was one of the greatest art acquisitors of all time. His Vermeers, and Rembrandts formed the nucleus of the National Gallery of Art’s initial collection, to which his children, Paul and Ailsa, later added monumental gifts. Paul’s widow, “Bunny,” now in her late 90s, supports conservation and equestrian pursuits as well as the arts.Most of her remaining collection will revert to the National Gallery at her death. Her step-daughter, Catherine Conover, is the founder of Island Press, a small D.C.-based environmental book publisher, and a generous donor to environmental causes.
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED ABOUT GIVING “Don’t
rush in to large commitments because you feel pressure or need to return a kindness. Philanthropy is a thoughtful process of finding a personal connection with a cause.” RAUL AND JEAN-MARIE FERNANDEZ
WA S H I N G T O N L I F E
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