Stories
When you give to Stanford, you educate tomorrow’s change-makers, drive discoveries and innovation, and help find solutions to societal challenges. These stories highlight the many ways that philanthropy supports the university’s mission and accelerates its purposeful impact in the world.
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Gift supports Stanford’s Black community
A gift from Stanford alumnus Evan Spiegel will expand programs and create a permanent source of funding for the Black Community Services Center and Ujamaa House.
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Extension of CARES Act benefits
What you need to know about the CARES Act provisions that were extended into 2021.
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Harnessing AI to build a better future
With foundational support from Reid Hoffman and Michelle Yee, six inaugural grantees are embarking on ambitious AI projects.

Science fellows program launched with philanthropic support
With a fundamentally new type of postdoctoral training, the program aims to attract a diverse and exceptional pool of global scholars.
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Breaking barriers
A bequest in honor of Paris Thermenos, MBA ’83, helps Stanford GSB support students with disabilities.
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Good Counsel: How to make a bequest that is meaningful to you
Remembering Stanford in your estate plans can help sustain and strengthen the university in years to come.
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Escondido Village Graduate Residences open to inaugural residents
John Arrillaga, ’60, provided more than $100 million and other major support for the project, which also benefited from an anonymous donor.
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A gift to honor frontline health care workers
After a photo of Stanford nurse anesthetist Emma Tveretinov went viral, she received a surprise opportunity to donate to the nonprofit of her choice: Stanford Health Care.

Financial aid puts a dream within reach
Jemima thought of Stanford as her “super-reach” school, financially and academically. With scholarship support, her dream became a reality, and now she’s paying it forward.
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A gift to eliminate medical student debt
With funding to cover both tuition and living expenses for students who qualify for aid, the gift will eliminate the need for medical student loans.
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Alumna gift names the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
The philanthropic investment will accelerate understanding of how the brain functions and pave the way for new treatments.
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Students embrace compassion during COVID-19
Drawing on lessons learned at Stanford, members of the Class of 2020 found creative ways to make a positive impact during unusual times.
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The CARES Act and charitable contributions
What you need to know about the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and philanthropy.
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Paying tribute to a legendary leader
Elam’s departure inspired a generous gift honoring the former professor and arts and education leader and all that he did during his tenure.
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Good Counsel: The benefits of a charitable remainder unitrust
Jamie Downes, associate director of planned giving, explains the benefits of charitable remainder unitrusts.
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A win-win solution for charitable giving
With a charitable remainder unitrust gift, the Blochs were able to maximize their contributions, reduce their tax burden, and help to set the Stanford Law School up for long-term success.
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Recent estate gifts
A sampling of recent estate gifts from generous alumni and friends of Stanford University.
New “team science” complex focuses on brain research and molecular discovery
Fueled by philanthropy, a new research complex dedicated to improving human health opens this month.
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Art by Pollock, de Kooning gifted to Anderson Collection
The donation by the late Mary Margaret “Moo” Anderson came as the museum commemorated its fifth anniversary and launched a new fundraising effort.

FLI students find community at Stanford
Undergrad students experiencing temporary financial challenges find support and community through the Opportunity Fund.
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Harnessing the microbiome to treat disease
Backed by gifts from Marc and Lynne Benioff and Mark and Debra Leslie, a new initiative will focus on developing and testing microbiome-based disease therapies.
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Good Counsel: Celebrating your past
Jeff Underwood, associate director of planned giving, shares how alums can create a lasting legacy at Stanford in their reunion years.
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Supporting research into global poverty
The Stanford King Center on Global Development expands efforts to improve quality of life in the developing world.
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New home for life sciences at Stanford
The Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Biology Research Building provides lab space for faculty, staff, students, and fellows.
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Connecting middle schoolers with Stanford student mentors
With support from The Stanford Fund donors, undergraduate women at Stanford are playing a special mentorship role for local school girls.
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Dancing for children’s health
Stanford students use dance to raise funds for children fighting cancer and blood diseases.
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Cantor receives collection of 1,000 photos
The gift will also provide funding for a curatorial fellow position to oversee the collection of works by Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and others.
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Sharing a passion for learning
Stanford students help to close the opportunity gap by tutoring low-income students.
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Gift creates hub highlighting Silicon Valley history
The first floor of the Cecil H. Green Library will be renovated and renamed Hohbach Hall, offering improved access to curators, historians and materials that document Silicon Valley’s evolution.
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The rewards of retirement
His gift will fight cancer. Hers will help deserving students. Both provide annual payments to the donors for life.
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Global Law Program expands with $25 million gift
The largest alumni gift in Stanford Law School history commemorates the school’s 125th anniversary.
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A gift helps pay for retirement
After 40 years in their Palo Alto home, Steve and Karen Ross decided it was time to move on. They used an interest in the house to establish a charitable remainder unitrust, which gives them income payments for life.
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Good Counsel: The benefits of charitable gift annuities
When selling an appreciated asset, such as stock or real estate, capital gains taxes can be a real concern.
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Investing in others: Dave and Alice Mount
The couple, who met in a Stanford Earth class, are doubling the impact of their philanthropy with a gift through the Emmett Matching Program.
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Improving how Stanford teaches chemistry
Reconstructed chemistry classes offer a better experience for students with support from donations through The Stanford Fund.
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Endowed fellowship gift honors Maryam Mirzakhani
The late Stanford professor was the first and to-date only female winner of the Fields Medal, considered the Nobel Prize of mathematics.
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Every day, a Stanford connection
Kent Kaiser, ’59, has been finding Stanford community in surprising places for six decades. Now, he’s honoring that lifelong connection with a charitable remainder unitrust.
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The virtues of cardinal service
Two families combine a love for Stanford and a belief in public service by making it possible for more students to volunteer for causes that matter.
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NBA player supports summer studies
Josh Childress, ’05, established the first-ever athletic scholarship for summer term.
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Growing a new crop of sustainability leaders
Laura and Kevin O’Donohue, MBA ’87, have helped to establish an educational farm in the heart of campus.
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Basketball scholarship honors the late Anne Paye
With a gift from Paye’s husband, Edward Storm, Stanford women are finding support on the court and in the classroom.
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49ers co-owner gives back
Gideon Yu, ’93, and wife Susie support financial aid at Stanford.
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An unusual path forges bright futures
Stanford helped Susan Harman, MBA ’79, set a new course. Her gift helps others do the same.
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Freedom from debt
Financial aid—including scholarship support from The Stanford Fund—enabled Darius White, ’11, MA ’12, to graduate from Stanford without student loans.