GOOD NEWS

Not all the news is gloom and doom. Have you heard this?

South Dakota philanthropist Denny Sanford completed the $400 million commitment he made to health care in 2007 -- five years ahead of schedule with the final installment of his gift on April 3.

CA philanthropist Eli Broad, best known for his support of the arts, announced that he is giving $2.5 million to two public charter school management organizations to open and support existing charter schools in New York City. He is also committing hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the Detroit Public Schools’ efforts to turn that city's faltering school system around.

Sanford Weill, former chairman of Citigroup, and his wife, Joan, have agreed to provide $170 million of a nine-figure pledge they made in 2007 to Weill Cornell Medical College that they had intended would be a bequest. Instead, the cash payment, made to the university in December and January, will be used to underwrite a challenge designed to boost the medical college's $4 billion capital campaign. The timing couldn't be better. The university's endowment lost roughly a third of its value over the last year and, with donations down, its $2.9 billion budget has an 8 percent shortfall. Weill himself has lost a huge portion of his personal fortune, but he told the New York Times he wanted to send a message about giving in times of need.

Michigan’s Kresge Foundation has announced nearly $73 million in first-quarter grants – the largest quarterly commitment in its 85-year history!