The Carnegie Institution Philanthropic Societies provide recognition of individuals who have provided exceptional support to the institution. Activities of the Carnegie Institution Philanthropic Societies include recognition of contributors through annual, lifetime and planned giving societies, special events, and expeditions.
The Societies:
1) enable, promote and support scientific inquiry, discovery and education
2) recognize individuals who support the work of Carnegie scientists
3) promote and support Carnegie’s research departments
To view the current list of donors to the Carnegie institution see our Friends, Honors and Transitions [1] document.
Annual Giving
The Barbara McClintock Society
in recognition of individuals who contribute $10,000 or more in a fiscal year
An icon of Carnegie science, Barbara McClintock was a Carnegie plant biologist from 1943 until her retirement. She was a giant in the field of maize genetics and received the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine for her work on patterns of genetic inheritance. She was also the first woman to win an unshared Nobel Prize for biology. To sustain researchers like McClintock, annual contributions to the Carnegie Institution are essential. The McClintock Society recognizes generous individuals who make it possible to pursue the highly original research for which Carnegie is known.
Legacy Gifts
The Second Century Society
in recognition of individuals who contribute to the future of the Carnegie Institution through life income, bequests, and other estate and planned gifts
Founded in 1902, the Carnegie Institution has encouraged scientific investigation, research, and discovery for over a century. The Second Century Society recognizes individuals who support the scientific mission of the Carnegie Institution through their estate and financial plans and who notify the institution of their intention to do so. Such gifts include bequest intentions, charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts, as well as beneficiary designations for IRAs and life insurance policies.
Over the years, Carnegie employees and friends have remembered the institution in their estate plans. Caryl P. Haskins, Carnegie's president from 1956 to 1971, and his wife, Edna, made permanent their support of the Carnegie Institution and its philosophy by leaving the bulk of their estates, valued at more than $15 million, to the institution. The Second Century Society acknowledges the extraordinary generosity of Caryl and Edna Haskins and that of other like-minded individuals.
Lifetime Giving Societies
The Vannevar Bush Society
in recognition of individuals who have made lifetime contributions of $100,000 or more
Vannevar Bush served as Carnegie’s president from 1939 to 1955 and is acknowledged as a leader of American scientific research during that time period. He believed in the power of private organizations and wrote in 1950 that “it was Andrew Carnegie’s conviction that an institution which sought out the unusual scientist, and rendered it possible for him to create to the utmost, would be worth while.” He observed that “the scientists of the institution…seek to extend the horizons of man’s knowledge of his environment and of himself, in the conviction that it is good for man to know.
The Edwin Hubble Society
in recognition of individuals who have made lifetime contributions of $1,000,000 or more
The most famous astronomer of the twentieth century, Edwin Hubble, joined the Carnegie Institution in 1919. Hubble’s observations shattered old concepts of the universe. He proved that the universe is made of collections of galaxies and is not just limited to our own Milky Way, and that it is expanding. This work redefined the science of cosmology. Science typically requires years of work for major discoveries like these. The Hubble Society honors those whose lifetime support has enabled the institution to continue fostering such long-term, paradigm-changing research.
The Carnegie Founders Society
in recognition of individuals who have made lifetime contributions of $10,000,000 or more
Andrew Carnegie, the founder of the Carnegie Institution, established the institution with a gift of $10 million to advance scientific research and understanding. Although he ultimately directed a total of $22 million to the institution, his initial $10 million gift represents a special and important level of giving for the Carnegie Institution. Individuals who support the scientific mission of the institution with contributions of $10 million and more are recognized as members of the Carnegie Founders Society.
For information, please contact the Carnegie Institution’s Office of Advancement, 202-939-1122 or mthompson@ciw.edu [2].