There are so many gifts you don’t know about. When you hear she did one gift, there were probably thirty others.
—FATHER JOE CARROLL
Before the likes of Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg received deserved acclaim for pledging their fortunes to charity, Joan Kroc did just that, with no fanfare. This list is provided to show the breadth and depth of her giving as it evolved over her lifetime.
Data on this list is very specific from 1984 through 1991 because that is when the Joan B. Kroc Foundation was operational. Foundations must report their donations on tax returns known as 990s. (The Joseph and Matthew Payton Philanthropic Studies Archives at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis Library does the important work of archiving these returns, as well as foundation annual reports; otherwise, in this case at least, they’d have been lost to history.)
Many of Joan’s gifts, however, were not written out of foundation coffers but rather from her personal funds. Some of the entries here I’ve deduced from newspaper reports; others, from personal interviews or archives. Compiling a comprehensive list would be impossible, since Joan dissolved her foundation and left no papers, and since she gave so many gifts anonymously. Due to space limitations, we offer an abridged list here; the complete list will be available on my website, www.rayandjoan.com.
A word of caution, and semantics: Each day, twenty million listeners of public radio across the United States hear a funding credit that mentions the “estate of Joan Kroc.” Many incorrectly assume the estate is still actively dispersing funds. It is not. After her executors implemented the final wishes of the benefactress, the estate was dissolved. Countless other people who visit the Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers believe the gift made to establish those centers came from the Joan Kroc Foundation. It did not. By the time they were built, the foundation had long ago ceased to exist.
For a better understanding of philanthropic structure and giving, I recommend Ken Stern’s With Charity for All and Tracy Gary’s Inspired Giving: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Giving Plan and Leaving a Legacy. I also recommend the resources of Guidestar and CitizenAudit.org when investigating any nonprofit you choose to support. These resources will allow you to look under the hood of the charity’s finances.
My intention in writing this book, in general, and with this list specifically, is not only to bring attention to Joan’s inventive philanthropy, but to inspire others to give, in whatever ways they can. Naturally, most of us cannot give on the scale of the Krocs. But that shouldn’t stop us from giving in other ways—of our money, our time, and our compassion.
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1965 |
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Ray A. Kroc Foundation established with $84,000 after the initial public offering of McDonald’s stock. Over the next four years, a total of $70,875 in gifts are given to Henrotin Hospital, Northwest Community Hospital, Centinela Valley Hospital, the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts, and the Salvation Army. |
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1969 |
|
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Renamed The Kroc Foundation. |
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1972 |
|
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Rapid City flood relief |
$50,000 |
|
Ray’s seventieth birthday gifts |
$7,500,000 |
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Includes gifts to: The Ray A. Kroc Foundation, PACE Program/Cook County Jail, Recording for the Blind; Northwestern Memorial Hospital; Adler Planetarium; St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital; Lincoln Park Zoo; Field Museum of Natural History; Children’s Memorial Hospital; Rapid City, South Dakota, public library; Harvard Congregational Church, Oak Park, Illinois. |
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1975 |
|
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National Multiple Sclerosis Society |
$1,000,000 |
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Children’s Memorial Hospital |
$10,000,000 |
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1976 |
|
|
Operation Cork launches through The Kroc Foundation. |
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1977 |
|
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Ray and Joan Kroc Fund at Dartmouth Medical School |
$1,000,000 |
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1983 |
|
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After convening more than one hundred conferences in the medical sciences, and granting an unspecified sum in the millions to fund medical research, $33 million in assets are transferred from The Kroc Foundation to establish the Joan B. Kroc Foundation. This occurs after final gifts are made funding medical research at fifty institutions, and after the establishment of three endowed professorships named for Robert L. Kroc at Harvard University, University of California, San Francisco, and Washington University in St. Louis. Among the gifts Joan’s foundation made that year: |
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Old Globe Theatre, San Diego |
$25,000 |
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Big Sister League |
$50,000 |
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San Diego Zoo |
$100,000 |
|
1984 |
|
|
Olympic Torch Relay |
$150,000 |
|
San Ysidro Victims’ Fund |
$100,000 |
|
Winning Wheels, Inc., Prophetstown, Illinois |
$17,994 |
|
Courage Center, Golden Valley, Minnesota |
$25,000 |
|
San Diego Hospice Corp. |
$5,000 |
|
Pepperdine University, Malibu, California |
$7,500 |
|
UCLA Writers Conference in China |
$1,000 |
|
Scripps/Chest Medicine Research Fund |
$100,000 |
|
National Foundation for Ileitis and Colitis |
$100,000 |
|
County of San Diego adoption training |
$1,400 |
|
KPBS-TV child abuse community outreach program |
$3,000 |
|
UCSD Medical Center Ultracentrifuge for Neonatology |
$45,000 |
|
Center for Defense Information to videotape Women’s Conference to Prevent Nuclear War |
$1,000 |
|
Betty Ford Center Construction of Cork Family Pavilion |
$500,000 |
|
Mid-City Senior Enterprises |
$10,000 |
|
American Red Cross Ethiopian famine relief |
$1,000,000 |
|
American Diabetes Association |
$25,000 |
|
SHARE San Diego/Food for needy |
$5,000 |
|
San Diego Department of Mental Health Program for mentally ill adults |
$500 |
|
Child Abuse Prevention Foundation |
$150,000 |
|
Rachel’s Women’s Center (homeless women) |
$25,000 |
|
UCLA Medical School Program in bio-behavioral sciences |
$318,355 |
|
Hazelden Cork Sports Pavilion |
$2,455,306 |
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Project Cork Institute/Dartmouth |
$1,000,000 |
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Other grants in 1984 were made to: organizations involved with addiction-related issues, including education and training programs in chemical dependency for San Diego agencies concerned with child abuse; National Council on Alcoholism; Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, and Deaf Community Services in San Diego for services for chemically dependent deaf persons. |
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1985 |
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The Beyond War Foundation |
$100,000 |
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Center for Defense Information |
$500,000 |
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Courage Center |
$500,000 |
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Grants in support of psychoneuroimmunology research directed by Norman Cousins |
$702,400 |
|
Hazelden/Cork Sports Education |
$6,184,947 |
|
Home of Guiding Hands |
$25,000 |
|
Morehouse School of Medicine |
$1,400,000 |
|
Salvation Army |
$31,500 |
|
St. Vincent de Paul Center for Homeless |
$500,000 |
|
UCLA Medical School purchase of cytometer |
$302,460 |
|
Union of Concerned Scientists |
$50,000 |
|
Women’s Action for New Directions Educational Fund |
$140,000 |
|
San Diego Zoo |
$3,300,000 |
|
Advertisements for peace |
$1,250,000 |
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Rights to reprint Missile Envy |
$1,000,000 |
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Mothers Embracing Nuclear Disarmament |
$1,000,000 |
|
Additional substance-abuse-related gifts in 1985 included grants to UCSD Medical School in alcoholism research; scholarships for a substance abuse workshop at San Diego State University; a drug-alcohol education program for the elderly at Villa View Community Hospital in San Diego; distribution of films and printed materials; and additional funds for chemical dependence training at agencies concerned with child abuse prevention. |
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1986 |
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Drug Services Bureau, San Diego County, Adolescent Treatment Services |
$250,000 |
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Hazelden Foundation |
$4,316,459 |
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House of Hope, Fort Lauderdale |
$5,000 |
|
Gifts to San Diego community programs |
$201,700 |
|
Educational programs conducted by Operation Cork |
$355,013 |
|
The Beyond War Foundation |
$10,000 |
|
The Catticus Corporation |
$100,000 |
|
Center for Defense Information |
$500,000 |
|
Grandmothers for Peace |
$500 |
|
Natural Resources Defense Council |
$500,000 |
|
Bronx Municipal Hospital Center Services of AIDS Patients |
$5,673 |
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Medical Associates Research and Education Foundation Research for Children Cured of Cancer |
$117,053 |
|
National Multiple Sclerosis Society |
$50,000 |
|
Sickle Cell Anemia Education and Information Center |
$1,000 |
|
UCSD Medical Center Pediatrics Dept. |
$124,942 |
|
UCSD School of Medicine alcoholism research |
$30,000 |
|
The University of Illinois Dept. of Surgery |
$25,000 |
|
Grants in support of psychoneuroimmunology research directed by Norman Cousins |
$601,956 |
|
Child Abuse Prevention Foundation |
$10,000 |
|
The Elizabeth Hospice |
$5,000 |
|
Home of Guiding Hands |
$125,000 |
|
Mid-City Senior Enterprises |
$25,000 |
|
North Coast (San Diego) Family YMCA |
$100,000 |
|
The Salvation Army Holiday Meals |
$15,000 |
|
San Diego Hospice Corporation |
$274,241 |
|
Winning Wheels, Inc. |
$32,000 |
|
YMCA of San Diego County |
$50,000 |
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Citizens Participation Project |
$400,000 |
|
League of Women Voters of California Educational Fund |
$10,000 |
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San Diegans for an Independent Judiciary |
$10,000 |
|
St. Vincent de Paul Homeless Shelter, San Diego |
$3,000,000 |
|
1987 |
|
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Albert Einstein College of Medicine AIDS education |
$1,000,000 |
|
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation |
$25,000 |
|
Institute for Child Behavior Research |
$6,400 |
|
Medical Associates Research & Education Foundation |
$119,868 |
|
New York City Health & Hospitals AIDS Day Hospital |
$3,000,000 |
|
KPBS Television |
$1,000 |
|
Grants in support of psychoneuroimmunology research directed by Norman Cousins |
$377,289 |
|
The Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Nonviolent Social Change |
$25,000 |
|
New Entra Casa, San Diego, California |
$63,000 |
|
Project I Believe Fund Scholarships for Inner-city Students |
$10,000 |
|
Rockford Memorial Foundation |
$10,000 |
|
The Salvation Army holiday meals |
$500 |
|
San Diego Hospice Corporation |
$3,458,810 |
|
Tender Loving Zoo, Inc., therapy program |
$5,000 |
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COACH, Inc. |
$245,000 |
|
National Council on Alcoholism |
$1,000,000 |
|
Better World Society, Inc. |
$15,000 |
|
Beyond War |
$50,000 |
|
Bread and Roses Community Fund |
$75,000 |
|
Catticus Corporation |
$170,000 |
|
Center for Defense Information |
$200,000 |
|
Eschaton Foundation |
$6,000 |
|
Federation of American Scientists Fund |
$250,000 |
|
Greenpeace USA Incorporated |
$62,500 |
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Peace Links |
$100,000 |
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Spacewatch |
$125,000 |
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Forum Institute voter registration and education |
$1,000,000 |
|
Democratic Party |
$1,000,000 |
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Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities |
(Donation of J and R Double Arch Ranch; ultimately yielding $6 million) |
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(Local authorities denied permission for the ranch to be used as a camp for young cancer patients. “I hope,” Joan said in response, “it’s sold to some crazy rock ’n’ roll stars who keep the neighbors up all night.” It was, in fact, sold for $6 million in 1990 to the dietary supplement impresario Gerald Kessler, who, for a time, raised ostriches on the property and held seminars for his Human Potential Foundation.) |
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1988 |
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American Foundation for AIDS Research |
$1,000,000 |
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Kettering Foundation Research in Psychoneuroimmunology |
$2,000,000 |
|
San Diego Soviet Festival |
$1,000,000 |
|
Medical Associates Research and Education Foundation/research for children cured of cancer |
$128,002 |
|
Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities |
$100,000 |
|
Scripps Clinic and Research Cancer Research |
$70,000 |
|
Grants in support of psychoneuroimmunology research directed by Norman Cousins |
$1,000,000 |
|
Boys Clubs of San Diego |
$5,000 |
|
Casa Familiar, San Ysidro, California |
$67,500 |
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Child Abuse Prevention Foundation |
$25,000 |
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Childhelp, USA |
$1,000 |
|
National Public Radio |
$2,500 |
|
The Salvation Army |
$1,450 |
|
San Diego Hospice Corporation |
$833,429 |
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San Diego Service Center for the Blind |
$5,000 |
|
Westside Center for Independent Living |
$50,000 |
|
YWCA of San Diego County Battered Women Services |
$5,000 |
|
Carl Rogers Institute for Peace |
$10,000 |
|
Center for Defense Information |
$100,000 |
|
Federation of American Scientists Fund |
$220,000 |
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Peace Links |
$100,000 |
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University of Notre Dame |
$6,000,000 |
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Center for Participation in Democracy |
$150,000 |
|
League of Women Voters, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA |
$1,000 |
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1989 |
|
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Charles R. Drew University |
$25,000 |
|
Epilepsy Society of San Diego County |
$10,000 |
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Regents of the University of California Pediatric Oncology Fellowship |
$200,000 |
|
Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation/Lung Cancer Research |
$25,000 |
|
The Jonas Salk Foundation/AIDS Research |
$901,028 |
|
The University of Illinois Institute for Surgical Studies |
$25,000 |
|
Casa Familiar/Amanecer, San Ysidro, California |
$10,000 |
|
Children’s Hospital Foundation/Center for Child Protection |
$50,000 |
|
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia/Hospice Program |
$200,000 |
|
Clair Burgener Foundation |
$1,000 |
|
Copley Family YMCA |
$500 |
|
Family Service & Mental Health Center |
$50,000 |
|
San Diego Hospice Corporation |
$1,429,266 |
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Winning Wheels, Inc. |
$25,575 |
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YWCA of San Diego County |
$10,000 |
|
Horatio Alger Association |
$5,000 |
|
International Institute for Women’s Political Leadership |
$25,000 |
|
San Diego Youth Symphony |
$125,000 |
|
United Negro College Fund |
$1,000 |
|
Peace Links |
$25,000 |
|
San Diego Theatre Foundation (La Jolla Playhouse) |
$400,000 |
|
San Diego City County Scholarship Fund |
$1,000,000 |
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DePaul University Theater |
$500,000 |
|
1990 |
|
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Carter Center |
$3,600,000 |
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Desert Living Preserve |
$200,000 |
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Design Alliance to Combat AIDS/Desert AIDS Project |
$2,600,000 |
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1991 |
|
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Joan B. Kroc Foundation Dissolved January 14, 1991 |
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St. Vincent de Paul Center |
$343,700 |
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Fund for Animals |
$103,110 |
|
1993 |
|
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Ronald McDonald Houses |
$60,000,000 |
|
1994 |
|
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Family Communications (Mr. Rogers) |
$400,000 |
|
1995 |
|
|
Ronald McDonald House Charities |
$50,000,000 |
|
Betty Ford Center |
$1,000,000 |
|
Special Olympics |
$1,000,000 |
|
1996 |
|
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University of San Diego/no-interest student loans |
$3,000,000 |
|
St. Vincent de Paul |
$500,000 |
|
1997 |
|
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Grand Forks/East Grand Forks Flood Assistance |
$15,000,000 |
|
San Diego Opera |
$1,000,000 |
|
San Diego Council on Literacy |
$10,000 |
|
Money to family of James Byrd |
unspecified |
|
Four Flowers Foundation |
established |
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1998 |
|
|
Four Flowers Foundation |
dissolved |
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The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center |
(pledge) (total $87,000,000) |
|
University of San Diego Peace Center |
$25,000,000 |
|
2000 |
|
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Kroc-Copley Animal Shelter |
$2,000,000 |
|
2002 |
|
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Notre Dame on the occasion of Father Ted Hesburgh’s eighty-fifth birthday |
$5,000,000 |
|
National Public Radio |
$500,000 |
|
2003 |
|
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Gifts announced posthumously |
|
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The Salvation Army |
$1,500,000,000 |
|
NPR |
$225,000,000 |
|
Ronald McDonald House Charities |
$60,000,000 |
|
Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, University of San Diego |
$50,000,000 |
|
Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame |
$50,000,000 |
|
San Diego Hospice |
$20,000,000 |
|
San Diego Zoo |
$10,000,000 |
|
San Diego Opera |
$10,000,000 |
|
KPBS |
$5,000,000 |
|
Catholic Diocese of San Diego for construction of Mater Dei High School |
$5,000,000 |
|
Special Olympics |
$5,000,000 |
|
Betty Ford Center |
$5,000,000 |
|
Crazy Horse Foundation |
$1,000,000 |
|
San Diego Children’s Hospital |
$1,000,000 |
|
Mama’s Kitchen, San Diego |
$500,000 |
|
Auntie Helen’s Fluff N’ Fold, San Diego |
$500,000 |