Untitled Document

Dallas businessman gives $150 million in 2006, establishing a legacy of giving

DALLAS , TX -- Oil and gas industry leader and philanthropist T. Boone Pickens announced today a $135 million donation to establish The T. Boone Pickens Foundation. The new foundation will improve lives through grants supporting educational programs, medical research, athletics and corporate wellness, the entrepreneurial process and conservation and wildlife initiatives.

Coupled with about $15 million in 2006 philanthropic giving to-date, Pickens has contributed about $150 million this year to a wide-range of causes, from health and medical research initiatives to local grassroots organizations in North Texas and Oklahoma. Pickens’ 2005 donations of $220 million earned him the distinction as America’s fifth-largest philanthropist for the year, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

“We’ve always worked to give back to the community, and this continues that tradition and allows us to move forward with a greater philanthropic focus,” Pickens said.

“I feel like I’m starting a new business – one of the most exciting ventures I’ve ever launched – the business of giving and helping. The gifts of this Foundation will be paying dividends and helping people long after we’re all gone,” Pickens continued.

Pickens will serve as chairman of the Foundation. Longtime associate Ronald D. Bassett is president; attorney Robert L. Stillwell is vice president; and Andrew Littlefair, president and CEO of Clean Energy, is vice president, secretary and treasurer.

Pickens is quickly establishing a legacy of giving: his 2005 gift of $165 million to his alma mater, Oklahoma State University, is the single largest gift for athletics in NCAA history, and the $7 million donation to the American Red Cross in 2005 is the largest individual contribution in the 150-year history of that organization.

In 2006, through the Foundation, and in personal charitable giving earlier in the year, Pickens has contributed to the following causes, among others:

$6 million to The Wilmer Eye Research Institute at Johns Hopkins University. The gift will help construct a new research and eye care facility for the Institute, which is long-recognized as an international leader in ophthalmology.

$5 million to Texas Woman’s University . This gift will help fund construction of TWU’s new $32-million T. Boone Pickens Institute of Health Sciences-Dallas Center. The state-of-the-art facility will be built at the TWU Parkland location in the heart of Dallas’ Southwestern Medical District, and will offer programs in nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, healthcare administration and library science. The TWU Stroke Center also will be housed in the facility. The donation is the largest single gift from an individual to TWU, the largest public university primarily for women in the United States.

$2 million to Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Texas . The local chapter of the oldest, largest youth-mentoring organizations in the United States is receiving a matching grant for its Campaign for Children in Crisis.

$1.25 million to The Senior Source , Senior Citizens of Greater Dallas, which is recognized throughout Texas and the Southwest for improving the quality of life and promoting the independence of older adults. The Senior Source is one of the few nonprofits addressing a full spectrum of needs of older adults, from the most active senior to the very frail, incapacitated elderly. Through nine distinct programs, the agency supports nursing home residents, provides eldercare counseling, coordinates money management, serves as legal guardian, provides in-home companions, and matches older adults with employment and volunteer opportunities.

$1 million to The Phoenix House, which has been providing substance abuse services in Texas for nearly ten years. The gift will fund the T. Boone Pickens Scholarship Endowment, income from which will pay for residential drug rehab treatment for from six to eight teenagers per year.

$1 million grant to the Admiral Roy F. Hoffmann Foundation . The Foundation helps U.S. veterans wounded in action. Most initial contact with recipients for these awards is by “word of mouth” in federal medical centers.

$1 million to M.D. Anderson to support their ongoing cancer research initiatives, with a particular focus on the early detection, treatment and prevention of cervical cancer. Funds are designated to support Dr. Michele Follen's research and education projects in the Center for Biomedical Engineering.