UCSF Receives $100 Million Gift from Benioffs for Children's Hospital
UCSF Chancellor Sue Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH, and Mark Laret, chief executive officer of UCSF Medical Center, announced on June 17 that Marc and Lynne Benioff have “made an extraordinary $100 million gift to UCSF Children’s Hospital.”
In a message to the UCSF community, Desmond-Hellmann and Laret said that the children’s hospital is today officially renamed the “UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.”
The private gift is the largest donation ever made by the Benioffs and is the largest gift ever made specifically to UCSF Children’s Hospital. The gift will help support construction of a 183-bed new children’s hospital at UCSF Mission Bay, part of a hospital complex which is expected to be completed in 2014.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Benioff said that for the next 10 years he will focus his donations exclusively on the children’s hospital, after years of giving much smaller amounts to various organizations.
In a blog in the Wall Street Journal, Benioff explained why he and his wife Lynne will give exclusively to UCSF Children’s Hospital.
“We’re particularly inspired by the contributions UCSF has made in advancing children’s health,” he wrote. “Researchers and physicians at UCSF Children’s Hospital discovered the cause of respiratory distress syndrome — the number one killer of premature babies — and developed therapies now used around the world to save thousands of lives every year. Among many firsts, they also pioneered cochlear implants for children, bringing hope to deaf children and adults; performed the first fetal surgical procedures; helped prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS from mother to baby; and introduced new therapies for childhood cancer.”
The Benioffs are expected to make an official announcement about their contribution to UCSF in San Jose on June 22.
Here is the entire letter from the chancellor and Laret:
June 17, 2010
Dear Colleagues:
We are extremely pleased to announce that Marc and Lynne Benioff have made an extraordinary $100 million gift to UCSF Children’s Hospital, which today is officially renamed the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.
This generous donation brings UCSF Medical Center to $320 million in pledges for our philanthropic goal of $600 million toward building a 289-bed, $1.5 billion children’s, women’s and cancer hospital complex at Mission Bay.
Lynne and Marc Benioff are amazing people. Marc is the co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Salesforce.com; and Lynne serves on the UCSF Foundation Board. Their daughter was born almost two years ago at UCSF.
Marc designed philanthropy into the very fabric of Salesforce.com, donating 1 percent of the company’s equity, 1 percent of profits and 1 percent of employee time to support community needs. The Benioffs have decided to focus their personal philanthropy on UCSF Children’s Hospital, with the goal of not only seeing the new hospital built but significantly advancing children’s health worldwide.
We are deeply appreciative of their generosity and their commitment to this extremely important project and cause. An article describing the Benioffs and their gift appears in today’s Wall Street Journal.
We will schedule time in the near future to celebrate the Benioffs, their gift and the new UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. For now, we celebrate the generosity of spirit and the confidence that the Benioffs have shown in UCSF, and the work that will be done on behalf of children here and around the world.
Sincerely,
Susan Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH
Chancellor
Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Distinguished Professor
Mark Laret
CEO
UCSF Medical Center
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
Related Links:
Benioff donates $100 million for UCSF hospital
San Francisco Chronicle, June 18, 2010
UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay