Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, are donating $120 million toward student scholarships at historically black colleges and universities. The couple is giving $40 million to each of three institutions: the United Negro College Fund, Spelman College and Morehouse College. The organizations said it is the largest individual gift in support of student scholarships at HBCUs.
Craig Newmark, the entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded Craigslist, announced on Wednesday a $1 million gift to ProPublica. The gift will “allow ProPublica to deploy resources and address opportunities, including adding staff, where they are most needed over a wide range of issues in the public interest,” according to an announcement from the investigative nonprofit.
The Craigslist founder has given to Wikipedia and Poynter, with more to come: “I do think a trustworthy press is mission critical for any democracy,” he says. Nieman Lab’s Ken Doctor talks to him about his passion for philanthropy, its roots in Anton Schulski’s high school history class in Morristown, N.J., Conan the Barbarian, and spending like a drunken sailor.
