Philanthropy

Princeton University will pay nearly $100 million but maintain control of a much-larger endowment that supports its school of public affairs, under a settlement between the school and disgruntled heirs of a major donor. The 6-year-old case pitted heirs of Charles and Marie Robertson, who held the A&P grocery fortune, against the university. In dispute was a 1961 gift of $35 million, which grew to $900 million, to support Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Shards of glass, bumpy grass and rocks are what Jose Serna was used to as a kid. Lights and modern turf on a baseball field were luxuries. "If the ball took a bad hop, you lose a tooth," the Roosevelt High School senior outfielder said. So now, as he watched with his teammates on the edge of the baseball infield at Evergreen Recreation Center in Boyle Heights, Serna was pleased to hear the news.

Some major artists have provided songs to help launch (Red)Wire, a new digital music service working in conjunction with (Red) and Product Red, all aimed at raising awareness and funds to fight AIDS in Africa. On Monday, World Aids Day, songs and videos from artists such as Coldplay, Death Cab for Cuties, the Dixie Chicks, Jay-Z, John Legend, U2 and Elton John will be showcased during the (Red)Wire unveiling at red.msn.com. (Red)Wire subscribers will download a special custom player for their computer and will receive a weekly digital music offering, including an exclusive song from a major artist, a less well-known song that (Red)

"American Idol" has allocated more than $64 million in grants to six U.S. and international charities from contributions to its "Idol Gives Back" fundraising event. The popular Fox singing competition's star-studded gala, held at the Kodak Theatre in April, featured musical performances by Miley Cyrus, Fergie, Heart and Snoop Dogg. Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crystal and Robin Williams were among the celebrities who also appeared on stage. "Idol Gives Back" said Wednesday that grants had been made to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Malaria No More; Children's Health Fund; U.S. programs of Save the Children; Children's Defense Fund; and Make It Right, Pitt's campaign to help New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina.

Center Theatre Group, parent of the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre and Kirk Douglas Theatre, will receive as much as $1.1 million from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Nonprofit Finance Fund to serve as a very large guinea pig for the performing arts. CTG and nine other groups are the focuses of a $15.1-million, five-year experiment, announced Tuesday, aimed at discovering a cure for the economic uncertainty and declining attendance plaguing many nonprofit theater and dance organizations.

The 2009 Tony Awards will include a new honor: the Isabelle Stevenson Award, to be given to a member of the theater community for philanthropic efforts. The award, named after the former president of the American Theatre Wing, will go to a person "who has made a substantial contribution or volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian, social service or charitable organizations."

Paul Newman, the legendary movie star and irreverent cultural icon who created a model philanthropy fueled by profits from a salad dressing that became nearly as famous as he was, has died. He was 83. Newman died Friday at his home near Westport, Conn., after a long battle with cancer, publicist Jeff Sanderson said. Stunningly handsome, Newman maintained his superstar status while keeping his distance from its corrupting influences through nearly 100 Broadway, television and movie roles.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are giving back to the country where their 3-year-old daughter, Zahara, was born. The couple has donated $2 million to help fight HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in Ethiopia, said the Global Health Committee, which announced the donation by the Jolie-Pitt Foundation. The organization will use the money to build a center in the capital city of Addis Ababa for children affected by the disease and to establish a program to treat tuberculosis in children and adults.

What's in a name? A lot, at least at two engineering schools in Southern California named after high-tech billionaire and generous donor Henry Samueli. The Samueli name could be stripped from engineering schools at UCLA and UC Irvine as a result of his recent guilty plea to a felony charge of lying to financial regulators. A review of the issue is being launched by the University of California's general counsel, officials said.

William Barron Hilton, the 80-year-old grandfather of Paris Hilton, made a $1.2-billion charitable pledge last year, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported Monday, putting him at the head of its annual list of America's top 50 charitable donors. The co-chair of Beverly Hills-based Hilton Hotels Corp. will do his giving through the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, named for his father and dedicated to combating blindness, funding water projects in developing countries, housing America's homeless and reducing drug abuse among the young.