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$50 Million For Children’s Hospital, Research

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced it has received a $50 million gift from philanthropist Raymond G. Perelman. An eight-acre portion of CHOP’s campus will be renamed the Raymond G. Perelman Campus, and the gift will establish the Raymond G. Perelman Research Fund.

Perelman’s gift joins a $50 million donation in 2013 from the Buerger family as the largest in the hospital’s 160-year history. The hospital had $1.7 billion in total revenue according to its most recent Form 990. The hospital’s associated foundation listed total revenue of $195.26 million on its most recent Form 990.

“The significant research funding associated with this gift underscores the commitment of Raymond Perelman to world-class pediatric research and medicine,” said CHOP board chair Mortimer J. Buckley via a statement. “Through his generosity, Mr. Perelman is first and foremost improving the lives of children for generations to come and we will always be grateful for his altruism.”

The research fund will provide support for the following five initiatives:

  • Raymond G. Perelman Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics: support for immunotherapy and molecular therapy to fight cancer and metabolic diseases
  • Perelman Scholars: two faculty positions at CHOP
  • Perelman Fund for Research Innovation: a source of funding for the CHOP Research Institute for pilot research initiatives
  • Perelman Endowed Chair in Pediatric Ophthalmology
  • Support for general research

“The Philadelphia community has long benefited from the generosity and commitment of Raymond Perelman,” said CHOP CEO Steven M. Altschuler, M.D., in the statement. “The impact of Mr. Perelman’s gift will be felt long into the future, helping generations of children live healthier lives.”

The 97-year-old Perelman, CEO of investment company RGP Holdings, has long supported Philadelphia institutions. In 2011 he and his late wife, Ruth, gave $225 million to the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, one of the largest-ever gifts to a U.S. university. Perelman has also given a total of $11 million to Drexel University, $15 million to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and $6 million to performing arts hub the Kimmel Center, in addition to other gifts to UPenn.

“We know first-hand the tremendous resource that CHOP represents to families in the Philadelphia region, across the country and around the world,” said Perelman in the statement. “This gift will help to ensure that critically important pediatric research, conducted on this campus, remains second to none; in addition to making a tangible difference in the lives of children around the globe for many years to come, it is my hope and expectation that advances in medical research funded by this gift will benefit us all.”

Perelman’s gift joins a $50 million donation in 2013 from the Buerger family as the largest in the hospital’s 160-year history. The hospital had $1.7 billion in total revenue according to its most recent Form 990. The hospital’s associated foundation listed total revenue of $195.26 million on its most recent Form 990.