Medical schools and hospitals receive grants from drug companies for research and lectures.
Faculty from Stanford, UC-Berkeley and UCSF will receive grants from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to study biotechnology.
Razina Aziz-Bose and Ritika Dutta will receive grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to conduct biomedical research.
"In the meantime, most of you continue to shoot your films, put on plays and receive grants from the ministry of culture," he writes.
After the donation, contributors can make recommendations about which charities should receive grants from the account, and the sponsoring charity generally honors their wishes.
Shirley Scott, chief executive Charity Finance Directors Groupp: "Local authorities, the BBC and now places of worship receive grants from the government for the recovery of VAT.
And researchers in universities who receive grants from the National Cancer Institute and other federal agencies also are under pressure to publicize findings to justify public spending.
Most online services receive grants from philanthropies, like the Ford Foundation, and health and education agencies on the state and federal level.
Many of the other people on the committee that put together the proposal represent institutions that might also receive grants from it.
One major sticking point is that companies that have contracts with the federal government or receive grants from it are required to follow the Drug-Free Workplace Act.
Seven projects that feature interdisciplinary, cross-collaborative research and span five Harvard Schools will receive grants from the Harvard Global Institute.
