Full Breakdown
Phil and Penny Knight pledge $1.1 billion to Providence health system
By Drooid · · How we work
Major Gift Overview
Providence announced Tuesday that Phil Knight, founder of Nike, and his wife Penny Knight have pledged $1.1 billion to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center and the Providence Heart Institute. The pledge will be delivered over a ten-year period, with the first distribution occurring this year. The donation is described as one of the largest gifts ever made to a U.S. health-care institution.
Historical Philanthropy and System Context
The Knights have become Oregon’s most prominent donors. In the prior year they contributed $2 billion to Oregon Health & Science University’s Knight Cancer Institute, a donation the Chronicle of Philanthropy called the largest public gift of the year. Over the past decade they have also given $200 million to the Providence Heart Institute, helping to launch a heart-transplant program. Their family foundation reported $4.47 billion in assets and $520 million in revenue in 2024. Providence St. Vincent, founded in 1875 by the Sisters of Providence, now serves a patient base in which women comprise 60 % of all patients and delivers more babies annually than any other Oregon hospital. The Heart Institute treats roughly 63,000 patients from across the Northwest.
Planned Use of the Gift
Providence will allocate part of the pledge to construct a new hospital tower dedicated to women’s health on the St. Vincent campus in Washington County. The tower will house an updated labor and delivery unit, a neonatal intensive-care unit with private family rooms, and expanded services for cardiac care, menopause, and gynecology. Additional funding will support new cardiovascular treatments, diagnostic tools, and prevention strategies at the Heart Institute, as well as patient-support services that extend beyond reimbursable insurance care. The gift is also intended to recruit top medical talent and fund clinical-trial research.
Official Statements & Responses
Erik Wexler, president and CEO of Providence, called the contribution “a significant and transformational milestone” for the organization and the broader Northwest health-care landscape. Dan Oseran, executive medical director of the Heart Institute, said the funding will ease the experience of patients facing stressful cardiac diagnoses and could shorten wait times for imaging studies. Ray Moreno, chief executive of Providence St. Vincent, described the women’s hospital as a “dream” that could finally be realized because of the Knights’ support.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Penny and I have always believed that real breakthroughs come from people willing to take on the toughest challenges,” — Phil Knight, from nike founder
- “I think there’s a lot that we can do if we are thoughtful about how individual patients encounter the health system and how we can just make it easier for them,” — Dan Oseran, the institute’s executive medical director
- “Today's gift marks a significant and transformational milestone for Providence and healthcare in the greater Northwest,” — Erik Wexler, president and CEO of Providence, in the release