Through the work of the Vehbi Koç Foundation, the first private foundation in Turkey and now one of Europe’s largest, he has sought to improve the quality of Turkey’s healthcare system, to advance the country’s education and to promote the cultural resources of Turkey through the many museums and research centers charged with protecting the country’s heritage. Alongside the Foundation’s investments, the Koç group of companies carries out multiple philanthropic initiatives. In addition, the family has supported many primary and secondary schools and founded Koç University, whose laudable mission is to provide Turkey’s young people with a world-class education, to advance the frontiers of knowledge and to benefit Turkey and humanity at large. Here in New York City, there will soon be a major announcement about their giving in the field of the arts. Koç family, we salute you for your continuing and outstanding philanthropy.

Joan Weill is an indefatigable supporter of cultural, civic and philanthropic endeavors. Her generosity, along with her distinguished record of service, has benefitted a host of institutions, including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Foundation and Citymeals-on-Wheel, to name but two.

Sanford Weill has drawn on his vast experience as a leader in our country’s financial sectors to launch such impressive initiatives as a joint public-private sector partnership with the New York City Board of Education that established the Academy of Finance to prepare high school students for careers in financial services. He is the founder and chairman of the National Academy Foundation, which oversees more than 500 career-themed academies.

But that is not all. According to a recent issue of BusinessWeek, Weill giving has totaled more than $800 million. Their generosity, along with their distinguished record of service, has benefitted numerous organizations including Sidra, a teaching hospital to be completed in 2011 in Qatar; New York Presbyterian Hospital and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

If Andrew Carnegie were alive today, he would thank Joan and Sanford Weill for their imaginative giving, a testament to the fact that we cannot take our wealth with us because shrouds have no pockets.

In 2001, he was elected the 108th mayor of New York City. Under his leadership, the city has flourished. Crime is down to record lows, high school graduation rates have reached record highs, New Yorkers are living longer than ever, and the city gets greener and greater every day. But today, we celebrate his philanthropy.

His support in the areas of public health, medical research, education, arts and culture, and social services is extraordinary. But what truly sets him apart is his approach to giving. He has not only generously funded tried and true institutions; he has taken risks on less proven programs and smaller organizations. He brings resources and attention to causes that have long been ignored—focusing on issues that are both specific and solvable, like his groundbreaking programs to reduce tobacco use, improve global road safety, and remove illegal guns from the streets of our cities. And across all of his giving there is a focus on innovation and a rigorous assessment of data.

We all rejoiced in the fact that the Chronicle of Philanthropy named him the country’s leading individual living donor in 2008.

Today we also celebrate, Gordon Moore, as co-founder of Intel, a founding father of Silicon Valley, a seminal figure in the history of computing, and past distinguished Chairman of the Board of the California Institute of Technology.

Betty and Gordon Moore embody Andrew Carnegie’s deeply held belief that with education humankind can “erect the structure of an enduring civilization.” Their foundation’s $300 million commitment to Caltech, matched by their personal gift of $300 million, made the venerable Caltech the recipient of the largest-ever donation to an institution of higher learning, to the great benefit of the university’s students, science departments, Thirty Meter Telescope, and many other projects. But Caltech is not alone. They have supported such eminent institutions as the University of California at Berkeley and others that, like their foundation, are committed to basic science and excellence. Betty and Gordon Moore are and will remain an inspiration to current and future generations. This nation, indeed all nations, are grateful to you.