--- description: Find out who else is on the TIME100 Most Influential People in Philanthropy 2026 list. title: TIME100 Philanthropy: Louise Richardson image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ae3520ef5c31539/69fe3a664cffee536a84153f/t100-philanthropy-Louise_Richardson.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9%2Coffset-x100.00%2Coffset-y45.35 --- May 14, 2026 # Louise Richardson A boost for libraries by Sandra Block  Wilfred Chan In early 2026, hundreds of libraries across the U.S. received an unexpected gift: a check for $10,000\. The donations were made in honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary, no strings attached. The Carnegie Corporation sent the checks to about 1,400 still-functioning libraries connected to Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate and philanthropist, who funded the construction of nearly 1,700 free libraries from 1886 to 1917\. Louise Richardson, who joined as president of the $4.9 billion foundation in 2023, says tracking down the remaining Carnegie libraries was labor intensive but satisfying because the institutions are such a positive force in the communities they serve. “It’s just so heartwarming to see the work these libraries do,” she says. Richardson has also promoted the idea of young people taking a year of voluntary, paid service, a movement she believes could counter polarization and offer skills and experience. Carnegie has funded national service programs in states such as Utah and Maryland, and Richardson hopes those initiatives will encourage others to launch their own. She believes Carnegie is uniquely qualified to help address polarization in the U.S. “There’s philanthropy on the right and on the left, but in keeping with the tradition of Andrew Carnegie, we’re trying to go right down the center,” she says. “We were founded by an unabashed capitalist, so I think we can address both sides.” TIME100 Philanthropy: Louise Richardson ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-philanthropy/2026/louise-richardson/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-philanthropy/2026/louise-richardson/"},"headline":"Louise Richardson","datePublished":"2026-05-14T12:02:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-14T23:54:27.490Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/time100-philanthropy/2026/louise-richardson/","keywords":["list","franchise","Accolades","Magazine","Philanthropy 2026"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ae3520ef5c31539/69fe3a664cffee536a84153f/t100-philanthropy-Louise_Richardson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675%2Coffset-x100.00%2Coffset-y45.35&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sandra Block"}],"creator":"Sandra Block","articleSection":"TIME100","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ae3520ef5c31539/69fe3a664cffee536a84153f/t100-philanthropy-Louise_Richardson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675%2Coffset-x100.00%2Coffset-y45.35&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/time100/","name":"TIME100"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-philanthropy/2026/louise-richardson/","name":"Louise Richardson"}}]}] ```