An anonymous donor has made gifts valued at $33 million to forty-one nonprofit organizations in the Lincoln, Nebraska, area, the Lincoln Journal Star reports.

Recipients of the gifts range from large institutions such as Nebraska Wesleyan University, Union College, and the University of Nebraska Foundation to small nonprofits like the Center for People in Need, the Gathering Place, Friendship Home, and City Impact. The gifts are in the form of shares in Farmers & Merchants Investment, Inc., a closely held Nebraska corporation that is the majority owner of Union Bank & Trust Co., which is acting on behalf of the donor. Each share is valued at more than $6,000, and the nonprofits have the right to either retain their shares or sell them to another entity or back to the holding company.

The Salvation Army, which received a hundred and fifty-eight shares valued at a total of $1 million, likely will use the gift to fund general operations, Capt. Jamie Pennington told the Journal Star. "Safe to say, the gift will be used for the present as well as years to come," said Pennington. The Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools also received shares valued at $1 million. If the district's $153 million bond request currently before voters is approved, said board chair Lisa M. Smith, the foundation may help jump-start the construction of a career center as part of a joint project with Southeast Community College.

Some local residents believe they know the donor's identity but declined to speculate, respecting his or her wish to remain anonymous. "The donor's intent was to show sincere appreciation to the community of Lincoln, state of Nebraska, and all those who have made Union Bank successful over the past fifty years," a UBT officer told the Journal Star in an e-mail. "The appreciation for this support comes not only from the owners but from the directors, shareholders, officers, and associates of Union Bank."