A Boston native and Mt. Holyoke graduate, Elizabeth Noyce moved to Maine in 1976 after her marriage to the Intel Corp. founder ended. She brought $40 million with her. Over the next 20 years, until her death a few months ago, Noyce had a unique approach to charity. When she wanted to donate $1 million to public television, for example, she built five houses--employing architects, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, etc.--and then donated the money from the sale of the homes. That's just one of the ways Noyce used her wealth to help working people. Not a bad example for other rich folks to follow.

The legacy of multi-millionaire philanthropist Elizabeth "Betty" Noyce is felt today more than three years following her death at 66. Grants made through the Libra Foundation continue to benefit Maine, which she adopted as her "neighborhood" after settling in Bremen. The Massachusetts native moved to Maine from California after her divorce from Intel co-founder Robert Noyce in 1975. The split-up made her a wealthy woman.

During her lifetime, she generously gave as much as $75 million to such Maine institutions as the Farnsworth Museum, the Monhegan Island Museum, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, the Maine Community Foundation, the Island Institute, Miles Memorial Hospital and the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. At present the Libra Foundation, a private foundation established by Elizabeth B. Noyce which became active in June, 1989, gives grants and contributions to charitable organizations other than political organizations.within the State of Maine.

Elizabeth B. Noyce, who died in September 1996, bequeathed her outstanding collection of American art to four Maine museums: the Portland Museum of Art, The Farnsworth Art Museum, the Maine Maritime Museum, and the Monhegan Museum. Mrs. Noyce had a close relationship with each of these institutions and the dispersal of her collection reflects her rich understanding of their respective missions. It was her objective not to place the collection at any one museum as a memorial to herself, but rather to share it among institutions throughout the state to ensure that her collection will be a resource for the people of Maine for generations to come. The bequest of 66 paintings to the Portland Museum of Art is the most extensive gift of American art ever presented to the Museum. The Elizabeth B. Noyce Collection has transformed the scope and quality of the Museum's American collection,

Along with Mrs. Noyce's heralded gifts to the Maine art community, she made charitable gifts to non-profit institutions totaling between $50 million and $75 million. In recent years, Mrs. Noyce had begun practicing what she called "catalytic philanthropy," by investing in Maine businesses and communities with the goal of creating jobs and boosting the economy.

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