Hackensack Meridian receives $125 million, and the donor is anonymous

Hackensack Meridian Health is celebrating the announcement of a $125 million contribution to the New Jersey health system.

It’s one of the larger contributions given to any health system in America over the past few years. Hackensack Meridian says the gift will be used to transform the Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

But the size of the gift isn’t the only remarkable aspect of the contribution. The donor has chosen to remain anonymous.

It’s unusual for a multi-million dollar contribution to be given anonymously, but a nine-figure gift from a donor who doesn’t want to be publicly recognized is truly rare.

Robert C. Garrett, chief executive officer of Hackensack Meridian Health, praised the donor for his contribution and for choosing to do so without seeking public acknowledgment

“In a year when the largest gifts in American healthcare have come from some of the most recognizable names in the country, someone chose to give $125 million and ask for nothing — no name on the building, no announcement, no recognition,” Garrett said in a statement from the health system.

Honoring a hospital leader

The donor asked for a pavilion at the medical center to be named in honor of the late John K. Lloyd, a longtime president of Jersey Shore. Lloyd played a critical role in the formation of Hackensack Meridian Health, and served with Garrett as co-CEO of the system before retiring in 2018.

Garrett hailed the donor’s preference to honor Lloyd with his name on the pavilion, saying, “That tells you everything about what this gift is really about.”

In 2025, only a handful of contributions to hospitals and health systems topped $100 million. Each of those gifts came from donors who were publicly named.

The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, which tracks charitables gifts of more than $1 million, reports that only a small fraction of such donations are made anonymously.

Many nonprofit organizations and charities prefer to publicly identify the contributors of large gifts, both to publicly thank donors for their generosity and to spur others to give, The American Endowment Foundation says. But charities also will respect the wishes of donors.

In 2023, an anonymous donor gave a gift of $100 million to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine to support research and help students with financial needs. Last year, the University of Washington received an anonymous $50 million contribution to help cover tuition for medical laboratory science students, the Associated Press reported.

Transforming the hospital

Based in Neptune, N.J., the Jersey Shore Medical Center offers nearly 700 beds and features a Level I Adult Trauma Center and a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center.

The medical center is the fastest growing hospital in New Jersey, and sees over 100,000 emergency visits each year, according to Hackensack Meridian. The system says the hospital is regularly at or near capacity.

Hackensack Meridian has previously announced plans to invest more than $1 billion in the Jersey Shore Medical Center over a 10-year span, with plans for a new critical care tower and expanded patient facilities.

The health system says the gift from the anonymous donor will help the non-profit organization fulfill its mission of investing in patient care.

In a recent roundtable discussion hosted by Chief Healthcare Executive®, Garrett talked about the challenges for nonprofit hospitals as they invest in their communities even while dealing with inadequate funding from Washington and the prospect of Medicaid cuts.

“We're seeing huge shifts in how care is delivered, technology that's truly transformational arriving more quickly than before, and headwinds coming at us from Washington and our state capitals,” Garrett said during the roundtable. “That combination makes this moment particularly challenging and different from what I've seen in the past.”

Hackensack Meridian, which operates 18 hospitals and 500 other healthcare facilities across New Jersey, says it hopes the gift from the anonymous donor will also help motivate others to contribute to the health system. The organization is in the midst of a $1 billion fundraising campaign begun in 2021.