(Cyan Banister.)

Some have suggested that philanthropy came back in 2012, at least in New York, where local institutions received eight and even nine-figure donations this year. Well, New Yorkers aren't the only ones feeling generous.

According to a post on his Facebook page, Mark Zuckerberg is donating 18 million Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a gift worth about $500 million at current stock valuations: 

Today, in order to lay the foundation for new projects, we've made a contribution of 18 million Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Together, we will look for areas in education and health to focus on next. I'm hopeful we'll be able to have as positive an impact in our next set of projects.

The Silicon Valley Community Foundation provides "visionary community leadership by identifying emerging challenges in our region," according to the "About Us" section of its website. That's relatively vague, and there's been no indication of what specific goals Mr. Zuckerberg hopes to achieve with his gift, unless it's to remind New York's philanthropists they're not the only ones with the balls to give big.