Anonymous Donor Gives $5 million to the Children of Christchurch

Ruth McCambridge

July 1, 2011

February 22, 2011; Source: stuff.co.nz | In the wake of the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand last February, a donor who wished to remain anonymous and evidently had no ties to the area has given $5 million to establish community based programs for schoolchildren of the area. Those who negotiated the gift were unwilling even to share age or gender saying that the donor valued his/her privacy. He/she did have some requirements however. None of the money is to be spent on buildings or anything that would not directly benefit children. Among the types of programs to be funded are indoor sports and play, wireless Internet areas and spaces for homework. This is the largest donation made to the recovery effort to date.—Ruth McCambridge

About the author

Ruth McCambridge

Ruth is Editor Emerita of the Nonprofit Quarterly. Her background includes forty-five years of experience in nonprofits, primarily in organizations that mix grassroots community work with policy change. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Ruth spent a decade at the Boston Foundation, developing and implementing capacity building programs and advocating for grantmaking attention to constituent involvement.

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