This text is part of the special Philanthropy section
Philanthropy has a long tradition at McGill University. This goes back to the very creation of the establishment, which began in 1821 thanks to a bequest, in money and land, from a wealthy Montreal merchant of Scottish origin, James McGill. Since this first donation, philanthropy has been part of the operation of this higher education institution.
Unlike most universities, where the management of philanthropy is assumed by a foundation, McGill University has no legal foundation. “Rather, it is the university itself which has charitable status recognized by the Canada Revenue Agency, which allows us to receive donations and issue receipts for tax purposes”, explains Marie-Josée Gariépy, Assistant Vice-Principal, Development and Volunteer Partnership.
But if there is no foundation, is there a committee whose job it is to distribute the money raised through philanthropy? “No,” she continues, “because the vast majority of donations are dedicated donations, the donor having indicated to us what the donation should be used for. For example, for a research sector that he particularly appreciates. And non-dedicated donations are used according to the specific needs of the university defined each year by the management. “
In addition, McGill University does few solicitation events. “Our approach to philanthropy is essentially based on a personalized approach with our former students with whom we remain in contact and whose professional path we follow,” underlines M.me Gariepy. Most of our donors are McGill alumni, who still want to be part of our big family, and who get involved first through volunteering and then, depending on their financial situation, through donations. “
The importance of philanthropy
Mme Suzanne Fortier, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, admits the importance of philanthropy to McGill. But what counts in his eyes is not the size of the donations, but what they allow to be done and which, otherwise, would be difficult, if not impossible to achieve.
“First,” she argues, “philanthropy allows us to invest directly in little-explored fields of research that can potentially have a great impact but also have a high level of risk, without having to call upon conventional granting organizations from the start. . She gives as an example the field of epigenetics in which McGill was able to invest, thanks to philanthropy, long before this field took the boom that it knows today.
“Philanthropy also allows us to better support our students, sometimes financially, but also by offering them certain possibilities,” continues Mr.me Fortier. For example, philanthropy gives us the opportunity to enable students from 1er cycle of participating in research projects, while receiving financial support. “
For Benoit Boulet, Associate Vice-Principal for Innovation and Partnership, philanthropy also supports more conventional research projects. “Today, federal or provincial granting agencies will often require a financial participation of about 20% of a third before considering the request for funding. Philanthropy allows us to provide this amount and, therefore, to unlock the grant application. “
Support for the research structure
Whether in basic or applied research, in pure sciences or in social sciences, research today is increasingly interdisciplinary. It is therefore necessary to bring together several researchers from different disciplines and different faculties, which research centers make it possible to do.
“Unfortunately,” says Benoit Boulet, “funding organizations have very few programs that can be used to fund a research center. Fortunately, there is philanthropy which fills this void and which allows us to set up a research center and to support it afterwards. Research projects undertaken by researchers at a research center are obviously financially supported by funding organizations, but the operation of the research center is largely supported by philanthropic donations. “
Over the years, philanthropy has enabled McGill University to establish and support several of these research centers, including the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Center.
“Cancer research is one of the strengths of scientific research at McGill,” says Suzanne Fortier. We have had the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute for several years. McGill has made a significant contribution to breast cancer research as well as lung cancer, particularly its treatment with immunotherapy. The donation from the Goodman family supports and strengthens our efforts in cancer research. “
The current director of the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Center is professor and researcher Morag Park, this year’s winner of the Quebec Armand-Frappier Prize. The former director, professor and researcher Michel L. Tremblay, for his part received the Quebec Wilder-Penfield Prize this year, having already received the Quebec Armand-Frappier Prize in 2013. These three prestigious distinctions bear witness to the quality of the research carried out by this cancer research center and also underline the relevance of the philanthropic donation, in this case from the Goodman family, in supporting research excellence. university.