The Donor: Jim MacDonald
The Gift: $1-million
The Cause: University of Winnipeg Collegiate
The Reason: To fund student bursaries.
Jim MacDonald spent most of his childhood hating school and getting into trouble.
"I started getting the strap in Grade 2 because I started playing hooky," Mr. MacDonald, 66, recalled from his office in Winnipeg where he works for RBC Dominion Securities Inc. "To show you how dumb I was, my mother was a teacher in the same school. So it didn't take long for them to find out what was going on."
Things didn't get much better as he got older. He failed Grade 9 and was on track to end his education in Grade 11. "I just couldn't stand the ridiculous rules," he said. "I was a spoiled brat."
His life changed one summer day while sitting on the porch of the family's home in Winnipeg. Mr. MacDonald started thinking about life after high school. "I thought, 'I wonder what I'll do?'" he recalled. He quickly realized he had few options. "I'll never forget the sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach telling me I can't do anything … I thought, 'I'm screwed.'"
He talked to his mother and she approached a neighbour, Lorne Tomlinson, who was dean of the University of Winnipeg Collegiate, a high school connected to the university. Mr. Tomlinson agreed to take a chance on Mr. MacDonald and enrolled him in Grade 11.
Mr. MacDonald seized the opportunity. He quickly caught up on the university entrance courses and graduated from the collegiate with top marks. He headed to the University of North Dakota, made the dean's honour list and returned to Winnipeg to pursue a career in the investment world.
Mr. MacDonald has made a point of giving back to the collegiate ever since. He founded the school's alumni association, served on the board of the University of Winnipeg Foundation and spent nine years on the university's board of regents. He has also donated $1-million to the collegiate for student aid awards and he's helping raise another $5-million. When asked what the collegiate has meant to him, Mr. MacDonald had a blunt reply: "It saved my ass."
Paul Waldie