McGannon Foundation continues to grow, despite financial crisis

Roughly 75 delegates of the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) Canada Conference laced up their running shoes for the William H. McGannon Foundation’s annual Fun Run-Walk early on Sunday, Sept. 13.
The event, sponsored by FM Global and the RIMS Canada Council, raised more than Cdn$2,200 for the foundation, which provides learning and networking opportunities for students considering a career in risk management.
Over the past year, despite the financial crisis, the McGannon Foundation was able to raise Cdn$65,000, mostly through perpetual donors, said Joe Restoule, McGannon’s president and RIMS president.
“It’s remarkable that while these donors’ balance sheets were under attack during the past year, they found some funds to give us a bit of economic encouragement,” Restoule told delegates of the RIMS Canada conference in St. John’s, Newfoundland during the awards luncheon on Sept. 15.
Through its conservative investment policies, the foundation limited its loss of equities to 2% over 2008, he added.
The investment fund grew 4% and the current surplus of the foundation is approximately Cdn$530,000, Restoule reported.
During the past year, the McGannon Foundation awarded the second John Faulds Memorial Scholarship to Jean Francois Haeck of St. Laurent, Quebec. The scholarship, worth Cdn$5,000, is not awarded annually, but periodically to students in graduate programs that meet the qualifying conditions.  
In addition, three Cdn$2,500 scholarships were awarded to students, bringing the total of scholarships given out by the foundation over the years to 20, worth Cdn$57,500.
“The amount of scholarships being given out each year is increasing in number and in value,” Restoule said.
This year also marked the first time that the foundation has sponsored two students to attend the RIMS Canada Conference as part of its Student Involvement Initiative.
Andrew Barker, a risk management student at the University of Calgary, and Jana Harding, a student at Memorial University in St. John’s, were able to attend the conference, learn from conference sessions and interact with industry professionals.