It’S Getting Easier To Convey Learning

Sat., Aug. 8, 1998

By D.F. Oliveria daveo@spokesman.com (509) 319-0354

In 1889, Andrew Carnegie challenged the wealthy to use their money for the public good.

A rich man, said Carnegie in his essay, “The Gospel of Wealth,” could leave his fortune to his children. But experience shows this isn’t always wise or kind. He might bequeath it at his death for public use, but there is no way of knowing if it would be used properly. The best option, he concluded, was to administer his wealth during his life for the public’s benefit.

Carnegie set an example for other 19th Century captains of industry. Together, these self-made men and their families funneled their wealth into building universities, libraries, hospitals, parks, concert and meeting halls and church buildings.

Happily, Carnegie’s spirit of philanthropy has revived, thanks to modern titans, such as Ted Turner, the Albertson family of Boise and Bill Gates.

Last fall, Turner gave away $1 billion to the United Nations - and then chided Gates and the megarich for not digging deeper. “What good is wealth sitting in the bank?” Turner asked rhetorically.

Gates isn’t exactly a tightwad. The world’s richest private citizen doled out a combined $345 million to charity in 1996 and 1997. He plans to give away 95 percent of his wealth before he dies.

Without fanfare, Kathryn Albertson funneled $660 million in supermarket stock into the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation, the second largest donation on Fortune’s 1997 list. Now, Idaho’s hard-pressed education system is reaping the fruits of the Albertson family benevolence.

In the Coeur d’Alene School District, Albertson’s three-year grant of $173,700 has provided work and experience for nine teaching interns. Marcy Tonna’s experience in the teacher-intern program helped her land a local job as a third-grade teacher.

In Post Falls, junior high students with academic troubles now can get extra help thanks to a three-year, $150,000 grant from the foundation. The Lakeland School District recently received $267,690 for books to fill the new Timberlake Junior-Senior High and other schools.

And on and on.

Albertson plans to dispense $80 million in technology grants over the next three years. Her goal is to give a multimedia computer to every public school teacher.

Her incredible largesse has made it possible for teachers in Idaho’s struggling districts to dream of new ways to impart knowledge. May her kind increase.

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