One of Vancouver’s wealthiest men is altering his approach to philanthropy, while a charity he founded grows in stature.
Chip Wilson’s charity imagine1day, which builds schools in Ethiopia, is expanding to other parts of the African country. Wilson is founder Lululemon Athletica Inc.
Simultaneously, Wilson has decided to put his Chip’s Not Dead Yet Memorial Mile on hiatus. That campy run on streets in Vancouver’s west side raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for BC Children’s Hospital.
“When I looked at how much money I was putting into [Chip’s Not Dead Yet Memorial Mile] and how much I was getting out of it, I thought I’d be better to switch my money to the Childrun for BC Children’s Hospital,” Wilson told Business in Vancouver December 1.
Wilson and his wife Shannon Wilson have pumped millions of dollars into imagine1day. They cover all administrative expenses, allowing every dollar donated to go directly into buying components for schools.
Donors are able to specify whether they want to buy a teacher’s desk or a latrine.
Since December 2007, imagine1day has focused activity in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray. It has now expanded to a new region in Ethiopia, called Oromiya.
“Here’s one thing we’re doing that I think is the future of charity in general,” said. “We call it creatubutions.”
Creatubutions are essentially left up to an individual to host and event and dedicate proceeds to imagine1day.
Vancouverite Ron Tubajon, for example, recently raised $40,000, Wilson said, by staging an event where thousands of people all exercised together at the same time. Those who exercised were asked to provide a donation.
The same thing is happening with people who stage an art show or an event with a speaker, Wilson said.
“Proceeds for imagine1day from creatubutions are now in the hundreds of thousands,” he said. “A year ago they were more like $30,000.”
Glen Korstrom
@GlenKorstrom