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At first Chuck had lived a jet-set life, but As the wealth of the foundation soared through the more riches he accumulated, the more uncomfortable he became with the trappings of wealth. He got rid of his It’s up to them what they do with shrewd investments, Chuck and the directors took a momentous decision – they would give everything away. As he liked to say, tuxedos, began travelling economy class, and embraced frugality and modesty. their money, but they should try giving ‘There are no pockets in a shroud.’ He became passionate about promoting the He took to heart the advice given to Rockefeller that if he did not distribute it away. It’s fun! cause of giving while living, hence the book. He wished to promote his template, unique in his wealth in his lifetime, it would roll up and its combination of size, freedom of action, speed destroy him and his family. This resonated with Chuck of decisions, flexibility, and global impact. who had five children and was concerned money would spoil them. The industrialist, Andrew Carnegie, once said, ‘He who dies rich, dies disgraced.’ I wanted to put that on the fly page of his He began his philanthropy in the 1980s by setting up a biography, but Chuck said ‘It’s up to them what they do with their foundation to which he quietly transferred all his wealth. money, but they should try giving it away. It’s fun!’ From then on Chuck devoted himself to giving, while continuing to run the business empire. The whole thing was kept secret. Not even his business partners knew. In Ireland he pretended for years to be a front man for a group of rich, concerned Americans. After his billions were disbursed, Chuck spent his final years as a pensioner, living modestly in a two-bedroom apartment in San Francisco with his wife Helga. He died on 9 October, not rich, but honoured and respected throughout the world. Giving while living Chuck Feeney was the most generous benefactor to Trinity in the university’s history. Starting in 1994 with the gift that established Trinity Foundation, up until 2015 with the launch of the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) to tackle dementia worldwide, Chuck Feeney supported the university in all facets, with gifts for research programmes, academic posts, research institutes, student accommodation, the Sports Centre, the Ussher Library, and the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities. To walk around campus or to review Trinity research, particularly into ageing and dementia, is to be reminded again and again of the extraordinary impact of Chuck Feeney and his philosophy of ‘giving while living’.
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Chuck Feeney provides operational funding to establish Trinity Foundation as the primary fundraising agency for the college AP gives major grant for residential accommodation in Trinity Hall to provide nearly 1,000 bedrooms for students. AP also helps build the new James Ussher Library AP supports senior academic posts, including professorships in Contemporary Irish History, International Business, Economics of Globalisation and Childhood Research AP funds programme of Bio-Psycho-Social Research in Dementia Care for Trinity PhD and Masters students AP funds Trinity researchers to provide the research evidence base for the development of a national dementia strategy by the Department of Health Joint funding with University College Dublin enables the development of evidence-based palliative care in Ireland 1994 1998 1999 2000 2000 –2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2014 2015 The national Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) launches with an investment of €75 million from Chuck Feeney’s foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies (AP), which also gives support to the Smurfit Institute of Genetics in Trinity Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience launches with funding from AP and the government. In 2009 AP provides further investment for neural engineering and the Neuro-Enhancement for Independent Lives programme AP funds the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) and the new Sports Centre on campus A gift from AP launches the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities (TCPID) as a pioneering programme to promote the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in education and society Joint funding with NUI Galway sets the stage for the national dialogue on intergenerational solidarity and justice in Ireland Atlantic Philanthropies invests US$177 million in the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), a partnership between Trinity College Dublin and the University of California, San Francisco to tackle dementia worldwide. Trinity’s portion of the grant represents the largest single philanthropic grant in Irish state history
