Roots of Philanthropy

If someone starts connecting the dots and doing the math, the scope of [Mike’s] charity is startling – and evidence of how much can get done when a man of means decides to invest in his community. Casey’s Bar and PROOF Research exist because of him. The Wave, North Valley Music School and Dave Olseth Skateboard Park have all received his funds. So have the Whitefish Review, Whitefish Mountain Resort and Alpine Theatre Project. The list is long and constantly growing.

So the inevitable question arises: Why? When your resume includes helping get Google, Yahoo! and YouTube off the ground, why worry about a trail in Whitefish? His answer seems almost too obvious, or maybe just poignantly direct: He wants to make his community a better place and he has the means to do it, through a “combination of community-based philanthropy and community-based investing.”

Read the whole article here:

https://flatheadbeacon.com/2012/12/19/the-roots-of-philanthropy/