Capital Projects: Laying Foundations for Change
Over 35 years, Atlantic invested more than $2.5 billion in capital projects. Spanning five continents and seven regions, Laying Foundations for Change chronicles the enormous impact these structures have on health, education, culture and the livelihood of millions of people—incredible stories of empowered people doing transformative work.
With the help of Magnum Foundation photographers and photography students from seven Atlantic regions, we have tried to capture the power of capital investments in people and places, and show how buildings can be leveraged into massive social impact.
Featured Resources and News
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Purpose Built: Knowledge and tools for people who fund, lead, and evaluate capital projects
Source: MASS Design
Capital projects often bring lasting benefits to nonprofit organizations and the people they serve. In the United States alone, foundations grant more than $3 billion per year to construct or improve buildings. To help these funders and their nonprofit partners make the most of capital…
Resource type: Case Study
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Why Did You Invest So Much in Buildings?
Philanthropic support for a building is a tangible investment in enterprise, a "concrete," long-term underwriting of what goes on inside and around the structure and, most importantly, in the people who inhabit it. As Atlantic Founder Chuck Feeney said, “Good buildings for good minds can…
Resource type: Big Question
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'A Quantum Jump': Reinvigorating University Research in Ireland
Like many Irish Americans, Chuck Feeney, Atlantic’s founder, has a profound affection for his ancestral land. Luckily for the Irish, that abiding love has prompted a radical transformation in the country, which started with a focus on enriching the university experience nationwide—both with capital grants…
Resource type: News
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Laying Foundations for Change - #GivingWhileLiving
This month Harriett and I attended the Atlantic Philanthropies’ Laying Foundations for Change panel, hosted by Koda Capital. Peter Hoj and Peter Coaldrake, Vice Chancellors of UQ and QUT respectively, Allan English, the 2014 Philanthropy Leader of the Year, and Chris Oechsli, the President and CEO of Atlantic…
Resource type: News
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Buildings, Bridges and Big Bets
Chuck Feeney, with Cornell University President Frank Rhodes and Ed Walsh, Limerick president, at Plassey House in 1988. From Elizabeth, N.J., where our founder, Chuck Feeney was born and raised, you can follow the Elizabeth River into New York Bay, all the way across the…
Resource type: News
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Laying Foundations for Change: The Atlantic Philanthropies in Melbourne
Warren Buffett’s bid to out-do Chuck Feeney’s legendary $15 Casio watch, teaching the billionaire philanthropist how to use the Melbourne tram system and spreading the word on Giving While Living were just a handful of the topics covered during Atlantic Philanthropies recent visit to Australia.…
Resource type: News
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Making Ireland One of the Best Places to Grow Old
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Madge Murphy in a class devoted to developing an understanding of aging at Mercer’s Institute for Successful Ageing. The students participate in the LAMP (Local Asset Mapping Project), which seeks to create a new paradigm for health care by focusing on…
Resource type: News
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Memory Work: South Africa After Apartheid
Visitors look at the display at the Women's Goal Museum, which used to house female political prisoners.In 1994, Nelson Mandela had just been elected president of South Africa after serving a 27-year prison sentence. Atlantic began looking for ways to support this country on the brink…
Resource type: News
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The Smart State: How Bioscience Revitalized Queensland, Australia
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Photo: Alicia Rawlings, PhD student and research assistant, fits a geodesic sensor net on the head of a patient. The electrodes in the sensor nets are used to pick up brainwaves just below the scalp.[/caption] “Before Atlantic came with this investment…
Resource type: News