2015 Global Community Impact Award Finalist
Richard Albert Gagné Charitable Foundation
Richard A. Gagné & Associates
VSR Financial Services—Cetera Financial Group
Since his first trip to Africa in 2003, Richard Gagne has been inspired by the people of Kisubi, Uganda and heavily involved in helping them. His early donations brought Bishop Comboni College back from the brink of physical and financial ruin by rebuilding the crumbling buildings and adding running water, a science lab, a library, goats and 11,000 trees planted by the school’s 468 students. But the Mbabaali Memorial School for Orphans in Ndejje, Uganda where one of his adopted daughters was educated and is now a teacher and counselor, is particularly dear to his heart. His generous support has enabled the school to expand from 30 students to 267 who receive free room, board and education. Committed to paying the salaries of its teachers in perpetuity, he created the Richard Albert Gagne Charitable Foundation in 2008, for which he pays all operating expenses and hosts fundraisers in the U.S. Some projects are conducted in collaboration with other nonprofits and church groups, such as the donation of a large playground and 351,000 freeze-dried meals. Other ongoing projects he supports include Kisubi Orpas Project, founded six years ago, which has saved the lives of 399 infants born with AIDS.