Prof. Ryan Gibson recently delivered a presentation titled Translating Place to Wealth: Experiences from Place-Based Endowments in Rural Canada. The presentation was delivered at the Folk, Place, and Knowledge Conference in Singapore. Prof. Gibson’s presentation focused on recent research in philanthropy, rural development, and wealth building. A brief description of the presentation is listed below:

Rural communities are at a critical turning point in Canada. These communities have witnessed decades of dramatic demographic, economic, and social changes. The future of these communities is largely viewed as dependent on external actors and external funds. Ironically, rural communities are sites of significant wealth, fuelling the Canadian economy through natural resource industries since confederation. Although a source of wealth, this financial resource has largely been redirected out of rural to urban centres. Domestic dynamics are exacerbated by globalization, which facilitates the hyper-mobility of finance. Finance is no longer tied to place. Finance has become ‘disembedded’ with increasing interconnections and technological advancements. Rural places have developed unique senses of place, shaped by distance, geography, culture, and economic activities. This sense of place is being recognized as an untapped resource for philanthropy and re-embedding wealth. Using qualitative interviews with rural community leaders across rural Canada, this research examines how place is being utilized to create and maintain place-based financial endowments to facilitate prosperous futures in rural communities.

A publication emerging from the conference presentation has been submitted for publication. Stay tuned for more information!