Page 29 - Priorities #60 2014-November/December

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Priory was at the top of the list,” he recalls about their decision to send their chil- dren there. “It’s really an ethics-based community. They treat students as human beings and respect them as individuals. Our kids are all different and they all came out of Priory with dimensions of respect and community.”
Magnuson was on the board of Priory for 6 years and served as Board Chair for two. During that time, Magnuson was bestowed the St. Benedict medal; the Priory’s highest honor for commitment and dedication of time, talent, and trea- sure to the monastic community and school. Ray Rothrock, Priory Board mem- ber, says “through good and bad times, Rick was a trusted partner, saver, helper, and leader.” But Priory is not the only institution to which Magnuson offers his time and money. He also strongly supports his alma mater of Stanford Univer- sity, the Community Services Agency in Mountain View, and Hidden Villa (an environmental nonproit) in Los Altos. Meanwhile, he and his wife created the Rick and Amy Magnuson Foundation, which grants scholarships to kids coming out of his hometown.
“Everyone needs to give back either time or resources,” he says. In his case, it’s often both. Magnuson’s preference is to give consistently to the same group of organizations each year, and build relationships with those organizations. Frequently, he also sits on the board of the organization, or has some input as to how it functions. He chooses the places he supports very carefully, which is not surprising for an angel investor. “If I’m going to put time into a nonproit, I really want it to be well run,” he says.
Though he invests in a range of causes, from environmental protection to community services for those who are inancially disadvantaged, he has a spe- cial place in his heart for education, particularly places like Priory and Stanford, which enable people to be lifetime learners. “Education is the way to keep every- thing going,” he says. “Investments in education pay off for generations.”
Magnuson says the most important thing to do in regard to philanthropy is to get young people to learn about it early on. If you’re a parent, he suggests set- ting up a fund for your children that enables them to contribute monthly to non- proit organizations, or simply talking about the family’s philanthropic causes at the dinner table and setting a good example. He encourages new Priory gradu- ates to start giving small donations early on, before they have ample funds to give substantially, because it helps to lex the muscle of giving.
“You just need to get started. It’s like a lot of things in life. Get in the habit. Figure out what’s important in your life. Figure out what matters the most to you – humanities, arts, environment, social services. Pick two or three organizations. Donate $50 a year. The sooner you do it, the more effective you’ll be later on.”
“The Priory has been fortunate over the decades to always have people/families – I think sent to us by Divine Providence- who are a perfect Priory match/fit and become indispensable – Rick Magnuson is one of those people.”
—Tim Molak Head of School
ated (Charles in ’04, Molly in ’06, and Max in ’08), and their youngest daughter,
Natalie, will graduate next year. “We looked at various alternative schools and
got the background from investing to pretty effectively size up how things are run at the management and board levels, and to analyze the inances,” he says, adding, “Priory is a very well-run organization.”
Magnuson became familiar with Priory when he and his wife, Amy, started
sending the irst of his four children to the school. Since then, three have gradu-