Who's Who: Gail Uilkema, Grassroots Philanthropist

Name: Gail Uilkema

Occupation: Founder of Lantern Projects, retired Piedmont Unified School District Superintendent

When Gail Uilkema retired from her post as Superintendent of Piedmont Schools nearly a decade ago, she stepped into new shoes and began a new journey making small but significant projects happen throughout the world.

What is unique about the non-profit Uilkema founded, Lantern Projects, is that 100 percent of every donation goes directly to the donor’s designated cause.

In the spirit of traditional philanthropy, all projects are located and overseen by people Uilkema knows and stays in direct contact with throughout the process of  determining what is needed, who will benefit, and all the mechanics of making a wish come true.

How did you come up with the idea for Lantern Projects?

It happened while I was superintendent of schools in Piedmont. A former board member called me, and said a woman visiting from Kenya and wanted to speak to a class about her work. It turned out she worked with a school that didn’t have any electricity. They were trying to raise money for lanterns so the students could study at night. The class and I raised the funds; they only cost $10 a piece. The lady went back and purchased the lanterns there. Everybody’s life there changed overnight.

How do you choose projects to fund?

I get my projects not through requests but through known contacts. I worked with the International School for many years. Another source is –I’ve been a Rotarian for 20 years. They’ll often have a big project, like building a school, and I’ll provide the electricity or books. Mainly, projects come through personal contacts,  like a Peace Corps worker whose mom is a friend, and the money reaches its target project quickly. I don’t take requests off the web because I don’t know what the accountability will be.

Where does the money come from?

I have an email list, personal friends and others, and I send out an email every other month that has four new projects. The first paragraph always says what the previous contribution of the last two months purchased–14 solar ovens, or refrigerators, for example–so people can see right away that their contribution made a difference.  People either make a donation on the web site or they send a check, and all donations are fully tax deductible.  

How much have you raised over the seven years Lantern Projects has been going?

The yearly range is $35,000 to $140,000. 

What are the current projects?

Right now, we’re raising funds to provide baby clothing for infants in Oakland in homeless shelters or safe houses, probably the only clothes they’ll get. Another is bikes in Laos, so the kids can go to school two hours away. Hand pump wells–another project–each serve a whole village in Cambodia; the village provides labor. And we’re helping fix up a school library that needed floor tiles and paint in the Philippines; another organization, Books for the Barios, is providing the books. 

Also, Lantern Projects has raised substantial funds for earthquake relief in Japan and soon people will have the opportunity to contribute to relief efforts in Alabama.

What else are you doing these days?

I spend a lot of time being a docent at the Asian Art Museum, and I’m on the Board of Directors of the United States branch of Mine Action Group, which deals with mine removal. In October, I’ll be visiting projects in Cambodia and Laos, and earlier this year I went to southern China and Tibet–extraordinarily beautiful. Then, there was Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey. Fascinating.