UCI donors named O.C. philanthropist of the year

September 4th, 2008, 10:54 am · 2 Comments · posted by John Gittelsohn

(UPDATED: With comments from Robert Sprague)

Robert and Margaret Sprague of Corona del Mar will receive this year’s Orange County Spirit of Philanthropy Lifetime Achievement Award for their numerous contributions to Orange County charities, including more than $12 million to UC Irvine.

Robert Sprague, 92, is a former banker and real estate developer whose father. Margaret Sprague, 88, is a trustee of the Orange County Museum of Art, where the couple have been major benefactors.

“It’s great,” Robert Sprague said of the philanthropy award. “I worked hard. I was a very hard worker.”

Sprague says he still goes to an office where he manages his real estate investments.

“I’m not retired. I’m still busy,” he said.

Most of the Sprague’s UCI contributions have gone to health care programs, including $5 million for Sprague Hall, a center for studying genetic causes of cancer, and $2.1 million for a brain imaging center to support research into mental illness. Sprague said he supported health programs because of his father, Dr. Norman F. Sprague, was a physician who served as a University of California regent.

The award is sponsored by the Orange County chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, which will honor the Spragues and others who have supported charitable causes at the 23rd annual National Philanthropy Day luncheon on Nov. 19 in Anaheim.

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