Dear John,

I’m Ryan Hill, the Fraser Institute’s Director of Education Programs.

My department often flies under the radar – but it might be the most influential department at the Fraser Institute!

We hold seminars right across the country for high school students, post-secondary students, teachers, and journalists, where we teach attendees about things they likely won’t hear about anywhere else: the importance of economics, free markets, and individual choice.

2023 was a particularly good year for us. We put on 40 seminars – both in person and online – which in turn will impact over 60,000 students, teachers and journalists!

These sessions featured some impressive guest lecturers as well, including Dr. Steven Koonin who presented on the Realities of Climate Change and Dr. Terry Anderson who presented on Free Market Environmentalism

Here are just a couple comments from attendees:

“[The Fraser Institute’s] work is what originally made me interested in the field of economics when I was still a high school student. I attended their post-secondary student seminar this year in Calgary and heard from experts on the realities of socialism. I always knew that socialism and communism may have negative consequences but was absolutely enlightened hearing stories and seeing the statistics, which showed how Poland had suffered and how fast they have begun to recover since being freed from Communism was extremely informative.” – Student, Alberta

“Thank you for supporting this excellent educational experience. The Professional Development from Fraser Institute is gold standard and incredibly helpful. Our students will benefit!" – High School Teacher, Ontario

These seminars aren’t all we do: we also provide economic education teaching kits to teachers with resources and lessons to better support and extend students' learning. In fact in 2023 we delivered 400 edukits which will in turn impact over 36,000 Canadian students this year.

We also have student essay contests with cash prizes; a student internship program; and even an annual Student Leaders Colloquium that focuses on complex economic policy issues.

I think you’ll agree, John – given the state of affairs these days, ensuring that journalists, teachers, and students have a solid understanding of economic concepts is of vital importance!

That’s why I’m so proud of my small but mighty team here at the Fraser offices.

I’m also proud that we are able to offer all of these courses and materials for free.

We’re able to do that thanks to people like you! We don’t accept government funding, in order to maintain our independence and objectivity.

If you’re able to, would you consider making a donation today?

With your help, we’ll be able to continue educating the next generation of Canadians about the importance of free markets, entrepreneurship, and individual choice!

Thank you so much for your support.

Sincerely,

Ryan Hill
Director, Education Programs
The Fraser Institute