When Mike Lazaridis recently announced his donation of $33.3 million to the University of Waterloo's Institute of Quantum Computing, he was not only strongly reinforcing the university's growing reputation as an international leader in this exciting new field of research, he was also throwing down the gauntlet to other community leaders to open their wallets and make a difference.

The amount Lazaridis chose to donate to the institute wasn't chosen by random -- it represents one-third of the institute's final goal of raising $100 million.

Canadians do not, by and large, have a rich tradition of philanthropy. While there are notable exceptions, it is safe to say that the philanthropic spirit is nowhere near as established in Canada as it is in the United States, where both well-endowed universities and private foundations are commonplace, often directly leading to a clear competitive advantage to pursue cutting-edge ideas in both science and the humanities.

Waterloo Region, however, is different. Here, there has consistently been a strong sense of community support. The Kitchener-Waterloo Community Foundation, which funds a host of worthy initiatives from hospitals to libraries to theatres, handles close to $40 million in assets -- a truly impressive fund for a community of this size.

Perhaps even more exciting is the fact that inspiring new initiatives such as the Waterloo Regional Children's Museum, Centre for International Governance Innovation and Perimeter Institute were initiated with a combined $180 million in private philanthropy from private individuals such as Michael Barnstijn, Louise MacCallum, Jim Balsillie, Doug Fregin and Mike Lazaridis.

Think about that for a moment: $180 million.

This is nothing less than a staggering sum for a region of this size and these spectacular acts of largesse are doing nothing less than transforming the landscape of our community.

This is a good start -- admittedly an exceptional start. But it is not nearly enough.

For Waterloo Region to become a driving force in international scientific research, a great deal more is required.

For Waterloo Region to become a premium destination for music, international relations and theatre, for our schools and hospitals to be world-class, for our universities to attain the pre-eminence they are capable of, much more must be done.

Governments must continue to recognize and support what is happening here. In addition to the private money raised, those three philanthropic initiatives have also resulted in government-matching contributions of an additional $90 million.

This is essential, not only to ensure the operational success of the organizations, but to provide clear encouragement to other would-be philanthropists that the public sector is prepared to partner with them to achieve their laudable goals.

But matching government support is still not enough. More leadership, more private support, is necessary to keep the ball rolling and build the critical mass necessary for the region to be a real leader in the future.

There are many successful and committed individuals here, many people who have both the means and the leadership to contribute to this growing success story.

They must be encouraged to come forward in the strongest possible way -- it must be continually emphasized to them that their input is both welcome and required.

Most communities don't have anything like these opportunities. In an age of strained budgets and escalating costs for health care and other essential services, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the status quo, let alone shoot for the stars.

But Waterloo Region is different: we have passionate leaders with both vision and resources who are determined to give their community all the tools necessary to be at the head of the class.

We have an opportunity to achieve that other places would die for.

A failure to capitalize on this chance for success wouldn't just be unfortunate, it would be nothing less than shameful.