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Pizza Pizza founder gives $20 million to charity

Published: January 2, 2006

The founder of the Pizza Pizza restaurant chain has quietly given $20 million to charity, delivering the news in a year-end filing that showed the donation knocked his private company into a net loss.

Michael Overs, 66, set up the Tesari Charitable Foundation in September but there was no announcement then because the Toronto resident is “a very private person,” Curt Feltner, chief financial officer of Pizza Pizza Ltd., said yesterday.

“He just does not like to make major announcements about his personal givings.”

Feltner added that Pizza Pizza Ltd. didn’t have staff to deal with a crush of calls from worthy causes clamouring for a slice of the foundation’s funds.

“The foundation is in the gift-giving phase now, but selectively,” Feltner said. It will concentrate on the health and vocational training fields.

Pizza Pizza Ltd., the operating company of the Pizza Pizza Royalty Income Fund, said yesterday it had a net loss of $7 million in its financial year ended Oct. 2.

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Published in Charity
Attribution: www.thestar.com