Glen Korstrom, (BIV) — The founder of one of B.C.’s largest private companies, and a noted philanthropist, Bob Gaglardi, points to framed photos on a wall at his office.
He explains how one photo is of a bible school in Comox, while others include a gymnasium in Abbotsford and a building in Kamloops with 150 units.
All are related to Christian education, summer camps or other services for youths, and all were created by philanthropic donations steered by the founder and chairman emeritus of Northland Properties Corp.
His giving is rooted in his upbringing in a deeply religious family, Gaglardi said.
Some other large philanthropists in B.C. cite similar religious backgrounds as driving forces behind their philanthropy while others told Business in Vancouver that they have more personal philosophies that back their giving.
Both of Gaglardi’s parents, Phil and Jennie Gaglardi, were Pentecostal ministers. His father later went into politics and was a Social Credit cabinet minister.
In 1944, his parents went to what Gaglardi described as a “derelict” church building in Kamloops and set out to grow their congregation.
“My mother and father desperately wanted me to go into the ministry as well, and I told them that I wasn’t selfless enough to be a pastor,” he said.
“I couldn’t give as much as they could. They gave everything.”
Instead, he said, he promised them that if he went into business for himself and was able to generate wealth, that he would provide money to help the ministry and society.
“That was my commitment to my mother and father, and I have kept that,” Gaglardi said.
Northland Properties founder and chairman emeritus Bob Gaglardi at his office in downtown Vancouver. | Glen Korstrom, BIV
The 85-year-old estimated that through the decades, he has paid to upgrade 78 churches of various Christian denominations across B.C. His donations have also helped countless people be trained for ministerial positions, he said.
Gaglardi and his family have made larger donations toward health care and education in the province.
In 2017, they donated $25 million to Vancouver General Hospital and UBC Hospital.
They announced a $15-million donation to create the Phil & Jennie Gaglardi Tower at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops in 2021.
A $10-million donation to Thompson Rivers University supported building an academic building for business studies in what is now the Bob Gaglardi School of Business and Economics.
Developer and philanthropist Michael Audain said he is similarly driven to giving by religious teachings.
He cited a biblical saying about how it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter heaven.
“I always remember that saying from my school days,” Audain said. “You can’t take it with you.”
For Audain, 89, philanthropy is all about sharing.
“That was just what I was taught by my parents,” he said.
He has carved out a niche as likely the biggest benefactor to art-related causes in provincial history.
His biggest donation so far is $100 million to the Vancouver Art Gallery’s (VAG) capital campaign to build a new gallery.
Construction on that gallery, set to be on the southern two-thirds of Larwill Park—or the block bounded by Cambie, Dunsmuir, Beatty and West Georgia streets — is on pause amidst a redesign.
When asked about the status of the new gallery, VAG co-CEO Sirish Rao said, “we’re very actively working on the new designs with our architects.”
Audain said that his $100-million commitment stands, but “they have got to get a move on as it’s taken so many years.”
Another art-related donation was about $4 million to the new St. Paul’s Hospital that is under construction on the False Creek Flats.
“We asked them to use it for public art programs at the new hospital,” Audain said.
Audain’s also made a substantial art contribution to the Espace Riopelle–Michael Audain Pavilion at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec.
“I think our foundation gave $10 million, and our family also contributed something like $75 million or $80 million in terms of the value of the art,” he said. “It was a lot of our art collection.”
Countless other art projects have also received money from Audain, as well as projects for wildlife, he said.
“Art is part of civilization,” he said when asked why that is.
“When you think about society, you think about its music and art, or at least I do. Without art and culture, you’d have a pretty boring sort of community. The other main thing is that, particularly in B.C., the arts don’t attract much government money.”
Polygon Homes chairman Michael Audain said he steers much of his philanthropy toward art in part because governments do not prioritize public spending in that area. | Submitted
He said his Audain Foundation has over $500 million, which is set up as an endowment, with five per cent to be spent annually.
That endowment is key because it is something that he said, “will carry on long after my wife and I have conked out.”
Not all philanthropists like endowment funds
Foundations are popular among philanthropists although not all of them contain endowed funds.
“I don’t like the endowment model at all,” said Beedie owner Ryan Beedie.
The 57-year-old Vancouver developer launched his Beedie Luminaries Foundation in November 2018, on his 50th birthday.
He created a $50-million registered foundation aimed at removing barriers to higher education for students who face financial adversity, and to support their long-term success.
The rationale in its creation was philosophical for Beedie, who said he is a passionate believer in free enterprise and capitalism.
For those economic systems to work best, there needs to be an ability for those born into economically disadvantaged families to be able to fulfill their potential, he said.
He said he did not design Beedie Luminaries using an endowment fund model because he wanted to give away the capital as well as the income generated, and to do that faster because the need is now.
“Otherwise, the money sits in the foundation and is dead money,” he said.
Beedie said that he has been involved with endowed donations in the past and was frustrated by the level of the amounts distributed to intended beneficiaries.
“Universities have to do endowments but that does not mean that all investments need to be in endowments,” he said.
One of Beedie’s larger donations was with late father Keith Beedie: $22 million to Simon Fraser University in 2011, which renamed its business school in their honour.
More than $12 million has been earmarked to help a multi-phase Burnaby Hospital redevelopment.
In the past decade, however, a part of his philanthropy synchronizes with a personal passion: music.
He hosts philanthropic rock concerts.
His benefit concert at Stanley Park’s Malkin Bowl in September, featuring Imagine Dragons and others, raised $3.6 million, which went to the Tyler Robinson Foundation that supports families with children facing cancer.
The concert initially raised about $1.8 million but Beedie matched that amount, he said.
In 2025, he hosted a concert at the same venue, when Def Leppard was the headline act. It initially raised about $1.15 million for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank (GVFB) before Beedie topped up the final total to $2.5 million, he said.
In 2023, he double matched all money raised at his Stanley Park concert, featuring Bryan Adams and Blondie, to get the total to $2 million for the GVFB.
Passionate about music, Beedie said the concerts, which started in 2016, were initially a way to host friends, employees and clients.
“It was sort of to celebrate the company and ourselves,” he said.
Decisions on what to support sometimes come from friends, as he will team up with them to make their project a success.
“If a friend of mine comes to me and they’re passionate about a project, and it’s philanthropic, I will want to support my friends in their philanthropic journey,” he said.
Steering his desire to provide philanthropy is his belief that for free enterprise and capitalism to flourish, successful people must publicly be philanthropic.
“If you’re going to have a capitalistic economy, people who are successful need to be seen to be giving back so everyone looks at the donations, and it adds legitimacy to the structure.”
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