OK, who are those big spenders?
It's a question many residents are asking after news surfaced over the past two weeks that a Vancouver couple and a philanthropist are willing to part with millions of dollars to make significant improvements to the city.
In both cases, the donors wish to remain anonymous.
The Vancouver couple has agreed to give $30 million for the Kettle Friendship Society to operate a new housing project on the East Side for up to 56 homeless people with mental illness.
The philanthropist has told Mayor Gregor Robertson that "tens of millions" of dollars are available to pay for a project to complete the gap in the seawall network between Kitsilano and Jericho Park.
"Those are very significant gifts to be giving," said Faye Wightman, the CEO of the Vancouver Foundation, which received $40 million in donations last year, with about $3 million anonymously. "It always makes you wonder, wow, who's doing that? And why do they want to remain anonymous?"
She answered her own question, saying some wealthy donors enjoy their privacy and don't wish to be hounded by others for money if their names become public.
There's also the issue of being targeted by criminals, which has occurred in Vancouver when the daughter of billionaire businessman Jim Pattison was kidnapped for a ransom and later released in 1990.
"They're just scared of becoming marks-they could be hit up, threatened, robbed," said Vision Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang, who was approached by the mysterious couple two years ago about the $30 million donation. "It was made very, very clear to me not to say a word to any of my colleagues simply because they didn't want any leaks."
In the winter of 2010, the couple called Jang and told him a story about leaving the Queen Elizabeth Theatre one night and being heartbroken by the number of young homeless people downtown.
That led to several meetings, visits with the couple to homeless shelters and a dinner at a White Spot with two young homeless people. When the couple announced the amount of money they wanted to donate, Jang said he was overwhelmed.
"This one was so cool, it was so genuine to me," he said. "It really eats your heart. They want nothing in return."
It took until June 29 for the city to officially announce the donation because Jang and the city's housing advocate Judy Graves had to determine where the couple could best invest the money and work out the legal details.
They settled on redeveloping Taylor Manor, a former long-term care facility at Boundary Road and Adanac Street, into housing for 56 homeless people with mental illness.
The Streetohome Foundation, Vancity and the Carraresi Foundation have also donated money to the project, which will cost $14 million in renovations. If a rezoning application is approved, construction could begin next year with occupants moving in by the winter of 2014.
The timeline to join the seawall together between Kitsilano and Jericho Park will likely take a lot longer, if it even happens. NPA Coun. George Affleck was expected to move a motion at council today requesting city staff investigate the feasibility of completing the project.
Talk of closing the seawall gap has been on the park board's wish list for years, according to Vision Vancouver Coun. Heather Deal, a former park board commissioner.
It wasn't until earlier this year that talk looked like it could be turned into action when a philanthropist approached Mayor Gregor Robertson about spending "tens of millions of dollars" to complete the network, Deal said.
Deal noted the 22-kilometre long seawall is the most heavily used infrastructure of the park board's facilities. It's used mainly by pedestrians, cyclists and joggers.
Is the donor an avid user of the seawall?
"I don't have a name," she said, adding that she didn't know what prompted the person's interest in the seawall. "This person has chosen to remain anonymous at this point."
In her experience, Wightman said, people who donate large sums of money usually have had some kind of personal experience or connection with the recipient or area.
"Or they really respect the organization in terms of what they've done-respect the board, respect the staff," she said.
It would be unusual, Wightman said, for someone to randomly go through the Yellow Pages and pick out a project or cause to donate millions of dollars.
She added the altruism of the donors over the past two weeks could trigger others to donate large sums for local projects or causes.
"I think for some individuals who would like to stay below the radar, when they see that happen, they think, 'Gosh, I could make a difference with something and I don't have to be front and centre with my name.'"
Twitter: @Howellings
