1998 Award Recipients

The Richard M. Ivey Family

In London Ontario, the Ivey family name is synonymous with service and generosity. Richard M. Ivey, Beryl Ivey and their children - Rosamond Ivey Thom, Jennifer Ivey Bannock, Suzanne Ivey Cook and Richard W. Ivey - are guided by a belief in proactive philanthropy. Each member of the family is a generous donor and an active volunteer.

The Ivey family members are best known in London for their generous gifts in support of the arts and community services, major donations to health care and research, and their connections to the University of Western Ontario.

Indeed, the Ivey family's support for Western represents one of the most significant philanthropic relationships between a family and a Canadian university. During the past 50 years, the Richard M. Ivey family, both personally and through the Richard Ivey Foundation, has contributed many millions of dollars to the University of Western Ontario. In 1995, the family made a gift of 13.5 million to Western, 11 million of which went to its Business School. In recognition of this and founding sponsor support given to the School by Richard G. Ivey (a former Chancellor of Western and father of Richard M. Ivey), the School was renamed the Richard Ivey School of Business. Three endowed research chairs at Western also bear the Ivey name, as well as a number of generous scholarships. Many projects and programs have also moved forward with the Ivey family's support.

The Ivey philanthropy also extends outside of London where the family is a valued long-time contributor to, and proponent of, World Wildlife Fund Canada and it's Endangered Spaces program. The family and the Foundation have contributed several million of dollars for Canadian efforts to preserve biological diversity, promote sustainable forestry, and protect and conserve hundreds of hectares of environmentally significant land in Canada. Individual members of the family also play significant roles in the governance and special fund raising activities of World Wildlife  Fund Canada.

Other organizations that benefit from the family's generosity and volunteerism include the Nature Conservancy of Ontario, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Shaw Festival, the National Ballet School, London's Grand Theatre, the London Regional Art and Historical Museum, the John P. Robarts Research Institute, the London Community foundation, the United Way of London-Middlesex and many more. At Western, the family's leadership extends to individual roles on the Board of Governors, the Business School's Advisory Committee, the Visual Arts Advisory Council and Foundation Western.

The Richard Ivey Foundation is funded by gifts from the Ivey family and corporations and trust controlled by them. Since the Foundation's inception in 1947, it has made grants totaling more than $40 million.

The Richard M. Ivey family was nominated jointly by the University of Western Ontario and World Wildlife Fund Canada for this year's Outstanding Philanthropist Award.