Former Rogers executive gifts Art Gallery of Ontario extensive art collection via estate

A pair of Canadian arts organizations have accepted significant donations from the estate of Philip Lind, a former Rogers Communications executive.

On Tuesday, the Art Gallery of Ontario announced Lind’s estate gifted the charity 37 works—one of the organization’s largest-ever donations of contemporary art. The collection includes pieces by Canadian and international artists, such as Ai Weiwei. 

On the same day, The Polygon Gallery, a Vancouver-based cultural centre, also announced that it would receive a $1 million donation from Lind’s estate. 

According to the organization, the gift will create an endowment that will fund an existing prize for emerging visual artists in perpetuity.

Estate gifts are typically much more significant than donations given by Canadians during their lifetime. This is because major assets, such as a home or car, are sold at death. 

However, such gifts are much less common. 

Just half of Canadians have a will. Of those that do, only eight per cent report leaving a gift to charity. 

Will Power, a campaign run by the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, seeks to improve this figure by educating financial advisors and donors about the value of estate giving. Some charities have found success promoting estate giving through campaigns encouraging digital will creation.

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