Winnipegger donates $500M to charity – largest individual contribution in Canada

A Winnipeg business owner who passed away earlier this year has made the largest ever contribution by an individual to a Canadian charity.

The late Miriam Bergen donated $500 million to the Winnipeg Foundation.

“I get goosebumps when I think about it and I’m levitated in my heart just thinking about the generosity of Miriam Bergen,” said Sky Bridges, the CEO of the Winnipeg Foundation.

“It’s truly humbling to think about the generosity of Miriam Bergen for caring for our city. It is a truly remarkable gift that is going to transform our city.

“This gift is going to impact generations to come.”

Bergen was the owner and president of Appleton Holdings, a company which owns residential and commercial properties across Winnipeg. In her will, she quietly left 100 per cent of her company shares in the hands of the Winnipeg Foundation.

Late Winnipegger Miriam Bergen. (Credit: Facebook/Edison Properties)

“We are honoured and humbled by the trust she placed in us and for her love of our community,” said Tom Bryck, a Board Chair of The Winnipeg Foundation.

“Miriam was intensely private,” added her cousin Doris Gietz. “It’s quite possible she would’ve chosen to skip this type of event. She was an unassuming person and did not like the spotlight.”

As for what the Foundation is planning to do with the money, Bridges says early next year they will be releasing a report to identify the city’s significant needs and will go from there.

“That’s how we’re able to make some decisions where we should be placing some of our granting dollars,” he said. “It will be no surprise for Winnipeggers to hear that some of those critical areas that we’re hearing from the report is food security. It’s becoming a huge issue, as well as homelessness and poverty.”

Bridges says receiving a gift of this magnitude can be complicated as there are rules and other legal issues to sort out. As a result, it could take a couple years before the Foundation can get full access to the money.

“Together we make a stronger community, and giving from the heart to charities is about helping a stranger and someone we don’t even know, and that’s what makes us a better community,” said Bridges.