More than a decade ago, Michael Lee-Chin promised to give the ROM, one of Canada’s largest cultural institutions, $30-million to kick-start a bold new fundraising campaign. Because he served as lead donor, the museum puts his name on its $300-million renovation, branding it the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
The billionaire behind one of Canada's biggest philanthropic campaigns believes it does no good to call out donors who have yet to pay up, adding he has a clear conscience about the amount of money still owed to the Royal Ontario Museum.
More than a decade ago, Michael Lee-Chin promised to give the ROM, one of Canada's largest cultural institutions, $30-million to kick-start a bold new fundraising campaign. Because he served as lead donor, the museum puts his name on its $300-million renovation, branding it the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal.
However, The Globe and Mail discovered the ROM has struggled to collect pledges, forcing the Ontario government to assume a loan originally made to the museum by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The transfer has put taxpayers on the hook for a $23-million void left by the donors, and this gap has resulted in the ROM missing loan payments and paying more interest than originally envisioned.
Mr. Lee-Chin did not respond to multiple requests for comment before the original story was published, but in an interview this week in the boardroom of his gated office compound in Burlington, Ont., he said he isn't trying to duck and cover. "I know that I act honourably," he said. "If you act honourably, you have nothing to hide."
Commenting on The Globe's coverage of the pledges, he added: "I thought it was irresponsible. The definition of idiocy is when one behaves in such a way that society loses and the person who is behaving also loses."
"Who wins out of that article?" Mr. Lee-Chin asked. "Do you think anyone who was on the verge of writing a commitment cheque to an institution is now going to say, 'Having read that, let me write it quicker?'"
Acknowledging that he still owes one-third of the money he originally pledged in 2003, he added that readers are likely to think: "That man made a commitment for $30-million. He put in 20. And he got that [coverage]… Society loses because people are going to say: I don't want to be like Mike" – inferring that it will only make it harder for other charities and cultural institutions to raise money.
Despite Mr. Lee-Chin's belief, calls made by The Globe about the pledges prompted one major donor to start fulfilling his commitment. Food-industry magnate Shreyas Ajmera promised $5-million to the museum's renovation campaign in 2006, and three years later the ROM named a gallery of international artifacts after him and his wife. By the start of 2015, however, sources said Mr. Ajmera had paid no more than a small portion of the money he pledged.
When first contacted by The Globe in February, Mr. Ajmera declined to specify how much he had donated. A month later, he said he now complies with the museum's two-year-old policy on naming rights, which stipulates that 25 per cent of a pledge must be paid before a space can be named – meaning he has donated more than $1.25-million of his pledge.
Mr. Lee-Chin's remaining pledge has sparked divergent views. Some individuals interviewed for The Globe's original story argued he is acting in good faith, adhering to a payment schedule he and the museum agreed to during the financial crisis. During the economic downturn, Mr. Lee-Chin's former mutual fund company, AIC Limited, suffered, resulting in him temporarily suspending his payment plan. Since then he has agreed to pay $600,000 a year, according to two sources.
Others were surprised by Mr. Lee-Chin's recent $10-million pledge as the lead donor for a new fundraising campaign at a hospital in Burlington.
In the interview this week, Mr. Lee-Chin said he is simply trying to help. "I was approached by the Joseph Brant foundation – they needed a lead donor to spur, to inspire the community, to rally around the cause. I made the commitment because the community needs a better hospital. We live in this community, someone has to take the lead. If no one takes the lead… nothing gets done."
Asked if he did not think twice about the Burlington hospital pledge because he and the ROM have already agreed to a payment schedule, he replied: "Yes. Exactly. It's separate."
"The ROM is grateful to Michael Lee-Chin for his on-going support and generosity," the museum said in a statement on Thursday. "His extraordinary gift to the Renaissance ROM campaign helped transform the Museum with new gallery spaces, curatorial resources and the addition of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal."
With reports from Kate Taylor, Greg McArthur and Jacquie McNish
Tim Kiladze