A wise man once said: You make a living by what you get, and you make a life by what you give. It’s a philosophy that underscores the true source of happiness – what we give to others. Those gifts – of time, love, commitment, effort, money – provide meaning to life, particularly for the giver.
This is the philosophy followed by Ruth and Don Taylor, one of Calgary’s most prolific philanthropic families. Their Taylor Family Foundation has gifted over $200 million dollars – yes, you read that correctly – in support of local non-profit organizations.
A truly remarkable generosity, the Taylors’ impact on this city is exceptional.
Thus the Taylors have been named Outstanding Philanthropic Family for the 2024 Generosity of Spirit Awards, presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Calgary & Area Chapter. The couple received their award on November 15, 2024, at the National Philanthropy Day luncheon.
“We’re quite thrilled by it and very honoured by the fact that we’d be chosen,” says 89-year-old Don Taylor from his home in Calgary. “I’m sure a lot of people are worthy of that award and to be held amongst those types of people is a great honour.”
A humble response from a man of such importance, though perhaps not surprising given his roots. Born in Barrons, Alberta, Taylor’s father was a farmer who, due to a combination of drought, poor grain prices and a heavy debt load, lost his farm when Taylor was just two years old. The family moved to Calgary.
“It broke my dad’s heart to give up farming,” Taylor recalls. “I grew up in the city, but always had rural roots. I’ve always been kind of a city-slicking cowboy. I’ve had horses most of my life. I’ve enjoyed and respected the western way of life.”
Taylor attended the University of Alberta and graduated in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science degree and then in 1960 with a Masters degree, both in Civil Engineering. It was the generosity of a few individuals that made it possible for him.
“I was quite underfunded, but through the generosity and kindness of a number of people I was able to scrape up enough means to get through university,” he says. “Both the university and some individuals were very helpful and generous in making that possible for me.”
The experience had a lasting impression on him: “I accepted their help in university, but I also accepted a commitment that, if I was ever in the position to, I would share my wealth to help others in similar positions,” he says. “Now after a while when you think you probably satisfied that commitment you discover, or at least I did, that I got great satisfaction out of sharing some of my monies that I’ve been able to earn, so I continued to do it.”
His family now follows in his footsteps. “They are material contributors to the success of our company and to the source of the monies that we’re giving away,” he notes proudly. “So it isn’t only me, but it’s my son and grandson who are also facilitating this philanthropy.”
Taylor’s company is Engineered Air, a privately-held leading manufacturer of made-to-order heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, energy recovery equipment and clean room technologies. He became president in 1967 after spending six years working as an engineer at Canadian Western Natural Gas.
At the time he joined Engineered Air, the company was in financial distress. As the new owner, Taylor turned it around, acquired other companies, technology and manufacturing capability over the years, and made it a great success. Today, his son is president and Taylor remains chairman: “I still keep an active interest in everything, and I usually go into the office every day.”
Other business ventures included Resman Oil and Gas in the 1980s. “I started the oil and gas business when oil was trading at about $2.50/barrel,” Taylor reminisces. “And then of course OPEC came along several years later and I ended up looking like I was a genius, but really I had nothing to do with that.”
In the 1990s, Taylor got into the commercial real estate market. Refusing to go into debt for these investments, he was able to weather the cyclical nature of the real estate market and “sleep at night, even though the revenue streams go up and down from time to time.”
Taylor met Ruth 21 years ago, on the recommendation of a friend. They have been married for 20 years.
In 2011, they established their Foundation with the basic tenet to provide a hand up, not a hand out. “Our endowments are for bricks and mortar for the most part,” he explains. “And we try to limit our support to four areas: education, health, history and arts. With very few exceptions, we’ve supported activities in these areas.”
The general focus is on contributions of $5 million or more paid out over a number of years, as a way to keep track of donations and ensure donor intent is followed.
On the education front, the Taylors have donated more than $100 million dollars to the University of Calgary alone. This includes $25 million in 2006 for the Taylor Family Digital Library and $40 million in 2013 for the Taylor Family Institute for Teaching and Learning.
In May, the Taylor Family Foundation donated $30 million to SAIT for a new campus centre, to be named the Taylor Family Campus Centre. Taylor has a history of supporting SAIT, having partnered with the institution in 1995 to develop an Advanced Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Centre, one of only five Centres of Excellence at the time.
Proudly Canadian, the Taylor Family Foundation gifted $23 million to the Rideau Hall Foundation to establish the Johnston (headed by Right Honourable David Johnston, Canada’s 28th Governor General) Fund for Canada. The gift is intended to advance Canadian pride and to assist in moving the Canadian spirit forward.
“In Canada, we might be proud of our flag but we certainly don’t display that pride,” Taylor laments. “So I encouraged David to try to get training in the classroom, to increase a sense of Canadian pride and understanding of our history and the heroes of our country,” Taylor explains.
Another important educational gift was $11.5 million to the Calgary Zoo in 2023 for the new polar bear enclosure.
“When I was a kid, we lived on the wrong side of the tracks,” Taylor reminisces. “We didn’t have much money, but a few things I remember related to vacation were trips to the zoo. And I was always excited to see the polar bears. There were two polar bears, and one was named Carmichael, I always remembered that name. They’re marvelous creatures.”
In the Arts, the Taylor Family donated $21 million in 2010 to Mount Royal University (MRU) – the largest in MRU’s history – for the creation of the Taylor Centre for Performing Arts and the Bella Concert Hall (named in honour of Taylor’s mother, Mary Belle Taylor). The family made a million-dollar donation in 2014 to the National Music Centre and is currently supporting the Calgary Philharmonic Concert Series.
History is an important cause for the Taylor family, and it has gifted over $25 million to initiatives of history. In 2019, it gifted $10 million to the Glenbow Western Research Centre and the University of Calgary, to support the relocation of the Glenbow Library and Archives to a new home in the Taylor Family Digital Library.
“At that time there was a lot of printed material that had been accumulated, and that is a major resource for people writing about the history of the early prairies,” Taylor says. “And they wanted to document, digitize and store all that information so it would be accessible for those doing research. So we funded the high density library.”
Another historical gift was $15 million to the SAM Centre at the Calgary Stampede in 2013. Named after Taylor’s father, the Sam Centre provides guests with an interactive history and experience of the Stampede, year-round.
“My basic motivation behind the Sam Centre was that in our business, we sell product throughout North America and we bring customers in from all over to Calgary to see our manufacturing facilities,” he explains. “And invariably, when the individuals get off the plane, a large portion of them say, ‘Well, what’s with the Stampede? Show me the Stampede.’ But for all but two weeks a year, the Stampede grounds is a parking lot – there is no Stampede.”
“So I prodded the people of the Stampede that we should build something that can show visitors during the 50 weeks that aren’t Stampede a little bit of what it’s about,” he continues. “It’s turned out to be a very good facility and does give a good introduction to and flavour of what it’s like for that two weeks of craziness we call the Stampede.”
The Taylor Family Foundation’s fourth pillar – health – has, like the other pillars, a broad impact on so many Calgarians.
In 2022, the family gifted $10 million for the funding of a new, state of the art, NICU at Foothills Medical Centre.
“I knew very little about premature babies other than some of my friends had been premature and developed into handsome and strong individuals,” Taylor says. “But I was told about babies weighing one-and-a-half pounds – that’s like one-and-a-half bricks of butter! – yet they grow up to be healthy. I think it’s an incredible facility.”
“For some reason or other, Southern Alberta has a 25 per cent higher incidences of premature babies than the rest of all of Canada,” he continues, “so it looked like a really worthwhile project to me. And it’s turned out to give me a great amount of satisfaction. I’m quite proud of our support of that facility.”
The Taylor family has funded research chairs in vascular dementia, the human performance lab and cancer research.
In March of last year, they gifted $20 million to the University of Calgary for one of the most advanced post-secondary research facilities dedicated for the study of human performance, movement and sport science, to be called the Taylor Family Kinesiology building.
“The Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary is ranked in the top five in the world and the best in North America for the last three years,” Taylor notes. “It’s something all Calgarians should be very proud of.”
One marvels at the generosity of a single family, and the impact they can have on an entire city. For Taylor, the gifts give great returns. “There’s great satisfaction that comes with being able to do this,” he reflects. “I strongly encourage those that are making money in this community to step up and support some that need help.”
A proud Calgarian, Albertan and Canadian, Taylor could ostensibly live anywhere in the world, but chooses here. “I spent my entire life since I was two years old in Calgary, and I intend to spend the rest of whatever years I have left here,” he offers. “It’s a great community and we have lots of be proud of. Even our Flames! They started out pretty good this year!”
Though few people will ever match the Taylor Family’s generosity to the community, everyone can – in their own way – follow in the spirit of giving. It will only strengthen us for years to come.
