160 tireless years of family support

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This article was published 30/10/2017 (2956 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s a charitable foundation that began with the distribution of free books to libraries and schools and now helps build curling rinks and arenas.

But the help and support the Richardson Foundation gives today really began 160 years ago — before Canada was even a country — and a few generations before the current members of its namesake family.

Now celebrating its 60th anniversary of helping, the Richardson Foundation and its trustees are looking forward to many more years of helping communities across the country.

Hartley Richardson, president and CEO of James Richardson and Sons, Ltd., said it was his grandmother, Muriel Richardson, who spearheaded the direction the Foundation aspires to today.

“I can’t say if I had any conversations with her about the foundation, but it was always forefront in her belief to give back to communities where we were and with our own workers,” Richardson said recently.

“Investing in the community is something she expected us to do.”

But Richardson said even though the company didn’t have an official foundation until 1957, it already had been giving charitable support since it was founded in Kingston, Ont., by his great-great-grandfather — the James Richardson in the James Richardson and Sons name.

“He set the tone,” Richardson said. “It has been here for 160 years, but it became more formalized in 1957.”

James Richardson, an Irish immigrant, founded a grain merchandising business in Kingston in 1857. According to the company’s history, a few years later, his sons George and Henry joined him, and they soon bought a warehouse and wharf on the waterfront there.

Fast-forward a few years and, in 1896, the company’s first representative in Western Canada set up shop in Winnipeg’s Grain and Produce Exchange. George was president until he died in 1906 and his brother Henry, who later was named a senator, was president until his own death 12 years later.

George’s son, James Armstrong Richardson, began working with the family firm in 1906. He came to Winnipeg in 1912 as the company’s vice president in charge of western branches, rising to the position of president in 1919. During his years, he also helped found Western Canada Airways, which helped open the north to flying and which later became Canadian Airways. The Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport is named after him.

When James suddenly died in 1939 of a heart attack at age 53, his wife Muriel took over the company as president — becoming the first woman to lead a major Canadian corporation — and remained in the position until 1966 when her son, George, took over. They had three other children, James, Agnes and Kathleen.

George stepped down in 1993 to make way for his son Hartley to become president. Hartley is the seventh family president of the firm.

There are other family members who are also members of the board of the Richardson Foundation: Jim Richardson and Kris Benidickson, cousins of Hartley, are directors and shareholders of James Richardson & Sons, Ltd., while Jim’s son Raif, a member of the sixth generation of the family, is currently serving as an observer trustee of the foundation.

The board is rounded out by Ken Neufeld, president and CEO of Tundra Oil and Gas Ltd.; Darryl Levy, president & CEO of Wynward Insurance Group; Sandy Riley, president and CEO of Richardson Financial Group; and Curt Vossen, president and CEO of Richardson International.

The year 1957 was the company’s 100th anniversary so, as part of the celebration, the Richardson Century Fund was created.

Richardson said that in 2000, the decision was made to rename the fund the Richardson Foundation and promote a new vision and mission statement that focused on four main areas: visual and performing arts, education, youth initiatives and environmental issues.

Since then, the foundation has supported numerous initiatives in communities where James Richardson and Sons does business, including splash parks, playgrounds, sports fields, arenas and community halls, as well has helping with volunteer fire departments.

Last year, the foundation handed out $14 million to support 72 different community projects and organizations across Western Canada. In Manitoba, it included $10,000 toward a new skate park in Souris, while the Rose Valley, Sask. was given $50,000 to help rebuild and equip a volunteer fire department.

The foundation also contributed $10 million to the University of Manitoba’s Front and Centre campaign.

Because of its lengthy list of positive accomplishments and good work, the foundation is being recognized next month at the 2017 Manitoba Philanthropy Awards. James Richardson and Sons, Ltd., and affiliated companies, are being honoured as the Association of Fundraising Professionals Manitoba Outstanding Large Philanthropic Organization.

Pat LeBlanc is executive director of Teen Stop Jeunesse, an organization that helps young people in St. Vital and across the city. He expressed thanks to the Richardson Foundation for the assistance it has given the centre through the years.

LeBlanc said when he first joined Teen Stop Jeunesse in 1998, the foundation helped contribute Christmas presents for a holiday celebration. Since then the foundation has provided much more, including the purchase of a bus and support for the music program.

“Back in the day, our teens couldn’t participate in joint ventures with other organizations because we didn’t have transportation,” he said. “Having a bus allows us to put 16 kids on the bus and participate… and it is used by other entities and agencies.”

The music program allows teens to come in at 5 p.m., and by the time they leave at 9 p.m. they can play a tune on an instrument, LeBlanc said.

“It might just be Smoke on the Water, but we’re helping them learn and appreciate music. We’ve developed so many young musicians,” he said.

“You cannot believe how much we appreciate that the Richardson Foundation has been there for us… without organizations like the Richardson Foundation, there would be a lot of kids who would not have an outlet. And if they weren’t here, they could be in the youth centre.

“Their help is just so far-reaching.”

In the early days, the foundation initially donated books and encyclopedias to schools and universities across the country so its charitable work has grown since then, Richardson said.

To celebrate the company’s 150th anniversary a decade ago, the foundation contributed to 150 projects across the country, he said.

Neufeld, who has been on the foundation’s board since 2014, said he is able to see where the money goes because he and his employees are working in the communities where the projects are.

“There probably isn’t a major project in Manitoba today that we haven’t been part of, but people see the impact everywhere.”

Each head of the different companies affiliated with James Richardson and Sons is on the foundation board, and they present funding proposals at the meetings, held four times a year.

At a meeting earlier this month, six of the 35 proposals brought forward came from Tundra, Neufeld said, while 29 came from the Richardson’s grain operation.

Kelly Harris, executive director of the Richardson Foundation, said many of the funding requests by groups and organizations are sparked by individual employees of the company.

“These groups are out in the field and are where our employees live,” she said.

“We view it as an investment in the community. It’s not just moving the money over. And we view it as us being partners. We keep in touch with them.”

One achievement the foundation is proud of is its 2014 partnership with the United Way of Winnipeg in establishing the Essential Needs Fund. That fund is open to current United Way partner agencies.

Harris said while the annual United Way campaign raises money so agencies can deliver their programs, none of the money raised is directed to help organizations with capital projects. That’s where the Essential Needs Fund helps. The fund helps organizations purchase items such as appliances, computers, furniture and facility renovations to improve accessibility.

“With these agencies already on tight budgets, the Essential Needs Fund looks to help fill that void,” she said.

Richardson said he hopes the foundation continues the good work both his grandmother and great-great-grandfather inspired and embedded in both the company and the family.

“She would be very pleased to see the company has continued to grow and we stay true to the family and the company value of giving back to the community.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca