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"i'm afraid that we don't have any grand notions about philanthropy," says Michael. "We are just very keen about certain causes and try to support them with dollars and volunteer time." That lifelong—and exhaus- tive—interest in the visual arts is what led to their show Shore, Forest and Beyond: Art from the Audain Collec- tion at the VAG in 2011-12, and what has helped create a new art museum in Whistler, due to open this year. Giving is part of Audain railing against inheritance: "I'm not for endowing one's offspring with too much money, other than what's needed for their education." Yoshiko, whose main interests are animal wel- fare and opera (she is on the board of Vancouver Opera), says that when she was young in Japan most charity was linked to the temples. "It was a revelation to me to find how widespread the interest in charity is in my adopted country," she says. "I believe that chari- table giving has certainly become more popular in recent years as people realize that government cannot address all the good things that need to be done in health and education." Yoshiko strongly believes the onus for giving is on those with resources. "Those of us who can afford it have a duty to help the less fortunate," she says. "But one thing I cannot understand is why people would wait until their death to support causes that interest them. Why not have the satisfaction of seeing that done while you are still alive and kicking?" trevor brady (leFt); courtesy ian telFer (above) February 2015 BCBusiness 55 Just as ian believes in "return- ing the favour" to his alma mater in Ottawa, his and Nancy's motives for giving in general through their Fernwood Foundation follow a similar philosophy. "One of the reasons we donate is that we've been very fortunate to be in a position that we are able to donate and help out a little bit," he says. "The country, the province, the community have been very good to us, so we feel it's all part of the pro- cess to give something back. We believe in being visible in the community because I think it does encourage other people to be philanthropic, and that's very important." Nancy agrees, while also saluting the many volunteers they've been involved with at the hospital, school and theatre. "They really put in the hours," she says. "It's important to point out that it's not all about just giving a donation; many people are heavily involved in the volun- teering aspect in B.C." Ian Telfer + Nancy Burke i a n t el f er , cH a ir oF goL dc orp inc . , a nd n a nCy Burk e , Honor a r y dir ec t or oF L ions g at e Hospi ta L F oundat ion boa r d W h y T h e y G i v e Their Claim To Fame in 2007, donated $25 million to university of ottawa's business school, where ian studied for his mba; nancy chaired the Vancouver playhouse international Wine Festival bacchanalia gala 2007-08; in 2007, also established Fernwood Foundation, which gives to various causes including the adoptive Families association of b.c., the sarah mcLachlan school of music, and West Vancouver's collingwood school, to which they gave $1 million (split between 2009 and 2013). Michael Audain + Yoshiko Karasawa miCh a el auDa in, cH a ir m a n oF p oLygon Home s Lt d. , a nd yoshiko k a r asaWa , boa r d dir ec t or F or t He auda in a r t muse um a nd t He Va nc ou V e r op e r a a s soci at ion W h y T h e y G i v e Their Claim To Fame Have donated more than $12 million to the Vancouver art gallery, including art; currently building the audain art museum in Whis- tler, projected to cost around $35 million and due to open in late 2015; have also given to presentation House gallery ($4 million), emily carr university of art + design ($5 million) and ubc ($5 million) for various art facilities in the past two years.