Before she died in 2021 at the age of 84, philanthropist Susan Bagley Bloom agonized over what to do with her home and property on Salt Spring. Mr. Horne said she wanted the land donated to an organization that would conserve it and use it for educational purposes.Supplied
The organizer: Susan Bagley Bloom
The pitch: Donating $10-million
The cause: Royal Roads University
Susan Bagley Bloom spent decades as an environmental activist in B.C. and quietly donating money to various causes in Canada and around the world.
Ms. Bloom, who was the granddaughter of U.S. tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds, lived on Salt Spring Island since the mid-1980s and she campaigned relentlessly for the protection of nature and wildlife until her death three years ago.
She also founded a hospital in Sierra Leone and supported several arts organizations as well as Salt Spring’s Lady Minto Hospital Foundation. In 1990 she bought a small forest-covered island off the coast of Tofino, called Clayoquot Island, and years later donated most of it to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
“She was a pan-global philanthropist,” said Mark Horne, a lawyer who worked on Ms. Bloom’s estate.
Before she died in 2021 at the age of 84, Ms. Bloom agonized over what to do with her home and property on Salt Spring. Mr. Horne said she wanted the land donated to an organization that would conserve it and use it for educational purposes. “We spent a lot of time planning what to do with this magnificent property and there would be times when she would despair,” he recalled. “It’s not that easy to take a large property, that is expensive to maintain, and find an organization that has the capacity to take it on.”
Mr. Horne and another trustee approached several organizations after Ms. Bloom died and Victoria-based Royal Roads University proved to be a perfect fit. Under an arrangement struck earlier this month, Royal Roads will receive Ms. Bloom’s property which includes her house, waterfront gardens and an orchard of heritage fruit trees. The donation is valued at nearly $10-million and includes $5.3-million for continuing maintenance.
The university plans to use the site as a learning and research centre, as well as space for artists, scholars and writers in residence. It has also agreed to work with the Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust and Salt Spring Island Conservancy to care for the land. And it will also collaborate with the Hul’qumi’num and SENĆOŦEN speaking peoples to ensure their interests are recognized.
“From the moment they actually saw the property, they saw the potential that she saw,” Mr. Horne said of Royal Roads. “It’s just nice that her vision will continue.”