Capacity Canada 2012 Annual Report

CAPACITY

ANNUAL REPORT 2012

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We are filling the gap by supporting our community changemakers. In one of Canada's most prosperous regions, we believe social innovation should benefit from the same type of resources that have helped cultivate our for-profit sector's notable innovation culture. By building an enabling environment that strengthens, connects and celebrates our social leaders, we can help them realize their full potential.

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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD Down with inertia, up with innovation.

For-profit companies achieve success by taking on informed risks. They commit to training and retraining. They expect employees to tackle challenges, not shy away from them.

They see failure as an opportunity, not a catastrophe.

So why do we hold our non-profit social agencies to a different standard? Why do we hold them to very tight budgets, ask them to plan down to the penny, and don’t give them any slack?

That’s not our way of thinking at Capacity Waterloo Region. Instead, we find our model in Waterloo Region’s robust technology sector, where innovation thrives on mentorship and collaboration.

The region is full of incredible people working and volunteering in non-profit organizations, but they don’t always have resources or tools.

We provide those — and a wide, supportive network — so they can better serve their members and clients.

We think it is important that non-profits have mentors. We think they should have governance training. We think they should take full advantage of research, branding, storytelling and social innovation. These elements build excellence, and the capacity to reach for tougher goals.

Capacity Waterloo Region has been championing change for four years.

We couldn’t have come this far, or consider many new opportunities ahead, without our family of for-profit and non-profit leaders.

“Instead, we find our model in Waterloo Region’s robust technology sector, where innovation thrives on mentorship and collaboration.” – Tim Jackson

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Steve Farlow

Stephen Swatridge

Terry Reidel 2012 ANNUAL REPORT

Joanna Lohrenz |

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VISION

Changing lives through courageous community organizations.

MISSION

Bringing together the ideas, people and resources that drive social change.

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WE VALUE Optimism Nurturing organizational cultures built on hope and the realizing of potential.

Championing Being a leader and catalyst in advancing important social change initiatives.

Social Entrepreneurship Tackling social problems by applying business principles to achieve social good.

Social Innovation Fostering the development of new ideas and approaches to move beyond what is to what could be.

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MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN RESIDENCE Success begins with a ‘C’.

Non-profit organizations in this region accomplish all kinds of amazing things, but they never get enough credit for the courage they show.

Our job at Capacity Waterloo Region is to stand behind them in making change. The stereotype is that non-profits don’t take risks and that they are afraid to make change for fear of failure.

At CWR, we will continue to talk about the importance of storytelling, good governance and mentorship, and we’ll do it with the support of fine private-sector partners.

Courage? Absolutely. It takes courage to say we want to make changes in our organizations.

It takes courage to be open about it. The real leaders in the community — and we are lucky to have an abundance of great ones — step forward and ask for that help.

Our mantra is you’re not growing unless you’re making mistakes. We help non-profit leaders think through the risks and try new approaches.

But we are also setting up a social innovation lab to discuss such things as new funding models for non-profits and different ways to run organizations; how to attract volunteers and encourage philanthropy.

What goes for them, goes for us, too.

We’d rather lead change than be overtaken by it.

“Our mantra is you’re not growing unless you’re making mistakes. We help non-profit leaders think through the risks and try new approaches.” – Cathy Brothers

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NEW LOGO

FOR A WELL-ROUNDED ORGANIZATION Meet the newest member of the Capacity Waterloo Region team.

A circular logo now captures the purpose of our organization.

“It’s intertwined. It’s based on how we deal with clients,” says Matt Miller, an executive in residence at CWR. “Together, we’re a circle.”

Last fall, Jo Ann Ely of IBM Canada and Graham Calderwood of Ogilvy and Mather helped CWR examine branding. The session produced four key pillars: • O ur enduring idea is to inspire boldness; • We serve the community by finding and helping champions of change; • We provide thought leadership; • We distinguish ourselves by the culture of our ecosystem.

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Third-year students in the graphic design program at Conestoga College took up the challenge of turning those elements into a logo.

A competition among 12 teams came up with two winners – Kaitlin Gallant and Taylor Kristan.

Gradients of blue-green and gold make up the colours.

The foundational pillars are represented in the tonal changes of the circle. One half of the circle represents the organization; the other, the clients we serve – our champions of change.

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BRANDING & MARKETING

Branding helps non-profits stand out in the community.

Having built a career in advertising and graphic design, Matt Miller knows that appearances make a difference.

“Branding is not just a new logo or website. It is consistently sending your message to clients and their target audience. It’s backing up your image with consistent messaging.”

– Matt Miller, Executive in Residence

Now he shares his experience with non-profit organizations as an executive in residence with Capacity Waterloo Region.

Focused as they are on delivering programs, non-profits, he says, should always save some effort to spend on their own profile in the community.

“Branding is not just a new logo or website,’’ Matt says.

“It is consistently sending your message to clients and their target audience. It’s backing up your image with consistent messaging.”

While it should attract attention, good branding must also be authentic, he adds.

four years ago. His career includes 10 years in graphic design for Manulife Financial in Toronto.

“I always try to have fun in my job,” Matt says. I had fun in the last one and this opportunity is no different. If you are having fun, you usually are doing more than you are asked to do.”

Matt taught at Conestoga College for 25 years before retiring almost

Taylor Polecrone, WLU Co-op at CWR, Kaitlin Gallant, Conestoga Design Student, Taylor Kristan, Conestoga Design Student, Matt Miller

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STORYTELLING

Tales of impact and change.

Non-profits are often so focused on

stories that get to the impact we’re

The Kitchener and Waterloo

“We’ve been able to get many

better outcomes for their clients,

having, rather than cataloguing our

Community Foundation and the

organizations to recognize the

they rarely give much thought to

programs and what they do,’’ says

Lyle S. Hallman Foundation are

value of storytelling, and begin

telling their own stories.

Jennifer, executive director of Social

partners in the program. Through

making changes to identify and tell

Venture Partners Waterloo Region.

workshops and boot camps,

their stories more easily,” Jennifer

participants have learned to tell

says. “I’m looking forward to seeing

stories in text and video aimed for

how the work continues over the

the web. King is also the principal

next several years.”

But it is time well-spent, says Jennifer King, a founding member

“We know our storytelling initiative

of Capacity Waterloo Region, and

is making a difference because

developer of CWR’s storytelling

organizations are telling us about

program.

the ways they are integrating

“As a sector, we have a long way to go in telling our stories better —

author of an accompanying guide.

storytelling approaches into their

Storytelling isn’t just a single event.

day-to-day work.”

It needs to be regularly refreshed.

“We know our storytelling initiative is making a difference because organizations are telling us about the ways they are integrating storytelling approaches into their day-to-day work.”

– Jennifer King

You can access the storytelling guide here: www.capacitywr.ca/storytelling CAPACITY WATERLOO REGION

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BOARD MATCH PROGRAM

“I think the best part of the process is that I interview both the employees and organizations: The employees, to understand their passions, interests, and experiences. And the organizations, to understand their needs and skills they might be lacking.”

– Moira Taylor, Executive in Residence

Pairing the right volunteers with the right opportunity.

Three letters add up to one mighty concept in volunteering: Fit.

roles and run better non-profit organizations.

If it isn’t right, the relationship between a volunteer and the organization can pinch like a tight shoe. Nobody is happy.

Manulife also runs a board-match program to help its employees connect the skills they want to offer with volunteer opportunities in agencies that could use the help.

Capacity Waterloo Region and Manulife Financial have been working to fix the problem.

A board-governance boot camp sponsored by Manulife helps volunteers and staff understand

“I think the best part of the process is that I interview both the employees and organizations,” says Moira Taylor, a former St. Mary’s Hospital president who is now an executive-in-residence with CWR. “The employees,

to understand their passions, interests, and experiences. And the organizations, to understand their needs and skills they might be lacking.”

Moira works with Judy Blasutti, Manulife’s manager of employee engagement and community affairs. By the end of 2012, 42 Manulife employees were involved in the board match program. Thirty-one had found compatible matches on non-profit boards or in other volunteer roles.

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MANULIFE BOARD GOVERNANCE BOOT CAMP

Decision-making: With a little advice from experts, it can become a fine art.

Good programs come out of good governance.

To that end, Capacity Waterloo Region formed a “faculty” of leaders to help executive directors and board members run better non-profit organizations by understanding they each have important but different roles to play.

“No longer is board member as ‘involved doer’ adequate,’’ says Tupper Cawsey, one of several experts guiding the CWR’s Manulife

Judy Blasutti, Manulife Financial

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Board Governance Boot Camp. “We need a board member who understands governance, and executive directors who understand how boards can and must be enablers for mission.”

Recent and imminent changes to provincial and federal rules covering not-for-profit organizations raise the obligations of boards to keep watch over their organizations.

Fellow boot-camp facilitator Fred Galloway says governance programs could evolve to the point where they are differentiated in terms of intensity and skill level.

Don McCreesh, Board Governance Expert

“It is evident to me from the comments provided by organizational representatives that these experiences and opportunities are unique, beneficial and are highly valued,’’ Fred says.

Boot-camp leaders come from academic and business backgrounds. Ruth Cruikshank, Steve Farlow, Mark Weber and Don McCreesh complete the team.

Fred Galloway, Board Governance Expert

Tupper Cawsey, Professor Emeritus (OB/HRM), Wilfrid Laurier University

“It is evident to me from the comments provided by organizational representatives, that these experiences and opportunities are unique, beneficial and are highly valued.”

– Fred Galloway

Graduates of the 2012 Manulife Board Governance Boot Camp

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Accelerator Centre CAPACITY WATERLOO REGION

Andy Goodman

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Doug Jennings, IBM Canada, Tech Workshop

Manulife Board Governance Boot Camp – Homework

Tupper Cawsey

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SOCIAL INNOVATION

A laboratory for ideas that shape communities.

“With the connections to technology, insurance, academics and not-for-profit sector, Capacity Waterloo Region has been able to assist charitable organizations become more professional and innovative.”

– Jim Miller, Executive in Residence Waterloo Region has a reputation for creative thinking that leads to marvellous devices and powerful software.

But is innovation limited to computer chips and strands of code? Jim Miller would certainly argue no.

Jim is developing Capacity Waterloo Region’s Social Innovation Laboratory, where ideas

rather than electronics drive social change.

“With the connections to technology, insurance, academics and not-for-profit sector, Capacity Waterloo Region has been able to assist charitable organizations become more professional and innovative,” Jim says. “The shared experiences of all of these groups certainly have led to some terrific results.”

Jim has another role at CWR — advising on advocacy. He spent more than 20 years as a ministerial aide in federal and provincial governments. He knows how government works, which helps to advance policy proposals that non-profit agencies base on their front-line experiences.

sector faces so many challenges,” Jim says. “Getting to see how they operate from the ‘other side of the government fence’ has really motivated me to push to help notfor-profit organizations collaborate and partner to achieve their goals.”

“I have gained a significant amount of insight on how the not-for-profit

2012 ANNUAL REPORT | CAPACITY WATERLOO REGION CAPACITY WATERLOO REGION | 2012 ANNUAL REPORT

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RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Social progress through evidence-based change.

“I also love taking a jumble of ideas and intuitions, and organizing those into something that is coherent and useful.

I’m proud to be part of an organization that is doing amazing work to inspire change in the non-profit sector.”

– Tanya Darisi, Executive in Residence

Studies, statistics, government reports — there is a jungle of information out there for nonprofit organizations.

It helps to take a guide along to make sense of it all.

“I love exploring ideas, and trying to see things from different angles,’’ says Tanya Darisi, a Capacity Waterloo Region Executive in Residence who leads organizations through the thickets to find useful data.

“I also love taking a jumble of ideas and intuitions, and organizing those into something that is coherent and useful.

I’m proud to be part of an

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organization that is doing amazing work to inspire change in the non-profit sector.”

Since 1998, Tanya has been helping organizations across different sectors — non-profit, for-profit and government — make the best use of research and evaluation. Evaluation isn’t an occasional process; in dynamic organizations, it’s continuous.

“As soon as you answer one set of questions, another set of questions emerges,’’ she says.

“As various programs move forward, and we reflect on where we’ve been and the impact we’ve made, there are new directions to explore and assess.”

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MENTORING ACTIVITIES Leaders helping leaders.

“The feedback we get is 100 per cent that participants value the opportunity to talk in confidence with people who understand their issues, and can challenge them and give them some fresh perspective.”

– Cathy Brothers, Executive Director in Residence

Joe-Ann McComb & Dale Howatt

Non-profit leaders have their share of sleepless nights worrying about too little money, too few volunteers and no let up in demand for the services their organizations provide.

So it helps to confide in people who’ve been there, wide-eyed with frustration at 3 a.m. Peer-to-peer mentoring was one of the first things Capacity Waterloo Region set out to do three years ago.

“The feedback we get is 100 per cent that participants value the

Rob Donelson & Wanda Wagler-Martin

opportunity to talk in confidence with people who understand their issues, and can challenge them and give them some fresh perspective,” says Cathy Brothers, CWR’s executive director in residence. She looks after the program.

to see their organizations grow.

Funding might be the topic of one meeting; volunteers, the next.

Some mentorships are still going strong after three years.

“It’s a long-term relationship among equals,” Cathy says.

Matches currently number about 40. Participants — all drawn from the non-profit sector — meet every six weeks for a year.

Those receiving the mentoring ask themselves where they would like

Deborah DeJong & Jen Vasic

John Neufeld & Mike Morrice 2012 ANNUAL REPORT

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EDUCATIONAL EVENTS & OPERATIONS We’ve settled in quite nicely, thank-you.

When Capacity Waterloo Region was still little more than fresh ink on paper, we thought it would take about five years before we knew whether the organization would become a permanent part of the community We were wrong, and as we say here in the entrepreneurial setting of the Accelerator Centre in Waterloo, there is nothing wrong with being wrong.

Last year we formally became a non-profit corporation and registered charity, a mere four years into our journey.

From governance to storytelling, our programs, workshops and feature events attracted about 750 participants in 2012. The list of inspiring — even provocative — special guests included National Geographic photographer Karen Kasmauski and her colleague

editor Bill Douthitt; CFRB radio host and community leader John Tory, and Dan Pallotta, author of Uncharitable. Andy Goodman encouraged us to tell our stories, proudly.

residence services to include finance and human resources.

We’re looking at whether we can provide back-office help on a feefor-service basis to charities that can’t afford that expertise on staff.

In 2013, we want to continue growing our brand as the go-to place for non-profits to embrace risk and learn news ways to operate. We’re considering expanding our executive-in-

It looks like we’re going to be here for awhile, and we have lots to do.

“In 2013, we want to continue growing our brand as the go-to place for non-profits to embrace risk and learn new ways to operate.”

– Andrew Wilding, Director of Operations

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Tech Workshop

Manulife Board Governance Boot Camp

Manulife Board Governance Boot Camp

Chris Howlett, Donor, Volunteer & Tech Mentor

Manulife Board Governance Boot Camp

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FINANCIALS

Tides Canada Initiatives 5 Months

Capacity Waterloo Region Audited - 7 Months

Total 12 Months

REVENUE Donations

$

Fee for Service Grants Total Revenue

35,600

$

53,310

$

88,910

62,919

68,219

131,138

104,003

134,759

238,762

$

202,522

$

256,288

$

458,810

$

134,660

$

107,780

$

242,440

EXPENSES Salaries & Benefits

Left to right: Joanna Lohrenz, Board Member Martha Hancock, Manulife Financial Tim Jackson, Board Chair Dave Jaworsky, Fundraising Chair David Perrin, Boot Camp Alumni Steve Farlow, Board Member

Contracted Services

61,319

63,162

Administration

26,221

15,340

41,561

Meetings & Conferences

15,080

25,950

41,030

Educational Events

23,503

11,726

35,229

Technology

18,580

7,789

26,369

Marketing & Promotion

1,613

3,696

5,309

Professional Fees

3,840

5,810

9,650

2,680

169

2,849

69,200

-

69,200

Amortization of Property & Equipment Other ( Transfer to Capacity Waterloo Region) Total Expenses

$

356,696

$

241,422

Excess of Income over Expenses

$

(154,174)

$

14,866

Net Assets – Beginning of the Year

163,161

Transfer from Tides Canada Net Assets – End of the Year

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-

$

8,987

69,200 $

84,066

124,481

$

598,118

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SUPPORTERS

Without these folks there would be no Capacity Waterloo Region. Thank You! Accelerator Centre

Beth Lautenslager

Astley Family Foundation

Louise Leonard

Blackberry

Joanna Lohrenz

Don Bourgeois

Libro Financial

Tupper Cawsey

Lyle S. Hallman Foundation

Communitech

Manulife Financial

Conestoga College

Matt Miller

Cowan Foundation Ruth Cruikshank

Ontario Ministry of Citizenship & Immigration

Deborah Currie

Ontario Trillium Foundation

Mandy Dennison

Regional Municipality of Waterloo

Steve Farlow Fred Galloway David Graham Mark Hallman Nathan & Rebecca Hallman Chris Howlett IBM Canada iNotForProfit Tim Jackson David Jaworsky The Kitchener & Waterloo Community Foundation

Terry Reidel Christine Rier Stephen Swatridge Tivoli Films United Way of Kitchener-Waterloo & Area University of Waterloo Wallenstein Feed Charitable Foundation Wilfrid Laurier University Vivian Zochowski

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Cathy Brothers Executive Director in Residence cathy@capacitywr.ca 519.513.2606 x1

Moira Taylor Executive in Residence moira@capacitywr.ca 519.513.2606 x5

Andrew Wilding Director of Operations andrew@capacitywr.ca 519.513.2606 x2

Matt Miller Executive in Residence matt@capacitywr.ca 519.513.2606 x6

Tanya Darisi Executive in Residence tanya@capacitywr.ca 519.513.2606 x4

Jim Miller Executive in Residence jim@capacitywr.ca 519.513.2606 x8

@capacitywr

Accelerator Centre 295 Hagey Boulevard Waterloo, ON N2L 6R5 519.513.2606

www.capacitywr.ca

Charity # 81658 9287 RR0001