Foundation Magazine July/August 2022

FOUNDATION The Business & Spirit of Philanthropy in Canada July/August 2022 | Vol. 3 | No. 15

VOLUNTEERISM: ? d ta n S e W o D e r h

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INSIDE: • Increasing Disbursement Quota • Fundraising Takes Flight

ISTOCK/ BLACKSALMON

• Are Donors Dwindling?

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THE LEAD IN

COURTESY VECTEEZY

The World Around Us

AN INDUSTRY FIGHTS BACK:

Plastics industry seeks to block federal regulations that ban single-use plastics From a statement by Environmental Defence, a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

To whit: In a move that should shock and enrage Canadians and people around the world, a group of plastic companies that include DOW and NOVA Chemicals, have filed a legal action to block the federal government from implementing a ban on several nonrecyclable single-use plastics.

The application for Judicial Review filed in Federal Court seeks to block the implementation of the government regulations and allow the continued sale of the banned items.

The plastics industry is already suing the government for listing plastics as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Now they’re doubling down with yet another outrageous lawsuit to try to stop regulation that clearly protects the environment and public interest.

“These irresponsible companies just want to continue profiting from forcing their garbage on us. Disposable plastic has led to a pollution crisis in Canada and around the world.” said Tim Gray, Executive Director of Environmental Defence.

It’s estimated that if we don’t stop the growth in disposable plastic production, the amount being used and thrown away will triple by 2060.

“Our ecosystems and health cannot sustain this attack and that is why our government is absolutely right to ban these harmful single-use plastics. The plastic industry must call off these lawsuits and take responsibility for the damage they are doing to the planet,” Gray continued. “Canadians made it clear they wanted action on plastic and the government listened — but now industry is standing in the way. Canadians should consider fighting back against these arrogant and destructive companies and start to refuse to buy and use their products. Environmental Defence will seek to oppose these attacks by the oil and plastics industry in Court.”

Canadians have shown in poll after poll that they want action on plastics The plastics industry insists that better waste collection and recycling are the answer but that’s only because they want to keep making more and more plastic and let someone else deal with the mess it creates. However, if recycling worked, 91 percent of plastic waste would not be going into landfills, incinerators or our environment as is currently the case.

After years of failed recycling efforts, it’s never been more clear that plastic pollution is not, first and foremost, a waste management problem.

Instead of trying to force Canadians to buy toxic and polluting single use plastic, the oil and plastics industry should be working with government to start programs that reduce and reuse packaging.

Banning plastics that cannot be recycled and are not needed by society protects Canadians’ health and our environment.

Unnecessary single-use plastics must quickly become a thing of the past. Further bans of problematic and unnecessary singleuse plastics and support for reuse and refill are needed. EDC will seek to oppose these attacks by the oil and plastics industry in court.

Amen. foundationmag.ca

July/August 2022

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CONTENTS

July/August 2022 | Vol. 3 | No. 15 www.foundationmag.ca

Twitter: @foundationmaga1 PRESIDENT / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Steve Lloyd - steve.lloyd@lloydmedia.ca ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Laura Tyson - laura.tyson@lloydmedia.ca DESIGN / PRODUCTION Jennifer O’Neill - jennifer@dmn.ca PHOTOGRAPHER Gary Tannyan CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Carrie Brodi Maryann Kerr Michael Brooke Kathleen A. Provost Malcolm Burrows Joanne Woo Mark Halpern LLOYDMEDIA INC. HEAD OFFICE / SUBSCRIPTIONS / PRODUCTION:

302-137 Main Street North Markham ON L3P 1Y2 Phone: 905.201.6600 Fax: 905.201.6601 Toll-free: 800.668.1838 EDITORIAL CONTACT: Foundation Magazine is published bimonthly by Lloydmedia Inc. Foundation Magazine may be obtained through paid subscription. Rates: Canada 1 year (6 issues $48) 2 years (12 issues $70) U.S. 1 year (6 issues $60) 2 years (12 issues $100) Foundation Magazine is an independently-produced publication not affiliated in any way with any association or organized group nor with any publication produced either in Canada or the United States.

Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome. However unused manuscripts will not be returned unless accompanied by sufficient postage. Occasionally Foundation Magazine provides its subscriber mailing list to other companies whose product or service may be of value to readers. If you do not want to receive information this way simply send your subscriber mailing label with this notice to: Lloydmedia Inc. 302-137 Main Street North Markham ON L3P 1Y2 Canada.

POSTMASTER: Please send all address changes and return all undeliverable copies to: Lloydmedia Inc. 302-137 Main Street North Markham ON L3P 1Y2 Canada Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40050803 4

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July/August 2022

3 THE LEAD IN 7 SEEN, HEARD & NOTED COLUMNIST

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Charitable Gifts with Benefits Wealth Management - Malcolm Burrows

Re-Inventing Learning Questioning how we learn Leadership - Kathleen Provost

Performative Allyship. Always Harmful?

Thinking Out Loud - Maryann Kerr

Mix It Up: Blended Charitable Gifts The Accidental Philathropist - Mark Halpern foundationmag.ca

CONTENTS

SPECIAL REPORT

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Volunteerism: Where Do We Stand?

And What’s Next?

36 38

ISTOCK/ BLACKSALMON

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© 2022 MERCER (CANADA) LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COVER STORY

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MARKETING

FUNDRAISING

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Beyond Purpose-Driven Brands: How Marketing Can Activate Movements

SPECIAL REPORT

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Are Donors About to Dwindle Even More?

HISTORIC PLAQUES

Volunteerism: Where Do We Stand?

And What’s Next?

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How Start Me Up Niagara Approaches Volunteer Initiatives

RECOGNITION

REGULATORY AFFAIRS

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When Fundraising Takes Flight

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Van Egmond House, Egmondville, ON. Huron East

Five Lives: What We Do

Increased Disbursement Quota

Next Issue…

A New Challenge for Canadian Endowments & Foundations

Coming in the September/October Issue...

Spotlight on Community Foundations...and a technology spotlight on new digital tools.

foundationmag.ca

July/August 2022

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SEEN, HEARD & NOTED

Canadians adore their companion animals, and today nearly 60 percent of homes in Canada now include pets. Pets improve the lives of their people by boosting their physical and emotional wellness, yet millions lack access to even the standard veterinary care needed to maintain long, healthy lives. PetSmart Charities of Canada™ is addressing the problem by granting more than $1.5 million to help more Canadians get the care their pets need to remain healthy and stay in their homes.

Preventative health care such as vaccinations, spay and neuter procedures and annual visits ensure small issues don’t become more serious. Affordability is a key barrier for many pet parents. For those living in remote or socially vulnerable 6

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communities, availability of care in “vet deserts” poses other problems. PetSmart Charities of Canada is creating collaborative alliances with local animal welfare partners to create sustainable care models.

“We are committed to supporting people and pets and are working to break down the barriers that prohibit pet families from living happy and healthy lives together,” said Aimee Gilbreath, president of PetSmart Charities of Canada. “We have a unique opportunity to drive lasting change for pets by working with partners and leaders in the veterinary space.

Broadening the reach, we hope others will draw inspiration and replicate these efforts across the country.”

The Guelph Humane

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Society, serving those in Guelph and Wellington County, is already making an impact with the support of $125,000 in grant funding from PetSmart Charities of Canada. In collaboration with local veterinary partners they have increased fair and equitable access to veterinary and preventative care services for pet parents in need. Fewer pets are returned to already overcrowded shelters when their families have the resources they need to care for them.

“Thanks to the continued generosity of PetSmart Charities of Canada in funding our work to improve access to Veterinary care, Guelph Humane Society is one step closer to achieving our vision of ensuring that pet parents in need can access services to keep their pets healthy,” said Lisa Veit,

Guelph Humane Society Executive Director.

The Nova Scotia SPCA also recently received an $85,000 grant from PetSmart Charities of Canada that has provided veterinary services for pets of people in need in Dartmouth and surrounding areas, supporting up to 500 pets.

Grant funds will help support their Veterinary Hospital with staffing costs, medication and equipment, and pet care supplies, and more.

To support these initiatives, people can donate to PetSmart Charities of Canada as they check out at the register in PetSmart stores or by visiting PetSmartCharities. ca. For more information on how PetSmart Charities of Canada is working to keep families together and build healthier communities, visit PetSmartCharities.ca/ourstories. foundationmag.ca

SEEN, HEARD & NOTED

••••••••••••••••••• CCM Hockey’s new Limited Edition JetSpeed FT5 Pro Gold stick in collaboration with Sarah Nurse. This limited run of sticks celebrates Sarah Nurse’s golden achievements and also gives back to help grow the game of hockey with a portion of proceeds going to the Hockey 4 Youth charity.

Nurse is a member of the Canadian Women’s National Team and Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association (PWHPA). She is a two-time Olympian, winning Olympic Gold in 2022 and a 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship. Her impact also extends off the ice as Sarah uses her voice and platform to help lead the conversation around diversity, representation and advancing inclusion in the sport of hockey. The foundationmag.ca

first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal in hockey, she serves as a member of the NHL Player Inclusion Committee and is a board member and spokesperson for the PWHPA. The limited edition stick is the same construction as the recently released JetSpeed FT5 Pro stick, with a custom design that celebrates Sarah Nurse recently winning Gold for Canada. It features her name, number and Canadian flag on the namebar, and her record breaking stats on the back; 5 goals and 13 assists for a total of 18 points in only 7 games. She set the Olympic record for most points and most assists in a single women’s tournament and her 13 assists set the Olympic record for men and women dating back to 1960 at Beijing 2022. The sticks are only

available for sale in Ontario stores and on CCM’s website.

A portion of the proceeds of stick sales will be donated by CCM to Hockey 4 Youth, a foundation that supports young players and newcomers to Canada to learn the sport of hockey.

The donation will contribute to new gear for these players and will help the foundation fund more camps that help grow the game and make it more accessible for newcomers to the sport.

“We are proud of all our athletes and were blown away by the record-breaking performance Sarah Nurse had representing Canada.

To show our support for her we worked together to create a Limited Edition stick that would represent her golden performance, but also support a cause that is important to both Sarah and CCM.” Robert Zaring, VP Marketing, CCM Hockey.

“I am beyond excited to team up with CCM to create this golden hockey stick and to be able to support the incredible efforts of Moe and Hockey 4 Youth in Ontario. I was introduced to hockey through my father who immigrated from the Caribbean and believed that every Canadian should know how to skate. I am passionate about creating an inclusive space for hockey players.

Through fans purchase of these sticks we are able to make an immediate impact on providing more access for this community. Thank you for your support of me and this initiative.” Sarah Nurse, Pro Hockey Player, Olympic & World Champion.

“It’s an incredible honour July/August 2022

to be connected to Sarah and the team at CCM through this Golden initiative! Hockey 4 Youth will be able to use these funds to support more newcomer teens, youth who face barriers and girls through access to free ice hockey and our off-ice T.E.A.C.H. program.” Moezine Hasham, Founder & Executive Director, Hockey 4 Youth.

Hockey 4 Youth Foundation/Fondation hockey pour les jeunes is a charitable organization. Our mission is to foster social inclusion for newcomer teens of all genders and other youth who face barriers through access to free ice hockey and our off-ice life skills T.E.A.C.H. program (Technology, Entrepreneurship, Arts, Community giving, Healthy Active Living). Since 2015, Hockey 4 Youth has worked with 600+ youth representing 36 countries of origin including: Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Vietnam, Mexico, Jamaica, Ethiopia and the Philippines.

••••••••••••••••••• Forests Ontario and its partners planted 2.5 million native tree seedlings across the province this season as part of its 50 Million Tree Program. This brings Forests Ontario’s program total to 36.7 million trees planted, creating more than 18,000 hectares of new forest on nearly 7,000 project sites.

“The help of our planting partners was key to Forests Ontario achieving this planting milestone,” says Rob Keen, Chief Executive Officer of Forests Ontario, and Registered Professional Forester. “The generous FOUNDATION Magazine

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SEEN, HEARD & NOTED support of individual donors, corporate sponsors, and the Government of Canada has been critical to our success this year and will remain essential as we work with our provincial and national partners to plant more and more trees each year.”

Forests Ontario’s provincewide network of planting partners work closely with local landowners to develop site-specific plans and plant the right trees in the right places for the right reasons. These newly planted trees will help fight the impacts of climate change, provide flood protection, purify water systems, and improve wildlife habitat and biodiversity. Landowners who want to learn more about the 50 Million Tree Program and sign up for the 2023 planting season should visit www.forestsontario.ca/en/ program/50-million-treeprogram.

“83 percent of the total hectares planted under the 50 Million Tree Program are thriving and already

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sequestering significant amounts of carbon,” says Elizabeth Celanowicz, Chief Operating Officer of Forests Ontario. “Creating healthy, new forests is one of the most effective, nature-based solutions in combating climate change impacts.

Healthy forests not only cleanse our air and water, but also provide natural green spaces that boost recreational opportunities and help improve our health and well-being.”

To support the creation of new forests, take initiative on climate change, and learn more about Forests Ontario’s tree planting programs, education initiatives and community outreach, please visit www.forestsontario.ca.

Forests Ontario is the province’s leading charity dedicated to the creation, preservation, and maintenance of forest and grassland habitats. Our ambitious, large-scale tree planting initiatives, extensive educational programs, and decades of community

July/August 2022

outreach result in millions of trees being planted each year.

Together with our national division, Forest Recovery Canada, we work with our many partners across the country to plant native trees and ensure our efforts today thrive and grow into tomorrow’s healthy and resilient forests.

••••••••••••••••••• In July nearly 400 employees and volunteers from National Bank will participated in the 10th edition of the NB Grand Tour. This year’s event is took place in Montérégie.

The event has helped raise $175,000 to support Fondation Jeunes en Tête, whose mission is to prevent psychological distress among youth aged 11 to 18, as well as 13 organizations in the region.

The NB Grand Tour is a charity sports event for cyclists and runners that made its debut 12 years ago in the Saguenay/Lac-SaintJean region and has since been held in a different region of Quebec each year.

Over the years, the NB Grand Tour has donated more than a million dollars to some 50 organizations across Quebec.

“National Bank employees constantly strive to have a positive impact on the lives of people around them, said Lucie Blanchet, Honorary Chair of the NB Grand Tour and Executive Vice-President – Personal Banking and Client Experience at National Bank.

“In addition to taking on a physical challenge as part of the Grand Tour, they’ve raised funds to support important local causes. I’d like to thank them for their determination, their inspiring commitment to the community and their dedication to continuing the NB Grand Tour tradition — mile after mile.”

“We’re proud of our long-standing partnership with National Bank to help young people. Thanks to the NB Grand Tour and its participants and donors, we will be able to keep talking about mental health in high schools and adding content to the free online kits we

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SEEN, HEARD & NOTED offer to teens, parents and teachers. These are key actions in preventing psychological distress in young people,” said Catherine Burrows, Assistant Director General of Fondation Jeunes en Tête.

The funds raised will be donated to the following organizations: Fondation Jeunes en Tête, Centre NotreDame de Fatima, Centre petite échelle, Fondation du Centre Jeunesse de la Montérégie, Fondation LouisPhilippe Janvier, Fondation Papillon, Inform’elle, L’envol, Le Phare Enfants et Familles, Maison des jeunes de Saint-Bruno, POSA source des Monts – Maison Stéphane Fallu, Pour 3 Points, Prévention des dépendances l’Arc-en-ciel et Opération Bonne Mine (Société SaintVincent de Paul).

The mission of Fondation Jeunes en Tête is to prevent psychological distress among youth aged 11 to 18 in Quebec. It accomplishes this mission by reaching out to teenagers in schools through its Partners for Life program, and by supporting recognized community organizations that complement its work. It also builds synergy between those who help young people so that they can make the biggest possible impact.

Follow its activities on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

••••••••••••••••••• Mastercard launched Changeworks™, a socialimpact program that helps Canada’s not-for-profits harness the power of technology and data to create positive change.

To put this commitment foundationmag.ca

into action, Mastercard has made its first anchor grant to national not-for-profit, CanadaHelps, to launch a digital transformation program for charities across Canada.

Canada is home to outstanding not-for-profits delivering critical social programs and services, but many of these organizations have not been able to adequately invest in technology infrastructure and digital skills. While a majority believe digital adoption is important and the resource crunch they face could be more effectively managed through digital technology, 55 percent of charities polled say they do not have the funding, or the skills, expertise and knowledge for digital adoption.

This has created significant obstacles for delivering programs and services

efficiently, scaling impact and reach, and bringing in donations critical to support their work. The pandemic has made this situation even more challenging as not-for-profit organizations struggled to survive and to pivot to online models while facing decreasing revenue and increasing demand for services.

“Canadian not-for-profit organizations are vital contributors to our country’s economic health and social fabric, but many lack the necessary technology infrastructure and digital skills to deliver on their mandates and increase their impact,” said Sasha Krstic, president of Mastercard in Canada. “We aim to provide support, resources and expertise to help empower them do what they do best. It’s about creating a ripple effect that will make

Canadian society stronger, more inclusive, and more equitable for everyone.”

The core mission of Mastercard Changeworks is to support Canadian not-for-profits — and the individuals and communities they serve — by helping them improve their technology and data capabilities. Designed with three program pillars: grants and partnerships, hackathons and datathons, and employee volunteer initiatives, the program will launch with a targeted focus on not-for-profits in the entrepreneurship space, particularly those supporting Indigenous and Immigrant/ Newcomer small-business entrepreneurs; a segment of the business community that continues to face significant challenges. Over time, the program will broaden to others in the not-for-profit sector.

Offering professional prospect research, training, and fundraising strategy.

Editor and contributor to “Prospect Research in Canada”, Canada’s first book on prospect research.

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Through a commitment to investing in actionable insights, impactful programs and cross-sector partnerships, the Center helps ensure that technology works for people, meets their needs and makes their lives better.

•••••••••••••••••••

variety of communications ranging from thank-you letters, custom postcards, tax receipts and more to over 500,000 active donors each year, most of which require some level of personalization.

By implementing OpenText Exstream in the cloud, CBM can ensure its donors will receive highly accurate communications via an array of channels and media while also benefiting from improved operations, access

OpenText announced Christian Blind Mission has implemented its leading Customer Communications Management (CCM) software, OpenText Exstream, to personalize and automate hundreds of thousands of essential donor communications, increasing efficiency and improving donor relations around the world.

Christian Blind Mission (CBM) is an international non-profit organization committed to improving the quality of life of people with disabilities in the poorest countries in the world.

Processing more than $80 million in donations annually, CBM generates and sends a

to ongoing support, business continuity and the ability to seamlessly adapt to remote work and continue operations during a global pandemic.

“Each of our donors receives some type of communication every year, resulting in hundreds of thousands of different documents and templates that need to be properly managed, updated, stored and distributed,” said Alexander Kindinger, Head of IT at Christian Blind Mission.

“OpenText Exstream is a key part of our strategy, allowing us to design complex documents, set up templates with variable content, update Salesforce and better manage

©CBM

CanadaHelps is the first anchor grant recipient of Mastercard Changeworks.

The grant will fund the development and piloting of a new program, CanadaHelps’ Charity Growth Academy — to help small and mediumsize charities use tech and data to transform their strategies, operations, and fundraising. Eleven charities and not-for-profits in the entrepreneurship, Indigenous and/or immigrant/newcomer space will be part of the pilot, each receiving a digital transformation assessment and customized action plan, training, coaching, and a grant from Mastercard to implement technology and/ or data solutions customized to its needs.

“The prioritization of digital transformation is well understood and underway in the business world, and charities need the same support to go digital that has been offered to small businesses,” said Lizz Bryce, SVP, Community and Strategic Initiatives at CanadaHelps.

“The support provided by Mastercard Changeworks has taken Charity Growth Academy from a bold idea to a reality that was only possible with the significant investment Mastercard was willing to make. This program will enable our small and medium-size charity partners to kick-start their digital transformation journeys with the support of quality training resources, connections to volunteer experts, and funding needed to lay the foundations for long-term progress and success.”

Mastercard Changeworks furthers the mission of

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our digital and print assets, all from within a robust cloud environment, to help us save time and money through lower operating costs and trusted expertise.”

Enabling personalized, cloud-native, omnichannel communications to help foster customer engagement, brand loyalty and simplified maintenance, OpenText Exstream helps to create highly engaging customer experiences, leveraging data and existing content to deliver communications through the digital and print channels that best reach and engage customers. Backed

by OpenText’s flexible-first approach which enables customers to deploy its suite of information management solutions on-premises or in the cloud of their choice, OpenText Exstream integrates with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, like Salesforce, to provide an enterprise scale solution.

“Christian Blind Mission needed a cloud-native CCM solution in place to support their growing mandate, seamlessly adapt to today’s distributed work model and enable a scalable donor relations program,” said Muhi Majzoub, EVP and Chief Product Officer at OpenText. “We are proud to play an essential role in this organization’s essential work. By leveraging OpenText Exstream, CBM has been empowered to elevate its communications strategy, explore new ways of work without interruption and continue to drive their global objectives forward, helping persons with disabilities to achieve their full potential.”

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COLUMNIST

WEALTH MANAGEMENT MALCOLM BURROWS

Charitable Gifts with Benefits

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BY MALCOLM BURROWS

Malcolm Burrows 12

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July/August 2022

GARY TANNYAN

he common law of charity defines a gift as property that is “freely given without consideration”. That is, a transfer without any expectation of getting something back.

It’s an ideal for giving, which often gets tattered and torn in the real world. It has always been so.

Indulgences and Concierges Perhaps the most famous example of quid pro quo giving are indulgences. In 1517, Pope Leo X launched a fundraising campaign for St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. He did so by selling indulgences through franchisees, which got to keep half of the money they raised. (Early commission-based fundraising.) Franchisees offered, for a generous foundationmag.ca

COLUMNIST

“Most donations are made by donors who are primarily altruistic and expect nothing in return.” donation to the Church, complete remission of sins and escape from the pains of hell and purgatory. As anyone who has visited Rome knows, the panEuropean campaign was successful. The Basilica was built, but a monk named Martin Luther was so enraged that he started the Protestant Reformation in response.

When I told my son this story, he said “let’s be real!”. The donors probably got something for their 25,000 gold florins apart from a sin cleanse and a “get out of purgatory free” pass. I suspect he is right.

Access and influence by the wealthy were likely other benefits.

Jump forward to Toronto in 2022.

A physician friend recently informed me that he knew of two adult teaching hospitals on University Avenue that have medical concierges — doctors — to help important donors and their friends access care. I shook my head about the questionable pragmatism of such a service. Then I remembered when the 68-year-old brother of a major donor had a night time MRI at a children’s hospital in the late 1990s. One of my colleagues at the time called it “corruption”; another, “cultivation”.

Reciprocal Giving Reciprocal giving is an applied psychological principle that has been documented all over the world. Humans are hard-wired to respond positively to receiving a gift — even if we didn’t want it or ask for it. A gift makes us automatically indebted to the giver, and that is its power.

This concept is used extensively in marketing and charitable fundraising.

Remember those charity direct mail fundraising packages with key tags, holiday cards and address labels?

Reciprocal giving. At this level it is pennyfoundationmag.ca

ante stuff, but it subtly undermines the charitable cause by being structured as an act of exchange. Being a puritan, I have never given in response to a direct mail appeal with trinkets, yet, according to direct marketing colleagues they continue to perform well.

Common v. Civil Law The English common law sets a very high standard for disinterested altruism, and, in international terms, it is a rare concept. Many more cultures around the world embrace reciprocity in giving. The English concept could be described as: A) pure and idealistic; or B) colonial and duplicitous. I think it is both. It’s taken a while to unpack this heritage in Canada.

Pre-2002, the Income Tax Act (Canada) followed the common law of gifts. If the donor received any benefit from their donation that gift could be invalidated, and the tax benefits rejected.

No tax receipts for museum members, charity golf tournament players, or gala attendees, at least in theory.

Canada Revenue Agency had a policy that explained that tax benefits are not a benefit that invalidated gifts. Donor recognition for individuals was also acceptable. Other benefits associated with giving or in exchange for a gift were discouraged. The reality on the ground was different and impossible to regulate.

And then Quebec came to the rescue and the Act was updated.

The civil law of gifts is more pragmatic than the common law. Quebec, following Napoleonic civil law, allowed split transactions — a charitable donation could be combined in a single payment with a gift. You could get a rubber chicken gala dinner and a tax receipt if there was a net contribution to the cause. Now the civil law rules apply in Canada — and event fundraiser struggle endlessly

with split receipts, eligible amounts, and advantages. Thank you, Quebec.

Pay to play Reciprocal giving is most pernicious at the high end. The U.S. Ivy League universities have legacy admission policies. Advancement offices seem to have a close working relationship with Admissions. I haven’t witness this in Canada, but to experience the subtle efficiency of some very big-name U.S. universities is breath-taking. It takes a $1 million and your kid is in. Pope Leo X would be proud.

A more local example is WE Charity and its travel program. A Kenyan safari.

A luxury camp. School builds. Donor tours. Velcro donor recognition signs.

The reciprocity formula was “authentic” experience provided in exchange for future influence and donations.

Cultivation in the form of site visits.

Ideals are important Reading this article, it is possible to surmise that all donations involve some kind of “consideration”, which isn’t true at all. Most donations are made by donors who are primarily altruistic and expect nothing in return. Regular donors to charity get this and live it. Yet stories of quid pro quo are red meat to the sceptics — proof that somehow generosity is a scam that hides other motivations.

My response: it’s a complex world and always has been. There will always be mixed motivations, and there will always be true generosity and “freely given” donations. It’s important to have ideals, even if they are continuously splattered with mud.

MALCOLM BURROWS is Head, Philanthropic Advisory Services for Scotia Wealth Management. He writes this column exclusively for each issue of Foundation Magazine.

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COLUMNIST

LEADERSHIP KATHLEEN PROVOST

Re-Inventing Learning Questioning how we learn

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BY KATHLEEN A. PROVOST, CFRE, MAdEd

Kathleen A. Provost 14

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s a professional fundraiser, I believe our profession of fundraising is in constant evolution. If this is true, I wonder how we can unlearn and ultimately re-learn what we normally do as professionals. In my article entitled The True Profession of Fundraising (Foundation Magazine May/June 2022), I reference the informal and formal process of learning. Today, I ponder how a 26-month long “world pandemic” affects this learning process?

Has our experience to “pivot” taught us anything?

I asked this question to Dr. Jessica Riddell a Professor at Bishop’s University (Quebec, Canada).

Dr. Riddell holds the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair of Undergraduate Teaching Excellence at Bishop’s which enables her to work closely with university presidents across Canada in an attempt to define and advocate for a 21st century liberal education.

This Chair makes it possible for Dr. Riddell to extend her role beyond institutional silos and offer a new perspective on “learning”.

Dr. Riddell is also the Executive Director of the Maple League of Universities, a consortium of four universities — Bishop’s, Mount Allison, Acadia, and St. Francis Xavier – who all share a focused commitment to quality undergraduate experiences. It is because of Dr. Riddell’s passion for foundationmag.ca

COLUMNIST knowledge mobilization by collaboration across the academia that she questioned how we may explore innovative teaching and learning practices.

Dr. Jessica Riddell

IN CONVERSATION WITH DR. JESSICA RIDDELL I interviewed Dr. Riddell in an effort to better understand how the pandemic had impacted the way we learn. I was intrigued by some of Dr. Riddell’s statements. In 2020, she wrote an opinion in University Affairs entitled: “A time for reflection. How do we make sense of what has happened, and how do we move forward towards a post-COVID world?” And more recently she made the following comment: “So as we reflect on the stories we have told and the new narratives we deploy to make sense of a seemingly senseless world, my hope is that we can pause, reflect and replenish before moving into the post-COVID world that awaits us.”

In our conversation, we further explored if COVID had had any impact on the way we learn. Dr. Riddell said that COVID had created a space to allow for transformation. In her opinion, COVID acted as a catalyst to help our reflection, stating examples such as Black Lives Matters. Dr. Riddell believes this pandemic brought to light a number of foundationmag.ca

uncomfortable systemic social issues. We both agreed that this “social discomfort” had exposed truths and disrupting routines in our educational institutions.

I refer to this period in time as the “Great Awakening” and Dr. Riddell refers to this period in time as a “radical reset”.

Whatever we may call this moment in history, Dr. Riddell claims the portal of the pandemic is closing which creates a sense of urgency. This is crucial as we consider what “learning” looks like today, post-COVID era, and what it could look like in the years to come.

A Framework in Flux When I met Dr. Riddell, I wanted to better understand her desire to create a framework, to build resilient systems that can change our perspective on how we learn or unlearn as individuals. According to her, we must not talk about resilience at the individual level but rather put in place systems, structures and policies necessary to foster human flourishing. In all of her endeavours Dr. Riddell seeks to build communities with a commitment to support established and emerging learners and scholars in the pursuit of knowledge creation and sharing.

When we talked about how learning occurs, Dr. Riddell pointed out that universities are not always designed to collaborate, but rather they are designed to compete. According to Dr. Riddell, early adopters and innovators often experience discomfort; however, collaboration can address this discomfort and enhance positive change. Her statement caused me to reflect on our learning process as a whole, for individuals and institutions.

When I asked Dr. Riddell, how do we then start to change the “way we learn”, she offered a very simple metaphor to my question. She said, “instead of thinking about how the pie must be divided, you need to bake new pies”.

An Incubator for Learning According to Dr. Riddell, the Maple League of Universities are microcosms of larger institutions, they are just scaled differently. They all have deep culture, particular mindsets, systems, behaviour,

and policies that have share common features. The benefit of COVID is that it made a number of things visible that were otherwise “hidden”. We now have to decide if the current educational institutions’ systems, structures and policies still serve our students and communities. We must answer this question: Are the higher education institutions built in the 19th century still relevant in the 21st century?

Dr. Riddell believes that by making systems or policies visible, you can invite a healthy conversation with a critical reflection to honestly assess if/ where there is “discomfort”. According to Dr. Riddell, this discomfort can lead to transformation. Using summits, workshops, classrooms and focus groups, Dr. Riddell is currently attempting to provide a forum for thoughtful, scholarly approach to multi-faceted issues by engaging across institutional boundaries with one goal in mind - to build more hopeful and resilient systems within higher education.

Dr. Riddell also referenced Parker Palmer, a Quaker philosopher whose works in higher education described fundamental change as being “broken open”. Being “broken open” means you are willing to transform. Dr. Riddell stated that in this post-pandemic moment, all the conditions are currently in place for us to be courageous enough and safe enough to be “broken open” — to challenge risk aversion situations and re-visit our institutional structures and policies.

The Hope University According to Dr. Riddell, the condition for transformation to occur is discomfort.

We both agree that to snap back to the status quo, back to business as usual is not the solution. The exposed truths and disruptions in our routines have created a sense of urgency for us to look at “what was” and transform into “what could be”.

When exploring “how we learn”, Dr. Riddell referenced how at times, we use toxic positivity which according to her makes us look at everything

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COLUMNIST

THINKING OUT LOUD MARYANN KERR

Performative Allyship.

Always Harmful?

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BY MARYANN KERR

Maryann Kerr 16

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s it possible that not all performative allyship is harmful and that the division we see in Canada and the United States today could be minimized by seeking common ground and celebrating small wins? In the face of extreme inequity, is there a point to celebrating the baby steps? I honestly don’t know.

There’s green-washing, pink-washing and rainbow washing. All terms which describe performative allyship and the commoditisation of causes. To be performative suggests you wave a flag to show your commitment to a cause without real organizational change, activism, donations or other elements of allyship. It can be seen as virtue signalling and a way to increase sales. And when you do it, you may find yourself in hot water.

Sometimes, performative allyship can cause real harm. Like the example of the school board in Durham region that passed an interim policy on antiracism without involving the committee set up by the board to address antiblack racism. The result? An ineffective, whitewashed version of a policy centred on ensuring White folk are “comfortable” with the language.

Thanks to some brilliant activism by people like foundationmag.ca

COLUMNIST @Janelle Benjamin (you should follow her on LinkedIn) the policy is being reviewed.

At the same time there are some actions, which many people will see as performative, that we might rethink.

What if we saw the increased number of rainbow flags, coffee cups, t-shirts, and baseball caps as a good thing even if it isn’t backed by a deeper commitment.

What if we didn’t judge others for not being deeply committed enough to the causes that matter to us? What if we saw every public act of support as “stage one” of allyship? What if we agree that everyone is on a journey, and meet folks where they are on theirs?

Now to be clear, I’m not talking about massive missteps like Wal-Mart’s ice cream branded as a celebration of Juneteenth. When a meaningful date is commoditized for the benefit of profit for a massive corporation that has teams of smart people in place who should know better… it is harmful, in poor taste and bad branding.

Anytime a corporation steps into the arena, they need to tread cautiously and most importantly, ensure they involve the community they seek to support, in the discussions on how best to proceed. They need to develop an action plan to address inequity throughout their organization.

That said, lots of small businesses, and individual leaders, the ones who make up the financial backbone of this country, while perhaps not deserving of applause, neither should they be negatively judged for their efforts when they don’t pass the performative threshold.

Consider this. According to the Canadian Encyclopaedia public support for same-sex marriage has decreased from 74 percent in 2017 to 64 percent in 2019. In fact, 15 percent believed gay couples should be limited to civil unions; while 10 percent felt they should not have “any kind of legal recognition.”

That means that 36 of every 100 people that walk into a place of business, would potentially turn around and walk away because the business signals their support of the LGBTQ2s community. That doesn’t mean the business won’t still wave the rainbow flag, but even if they do nothing foundationmag.ca

more than wave that flag and publicly share their support, they risk losing business, that in our current economy, many cannot afford to lose. When we judge the level of commitment a person or business brings to their support of our causes, we fail to see the whole picture and we discourage deeper involvement.

According to Kris Archie, CEO of the Circle on Philanthropy (the Circle), the top three reasons that folks working in the philanthropic sector give for their failure to act on issues related to equity and justice for Indigenous peoples are perfectionism, comprehension and fear of conflict. This information was gathered from two cohorts of participants in the Circle’s Partners in Reciprocity program, a year long fellowship designed to “support philanthropic teams in a reorientation toward equity and justice. ” In other words, folks are afraid to speak up or be active due to perfection, comprehension and a fear of conflict.

Here’s an example on how that might play out. You put out a statement when George Floyd was murdered. You suggest that you are shocked by the shooting.

You don’t mention racism or inequity or injustice. Someone might suggest that it is wrong to say George Floyd died when, in fact, he was murdered. Further, someone might ask why you are ‘shocked’ given the number of times a Black person has been shot or killed at the hands of the police.

You have a choice. You can become defensive and offended and choose never to venture out with a statement like this again or, you can listen with humility.

You can choose to see the feedback as a learning opportunity.

It might be that someone will ask what else you are doing outside of making statements. For some, making a statement and perhaps signing a petition — may be the limit of their activism.

They may be doing unseen things like improving their hiring practices but may not be able to volunteer, donate, or march — for very valid reasons.

Instead of judging, perhaps we can offer tangible, practical ways for small businesses and individuals to make a difference. Perhaps they can update

their recruitment, hiring and employee practices to be more equitable. Perhaps they can offer space in their business, if it is location based, for local groups to advertise their events, sell their wares or meet free of charge. All to say, rather than assuming that something is performative or virtue signalling — we might set judgment aside and suggest ways that would-be allies could do better. Perhaps we should celebrate the baby steps.

I posed this idea to an activist friend who said, “Perhaps you need to be clearer about what the baby steps are and why you think people should be happy with mere baby steps in the face of extreme inequity and incidents like the murder of George Floyd.”

Extreme inequity. There is the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.

There is the fact that 52.2 percent of children in foster care in Canada are Indigenous, but account for only 7.7 percent of the child population. There is the travesty of the residential school system and the cultural genocide it inflicted. There is extreme inequity.

And then I’m back to square one and wondering how we make progress. It is the age old argument between incremental and transformational change. And why should we accept incremental when we need and deserve transformational? Yup, back to square one. What do you think?

MARYANN KERR is Founder & Principal of The Medalist Group, a boutique organizational development and philanthropy firm. Thinking Out Loud is a monthly personal insights column exploring topics that make us think. Is there something you’re thinking about that you’d like us to consider? Do you have a comment on this one? Send us a note. We’d love to hear from you. She writes this column exclusively for each issue of Foundation Magazine. i

Anti-racism policy approved by Durham Catholic, definitions of terms like ‘white supremacy’ and ‘colonialism’ removed | The Star: https://www.thestar.com/local-oshawa/ news/2022/05/31/anti-racism-policy-approved-by-durhamcatholic-definitions-of-terms-like-white-supremacy-andcolonialism-removed.html?itm_source=parsely-api ii Performative Allyship: What Are The Signs And Why Leaders Get Exposed (forbes.com) iii Same-Sex Marriage in Canada | The Canadian Encyclopaedia: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/samesex-marriage-in-canada iv Episode 1: Reimagining Philanthropy w/ Senator Omidvar, Kris Archie and Edgar Villanueva - YouTube https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=9AAj2PP_fIU v Partners in Reciprocity 2022 (the-circle.ca): https://www.thecircle.ca/partners-in-reciprocity-2022.html

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THE ACCIDENTAL PHILANTHROPIST MARK HALPERN

Mix It Up: Blended Charitable Gifts

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BY MARK HALPERN, CFP, TEP, MFA-P

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hilanthropy is very important to me, personally and professionally. The Hebrew word tzedakah is part of our DNA at WEALTHinsurance.com.

Often translated as “charity,” it more accurately reflects “righteousness” and “justice.” I believe that when we’re successful, we have a responsibility to help others. And your name doesn’t have to be Warren Buffet or Jeff Bezos to give big.

So, we’ve set an ambitious charitable goal: to create $100 million a year in new charitable donations by partnering with clients, charities, and allied professionals. At the same time, we’re working to expand our charitable footprint beyond our firm by developing a network of 100 professionals and charities who want to set a $10 million annual goal of their own.

That’s our $1 billion legacy planned giving campaign and we’re confident we can get there. One way we’ll do it is by employing creative strategies, such as blended gifts, that help charities and donors meet their objectives more efficiently and effectively without having to “find” more to give. foundationmag.ca

COLUMNIST Why legacy planned giving is important I sit on the professional advisory boards of many great organizations such as the Hospital for Sick Children, St. Michael’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Health Centre, Humber River Hospital, TVO and the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto.

Most charities share a unique challenge: they understandably prioritize current gifts just to keep the lights on and projects running. But those priorities can lead to the neglect of longer-term planning.

Capital campaigns every few years can help charities ‘catch up’ on funding shortfalls or focus on special projects — but I’m talking about even longerterm planning. Legacy planned giving _ arranging cost-effective, tax-effective bequests – satisfies donors’ desire to make a substantial philanthropic difference. It’s also an essential but often overlooked part of a charity’s strategic efforts.

There can be several reasons why charities are reluctant to embark on a legacy planned giving campaign. Their resources may be stretched thin (what charity’s resources aren’t?) and they may not have staff members to dedicate to this work. They may not have in-house expertise and may worry that they lack the technical skills to have meaningful conversations with clients.

Fear is usually the biggest barrier.

Charities are often reluctant to engage in conversations about future gifts, concerned that donors will dial down current gifts — something charities certainly don’t want to risk.

The genuine and overlooked risk is failing to have these conversations with major donors. For example, a charity in California working with our U.S. associate firm Tamar Fink in Minneapolis lost two of its biggest donors within an 18-month period. After they died, the charity waited patiently for a call from the donors’ lawyers to tell them about the huge bequests in the wills – but the calls never came. Why? Those generous donors were never asked to establish a legacy planned gift.

How blended gifts work Essentially, blended gifts allow charities to approach major donors, thank them foundationmag.ca

profusely for their partnership, and propose a legacy-building strategic plan — with no additional financial commitment by the donor.

With a blended gift, donors split the amount of their current charitable donations into two parts. The largest part continues as before, providing an annual sum the charity can count on to fund its good work. A smaller amount is carved off and applied to a permanent, limited-pay Life Insurance policy that will ultimately benefit the charity and create a significant charitable legacy for the donor.

For example, let’s assume a donor is in the habit of generously giving $50,000 a year to a specific charity. With the same out-of-pocket expense, the donor could take a different approach over the next 10 years to enhance his or her charitable impact. Specifically, the donor continues providing 80 percent ($40,000) directly to the charity and uses the remaining 20 percent ($10,000) to pay premiums on a participating whole Life Insurance policy that names the charity as owner and beneficiary. The premiums for the policy are considered charitable donations and the donor continues to receive a charitable receipt to offset current taxes.

After 10 years, the policy will be paid up and the donor can resume directly contributing $50,000 a year to the charity. The seeds will be planted for, perhaps, a $500,000 lump sum future gift to the charity after the donor’s death.

And, of course, if $10,000 a year can buy a $500,000 legacy, each additional $10,000 can enable the donor to make a bigger incremental impact — with none of these affecting bequests to the family through the will.

Depending on a charity’s financial circumstances, some will prefer to ‘dialup’ the percentage allocated to the Life Insurance gift if current cash flow from fundraising isn’t a challenge.

Structured properly, the insurance policy can even provide value to the charity during the donor’s lifetime.

Participating whole Life Insurance policies produce a dividend every year that the charity can use to generate cash flow. The charity can even borrow

against the cash surrender value of the policy. Think of it like borrowing against the equity in a home. With a portfolio of donated policies, a charity with a timesensitive project can easily access money, act immediately, and then replace the ‘borrowed’ funds through fundraising.

Charities often hesitate before asking donors to consider a blended gift, because they worry about losing 20 percent of a substantial annual gift for 10 years. However, the long-term benefit is substantially greater than the shortterm reduction in cash flow. And, in my experience, 9 out of 10 donors who hear about this strategy maintain their original annual gift AND purchase the Life Insurance as an additional contribution to a cause they believe in.

In fact, blended gifts can create even stronger partnerships between donors and the charities they support. Some U.S. studies reveal that when donors incorporate a charity in their estate plan, their average annual gifts increase by approximately 40 percent.

We support with blended gifts To help charities implement legacy planned giving campaigns, including blended-gift initiatives, we frequently deliver presentations to charity executives and foundation boards.

With the right information and internal champions, all charities can build their financial resources through these types of programs.

We also participate in major donor events, in person and through online webinars, to educate donors about their opportunity to convert taxes to charity and move from success to significance with proper planning. In addition, we help with educational content and materials that charities and foundations can use to communicate with their supporters.

The charities we work with often recommend that donors speak with us when they are considering a larger gift because we can help structure it in the most cost and tax-effective manner to create a more significant gift with the

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“... this book is revolutionary.

It’s a ‘once in a generation’ book.

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Creative Deviations is an anecdotal and thoughtful how-to guide to help you become more creative with your fundraising. It’s part graphic design, part design thinking, part storytelling, part strategic thinking and part love note to you amazing humans who work so hard for your causes, your donors, your mission and your desire to contribute and make positive change in our world.

Available now at: https://hilborn-civilsectorpress.com

MARKETING

Beyond Purpose-Driven Brands: How Marketing Can Activate Movements

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BY JOANNE WOO

“

ver recent years, we’ve seen a rise in purposedriven brands — and when done well, they create differentiation and competitive advantage. But where do brands go from there? Purpose is important, but here’s the thing: people can’t act on purpose, but they can act on movements. So the opportunity for CMOs is to go to the next frontier — activate their brand’s purpose meaningfully and authentically, and create a movement with customers,” says Joanne Woo, Global VP, Head of Communications, ABB Process Industries.

Why has purpose-driven marketing been such a focus for CMOs? And what is the next step?

Having a clear purpose as a brand matters, and when done well, drives competitive advantage. Research has shown that purpose-driven companies achieve higher market share gains and grow three times faster than their competitors. Customers are also more likely to purchase a product from a brand that advocates for an issue they care about. Purpose-driven brands emotionally connect with customers when they share the same core values. The question CMOs face now is “What’s next?”.

Activating your brand’s purpose by creating a movement with customers will deepen their connection with your brand even further. When you invite them to join a movement that they can own and they can spread — then you galvanise action.

This is the Holy Grail for marketers.

What steps should they take to activate their brand’s purpose?

To move into movement marketing, there are three points to focus on. Firstly, it starts from the inside. When a company or brand decides on its purpose, the first step is to bring employees along on that foundationmag.ca

journey. To build a culture that embodies the purpose, making sure the actions of all leaders embody the purpose, and that employees live and breathe the purpose. It needs to be meaningful to everyone. ABB’s purpose is centred on sustainability, and it is infused in all our daily discussions on a corporate and individual level. It is at the heart of why we get up every day and come to work.

And you’ll see that our employees take to external channels like LinkedIn to speak about sustainability.

Secondly, create and build a community. When you treat customers like a community rather than a passive audience, you’re putting the power in their hands to activate on the values shared between your brand and themselves.

A brand that has done this very well is Strava. The platform has built the largest sports community in the world, with over 100 million people in 195 countries.

Their community shares their vision of wellness and actively engages with the brand as well as fellow athletes. The community has come alive and continues to see remarkable growth.

At ABB, what has worked well in terms of building a customer community is cocreating content with our customers. We have launched campaigns and initiatives where we go out with a common challenge — diversity is one of them —and work together to bring that topic forward on everyone’s agenda. We then create ways where people can join in on the movement, for example through user generated content which they can share on social media. This helps build brand loyalty as it builds stronger connections with customers, and they feel they can actively contribute towards a shared purpose.

My third point is around authenticity and transparency. It’s not enough to say it, you have to show it. Sometimes companies communicate very lofty goals, and while it’s

good to be ambitious, that is not the end of it. Brands need to frequently communicate what actions they have taken, what new products and technologies they have developed to achieve that purpose. They must communicate their success stories, but also setbacks when they happen. They need to have measurable and tangible KPIs that really back up their purpose as well. A great example of a brand which does this really well is Who Gives A Crap. They’ve carved a differentiated space despite being a fairly mundane product — toilet paper!

But they show the impact they make, together with their customers, by donating 50 percent of their profits to building toilets for underprivileged communities.

Communications must always be human-centred. Ultimately, if you want to create a movement, you need to build a movement around an idea that puts the human front and centre, so that people can see the meaning in it, and the greater good that you’re striving to achieve. It cannot just benefit the brand.

What role should CMOs play in this process?

While it is every C-suite leader’s role to activate the purpose, the CMO’s role is to make sure it goes beyond words; that it is not just a marketing campaign. The CMO has to make sure that people internally are accountable and measuring against the purpose, challenging them if they are not acting towards the purpose. More and more CMOs today have a seat at the table, but with this is the responsibility to play a greater role than just creating great campaigns.

CMOs can catalyze action by making sure stakeholders internally are living and breathing the purpose, and creating a space for customers to come together as a community and join a movement that’s bigger than the brand itself.

JOANNE WOO is Global VP, Head of Communications for ABB Process Industries.

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SPECIAL REPORT

VOLUNTEERISM: ? dtaneS oWDreh tfi dWAahn ? xtesN

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BY CARRIE BRODI

ISTOCK/ BLACKSALMON

ow do you attract, engage, deploy and retain volunteers during a two-year global pandemic while continuing to stay active in the communities that you serve?

This was the question we asked various non-profits and charities across Canada. Their responses were as diverse as the country itself but two findings were similar across the board. First, those that were willing and able to embrace technology fared better than those that could not or would not.

Second, all agreed that there would be no going back to business as usual as pandemic restrictions lift. The new hybrid model of virtual and in-person volunteerism is here to stay. And that is largely a good thing.

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Ahead of the curve in Calgary In 2017, long before the pandemic brought about a need for a digital pivot, the Volunteer Centre of Calgary started to see a shift in their clientele from a predominantly middle aged, white cohort to one that skewed younger and more diverse.

Traditionally a bricks and mortar office, they saw a need to re-think how they were delivering services to the community, says Katie Dodd, Volunteer and Community Engagement Manager for the Volunteer Centre of Calgary (known online as volunteerconnector.org).

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foundationmag.ca

SPECIAL REPORT For one thing, the time it was taking to connect volunteers to organizations ranged from between 3 and 6 months. They wanted an online system that was faster and easier to use for both volunteers and organizations.

They approached a software development company in Calgary to design a user friendly application that would put the volunteer front and centre.

At an investment of $1 million, the resulting Volunteer Connector software application made the process more streamlined for everyone. Volunteers could create one profile to apply for multiple positions. They had the ability to refine their search criteria, get notified of new postings, and track their volunteer hours among other time saving benefits.

For overstretched volunteer managers, the software allowed them to quickly post positions while managing all of their data in one place.

The entire process of getting volunteers into positions now took a matter or weeks rather than months, a significant improvement in a heavily volunteer-reliant sector.

“When you consider that 57 percent of organizations in Canada are either fully volunteer run or run by a few staff members, it is obvious that without volunteers, we would be toast,” says Dodd.

Statistics Canada reports that 24.5 million volunteers contribute 5 billion volunteer hours in Canada each year (2021). This contribution is estimated at a value of $56 billion or 2.5 percent of Canada’s GDP (Conference Board of Canada). Toast, indeed.

The Volunteer Connector application has been so successful it has been shared beyond the city of Calgary to 36 partners in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario.

Not only does the tool connect people to organizations, it also provides valuable data on what today’s volunteer wants.

“When the pandemic hit, most in-person positions were halted and moved online but we were already seeing more demand for remote positions. The pandemic just served as a catalyst,” says Dodd.

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Pivoting to virtual early kept programs running When the Alzheimer Society of Waterloo Wellington realized that the pandemic was not a fleeting situation, they created 21 new virtual programs. When before they could offer in person tea times, games and exercise classes to clients journeying with dementia, they suddenly needed to re-imagine their program delivery model, reports Lorri Watamaniuk, Director of Fund Development. foundationmag.ca

For those that could not access, or were not comfortable using a computer, they created activity packages that volunteers delivered to peoples’ homes. They found ways to engage more volunteers by creating a telephone support program.

The feedback was largely positive with 65 percent of clients and families saying the virtual / telephone experience was less stressful than travelling to a location.

“We are excited about what the pandemic has done for us,” says Watamaniuk. “While it was stressful at the beginning, technology allowed us to expand on the types of programming that we were offering and the way that we do them to be able to offer them to a larger number. Ultimately it has increased accessibility for clients and volunteers.”

The pros and cons of going virtual Before the pandemic, The Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada held support groups for Canadians affected by all types of brain tumours, in person. The pandemic meant that all activities had to shift online and it wasn’t always a smooth transition, says Todd Goold, the Foundation’s Information and Support Services Manager. Some ran with the virtual alternative whereas others were simply not interested — with or without the bandwidth at home.

“I learned that what works well in London, Ontario doesn’t necessarily work well in Calgary or Halifax. You have to tailor your programs to your volunteers,” Goold says.

To support volunteers better in this new online reality, he created tools to address such occurrences as lag time during emotional moments of a support group video call, and what to do if someone experiences a health emergency while online.

Over time more volunteers got on board with technology and something positive started to occur. The internet allowed for expanded reach and more specialization.

“Before we were broken up by cities. Now we are developing customized support groups around such subjects as the loss of a spouse or malignant brain tumours. It now focuses on the skill of the volunteer,” he says.

One such volunteer on the front lines of the Foundation’s shift to the new hybrid model is Yasmina Mashmoushi. She has been facilitating the Mississauga support group for the past three years.

We asked her what drives her volunteerism and she said, “Community service instills in me a sense of meaning, agency and impact that I cannot find elsewhere. As a volunteer I wake up each day believing that what I do makes a palpable difference.

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SPECIAL REPORT I find comfort in knowing I am the reason someone is smiling or feeling resilient in the face of their struggles.”

With the return to in-person expected in the new year, Goold says the hybrid model is here to stay.

When virtual is not an option What about when your service offering relies on protecting and enhancing the quality of life or domestic, farm and wild animals in British Columbia. This is the mission of the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

They annually rely on 3,700 volunteers giving 185,000 hours of their time to help in tactile ways including: assisting in animal shelters, rescuing and rehabilitating wild animals, and helping in emergencies such as fires, floods by fostering animals — none of which can be transitioned online.

“Most of our in-person volunteer opportunities at our animal shelters were paused for the duration of the pandemic, “ says Lindsay Baker, Senior Manager, Volunteer Resources with the BC SPCA. “This meant we did not have volunteer roles for the majority of our volunteer base, despite engaging as many as possible in virtual alternatives. This often led to frustration for volunteers who had lots of time to give back and a strong desire to help the animals in our care.”

Alternatively, they saw exponential growth of their volunteer foster program, something that could be done safely at home.

“This was a positive result for the animals who often flourished in a home environment,” she says.

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Running with technology For the Terry Fox Foundation, the early adoption of technology during the pandemic made all of the difference in their being able to return to normal revenue streams by 2021, reports Michael Mazza, the Foundation’s Executive Director.

The TFF is a national organization that raises funds to support cancer research and annually holds 800 fundraising runs across the country along with school organized runs.

“As we moved into the pandemic, the impact was that we weren’t able to do in person runs. Because of that we didn’t have roles for our volunteers and as such, we saw a loss of revenue,” he says.

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Soon into the pandemic, the Foundation transitioned to digital strategies like Zoom and volunteers were quick to follow.

“What was interesting is that it began to connect us as staff and volunteers. You got a sense of how many people were working on this across the country.”

Other technological changes included a website update, the use of texting and codes and paperless giving. “We dramatically changed the way we do business and it was all technology-driven.

Those are the things that we continue to use and enhance as we move out of the pandemic,” Mazza says One COVID program they created to raise revenue levels during lockdowns was a socially distanced, virtual program where a single person could create their own walk or run event, execute it and raise funds while in isolation. The program will remain.

All runs are back on track this year and Mazza expects to see pre-pandemic engagement with a return of 10,000 volunteers.

What would Terry say about the resilience of this army of volunteers? “He would be incredible proud,” says Mazza. “Terry said, if I can’t finish, people have to carry on without me and, man, have they ever done that.”

COVID Can’t Stop Camp Maintaining a sense of connectedness throughout the pandemic is a common theme of these conversations particularly for Campfire Circle a nonprofit oncology camp that supports kids and families affected by childhood cancer across Ontario.

In a normal year they welcome 1000 volunteer camp counsellors. They experienced challenges when lockdowns started and all programs had to move online, things like virtual camp, camp fires and magic shows to name a few.

“Our attitude was that COVID couldn’t stop camp,” says Becky Conlon, Volunteer Program Manager, who facilitated the return of 250 virtual volunteers to maintain connectedness.

“The feedback from our campers was that they felt an ongoing sense of community online at a time when so many were facing isolated moments, especially those in hospital. Being able to offer a sense of normalcy, laughter and joy made a big difference.”

The virtual programs will remain a permanent year-round offering. With camp set to return this summer to in-person at two overnight camps and various day camps in Ontario, Campfire Circle is excited to welcome back some 400 volunteers.

One of those volunteers is Bev Rosser who Conlon describes as “an incredible mentor who understands the power of camp”.

What drives Rosser to volunteer at camp every summer for the past 32 years?

“There is truly nothing like the magic of camp and being part of that is something that never gets old for me,” Rosser says.

“Anyone who has been to camp knows that we as counselors are the lucky ones — these kids are such an incredible source of inspiration and joy. I feel fulfilled around our campers, their families and our Campfire community.”

Engaging volunteers during a downturn “Maintaining a sense of connection to volunteers throughout foundationmag.ca

SPECIAL REPORT

How Start Me Up Niagara Approaches Volunteer Initiatives Foundation Magazine chats with Mackenzie Fleury, Community Engagement Coordinator, Start Me Up Niagara Can you tell me about some of the important ways that volunteers have enabled Start Me Up Niagara to carry out its mission and activities in the community prior to the pandemic?

Start Me Up Niagara has been very reliant on our volunteers to compliment our staff in the provision of supports and services to those who experience homelessness, addictions and compromised mental health. Volunteers have provided key supports in preparing light meals and snacks, maintaining a coffee and beverage service, pickup and delivery of donations of food and other items to our various locations, wedding, watering and harvesting at our community garden, and providing direct support at our annual fundraising event, Coldest night of The Year.

Can you talk about how the pandemic has affected your organization in terms of the shift or the loss of volunteers? What was the impact been on your stakeholders?

At the start of the pandemic, Start Me Up Niagara’s volunteers were severely impacted through lockdowns and the constant changes to our programs and services.

As our organization operates “congregate settings” such as drop-in centres, warming centres, and temporary winter shelters, Public Health implemented stringent gathering limitations that affected all aspects of our programs and limited access to our facilities.

When gathering limitations were relaxed we found that the majority of our volunteers are either retirees or students. Retirees stopped coming in because they were worried about their health and wanted to minimize the risk of exposure. Student education got switched to online and they didn’t want to expose themselves either.

How do you envision your organization’s volunteerism continuing throughout the summer?

Our goal is to bring more volunteers onboard so that we have a bigger roster to pull from to fully support our programs. Throughout our organization we have eight different programs and they are spread out between various locations in the Niagara Region. Volunteers are

foundationmag.ca

essential for us to run many of these programs. We need more volunteers available to ensure our participants are getting the best service possible.

What, if any, flaws do you see in the way volunteers are engaged and deployed currently and have you used any innovative tools (like software) to streamline or improve processes over the pandemic?

We have seen more and more volunteer applications but getting the volunteers to commit to shifts has proven to be very difficult. We have a new system using Sign Up Genius and its all online so we are able to send the link out for a program and volunteers can sign up for whatever shifts work best for their busy schedules. It has taken a huge weight off staff shoulders however, we need more volunteers for all of our programs and locations.

Is there a word or a phrase you would use, such as “recovering slowly” to describe the state of in person volunteerism at Start Me Up Niagara? Please explain.

We would use the phrase “working together…moving forward”, our motto, as we have had multiple of our very loyal volunteers come back post pandemic and we are very grateful. That being said, we need more volunteers and even though we are getting new applications, people are hesitant to commit to shifts. We will get back up to our standard of a robust volunteer program but it is definitely a slow recovery from the pandemic.

Are there any key lessons that you have learned in your work with volunteers throughout the pandemic and currently, that you think other charities and non-profits in Canada could benefit from?

As Start Me Up Niagara has remained open every day throughout the pandemic, we have learned that we cannot do this alone. Volunteers are as essential to our programs and services as our staff.

We have also learned to implement online tools and to encourage volunteers to continue to engage with us in ways that require less personal contact, but can still have appositive impact on our community as a whole.

July/August 2022

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SPECIAL REPORT the pandemic has been crucial for us,” says Kathy Jones, Volunteer Manager, Ontario Programs & Canadian Lakes Loon Survey for the national not-for-profit, Birds Canada.

In a normal year Birds Canada relies upon tens of thousands of volunteers to conduct citizen science to see how birds are faring across the country, from surveying owls to the tracking decline of shore birds.

The impact of the pandemic meant that all of their data collection programs had to shut down in 2020.

“Because people were stuck at home, their interest in birding increased. It was a powerful time during which we could engage and educate people.”

Jones ran with technology creating webinars on such topics as bird identification and ‘birding by ear’. Though time consuming, she didn’t regret doing it because it opened up volunteer engagement across geographical distances that were not possible before.

“If you look at the size of Ontario, giving a program from Essex to Rainy Lake — virtual works better. It is going to be a hybrid model for us in the future.”

A split between virtual and in-person The hybrid model is here to stay, echoes Kassandra James, the Director of Programs for Volunteer Toronto. In a normal year, Volunteer Toronto connects 1.6 million volunteers to the organizations that need them.

James says that the pandemic brought incredible disruption to Canada’s most densely populated city. “We know that millions of volunteers were dismissed and that programs paused indefinitely or they had to adjust to an online model,” she says.

To add further chaos, she notes that 1 out of 2 volunteer managers across the city were let go from their positions or deployed elsewhere. “Programs were not adapting quickly and many were struggling to meet demand,” she says.

What James started to see happening over the pandemic was a permanent shift to virtual volunteering in 50 percent of roles offered through their site. Things that now operate virtual permanently include administrative work and social media management, of benefit to younger volunteers who are comfortable with technology and those that want to forego a commute.

But remote volunteerism can also be a barrier for those who may not be comfortable with technology, such as seniors who contribute a significant number of volunteer hours in the city.

Fortunately with the lifting of restrictions James is seeing an eagerness of people to get back to in-person events. “One of the big numbers we have seen is an 88 percent increase in the number of roles on the Volunteer Toronto website since April 2021. That for me is the biggest sign that we are getting back to more engagement,” she says.

Pandemic lessons and the new normal What were some of the lessons learned through the pandemic?

Many said the need to adapt, not just to a global health crisis, 28

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but to the shifting demographics of volunteerism in Canada in general.

“The ways that we engage and deploy volunteers is still very colonial,” says Katie Dodd. “For example, asking racialized people to get a police check when we know police have caused so much harm to racialized people. This needs to change.”

Kassandra James concurs. “We need to ask, ‘what are our essential needs when screening and what do we need to know?’, and only screen for those,” she says.

When asked what one word or phrase Dodd would use to describe the state of volunteerism in her part of Canada, she says, “I feel like there has been a shift in our sector. Traditional organizations are slowly recovering but then you also have grassroots groups popping up to make up for what other groups aren’t able to do. There has also been a shift towards social justice, environmental issues and indigenous issues. Organizations that want to engage more volunteers should highlight these areas,” she says.

Kathy Baker of the BC SPCA says they are gearing up to rebuild their volunteer teams across the province. This includes speeding up the application, screening and onboarding process, leverage online training to cut down on travel time and staff output, and increasing their capacity to retain existing volunteers in a competitive market.

“We have to focus our energies on retaining the volunteers we have by investing more in recognition activities. It is significantly less time-intensive to keep a volunteer than to recruit a new one,” Baker says. “Volunteers who feel recognized and appreciated are more likely to sign up for shifts, stay with the organization and become your best recruitment ambassadors.”

Michael Mazza of the Terry Fox Foundation says, “I think that volunteers have a passion and they have insight and those are critical to driving success. So connecting with, listening to, participating with, walking the path together — those are what creates the successes. To me the value of volunteers is infinite, and allowing them to walk that path with you is key.”

CARRIE BRODI is a freelance writer based in Toronto, Ontario. foundationmag.ca

REGULATORY AFFAIRS © 2022 MERCER (CANADA) LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Increased Disbursement Quota

A New Challenge for Canadian Endowments & Foundations

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ndowments and foundations (E&Fs) have performed well this past decade, with strong returns mostly being the norm across all major asset classes. In fact, a basic investment strategy of 30 percent Universe Bonds and 70 percent World Equity just after the COVID-19 pandemic began would have meant a strong annualized return of almost 13.5 percent.

Many E&Fs also received increased donations. Overall, the health of many Canadian E&Fs has improved in recent years.

We see this as positive given the higher demands on their philanthropic endeavours and key contributions to the wellbeing of more and more Canadians.

However, greater market volatility means the outlook for equity and bond markets is highly uncertain. Also, inflation is rising. So, how will your investments fare? The supply chain disruption caused by the pandemic created concerns over global growth and inflation, and now the crisis in Ukraine and COVIDrelated challenges in China are putting even more pressure on global growth forecasts. As a result, we’re seeing inflation levels that a whole generation has never experienced, and this is looking less and less transitory.

These forces present a big challenge for E&Fs hoping to benefit from strong investment results to accomplish their mission, while also staying within their risk budgets.

Now the federal government is adding to the challenge by asking E&Fs to raise their disbursement quota from 3.5 percent to 5 percent for fiscal years starting on or after January 1, 2023.

To be fair, many Canadian E&Fs already have a disbursement quota above 3.5 percent. Mercer’s 2021 Canadian E&F survey indicated that around 14 percent of respondents had one of 5 percent or greater, and roughly 50 percent were at between 4 percent and 5 percent. Most E&Fs want to protect themselves from capital erosion though, and the requested quota increase could present a challenge in this more difficult economic environment.

Levers available to overcome the challenge Mercer believes that E&Fs can use three levers to face these challenges: 1. Increased risk-adjusted investment returns through revised policy asset mix 2. Decreased investment management fees 3. Increased donations As increased donations have always been at the forefront of foundationmag.ca

E&Fs’ activities, we focus on the first two levers. Mercer has a long track record of helping Canadian E&Fs maximize the impact these can have on meeting philanthropic objectives.

Policy asset mix Now is not the time to simply try to boost expected returns by increasing the allocation to public equities or credit. This would lead to greater risk exposure.

Investors should instead focus on achieving higher riskadjusted returns, which requires a diversified approach to portfolio construction.

Our survey shows that most E&Fs are well represented in the areas of public equity and credit. Below, we highlight alternative asset classes that E&Fs should use to potentially improve the risk-adjusted profile of their investment portfolios: ❯ Private credit: To potentially improve the fixed income portfolio’s return. ❯ Absolute return strategies: To potentially protect against increasing yields and equity down markets. ❯ Private equity: To potentially improve the equity portfolio’s return (higher returns should also protect against inflation over the long term). ❯ Real assets: To potentially offer protection against inflation and improve the portfolio’s return.

In Mercer’s 2021 survey of Canadian E&Fs, we saw a strong correlation between size of the E&F and allocation to the alternative investments listed above (see Figure 1).

We can’t overstate the impact of alternative investments on risk-adjusted return. Using Mercer’s March 31, 2022, Capital Market Assumptions to compare the expected return of the basic investment strategy and the asset mixes mentioned earlier gives the following numbers (see Figure 2).

Based on this information, and all else being equal, it appears that smaller E&Fs might face stronger headwinds than larger ones when it comes to adequately compensating for the disbursement quota increase. Here are various possible reasons why alternative investments are less common at smaller E&Fs: ❯ Minimum mandate size requirements ❯ Greater complexity in selecting and contracting with investment managers ❯ Lack of access to superior investment managers ❯ Historical performance of traditional asset classes has been sufficient to date July/August 2022

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REGULATORY AFFAIRS

❯ ❯ ❯

Perceived liquidity needs Lower risk tolerance Greater governance budget requirements Higher investment management fees

Lowering investment management fees E&Fs face a key challenge of maintaining/lowering their investment fees while adding the complexity needed to achieve their objectives. Alternative investments often come with higher fees than traditional investments, but top-tier managers can provide strong net returns and play a vital role in the portfolio.

Also, lowering management fees on traditional asset classes (without compromising returns) is critical to successfully fighting the various headwinds. A passive approach to asset classes with lower alpha potential can be an attractive solution, especially for smaller E&Fs that don’t have access to the lower tier of the typical manager fee structure.

One way to achieve scale and improve governance support and access to alternative investments is to implement an Outsourced Chief Investment Officer solution. In short, this means you benefit from the scale of a much larger institution while retaining control of your investments’ risk-return profiles.

Conclusion The increased disbursement quota mandated in the latest federal government budget poses a challenge for Canadian E&Fs, particularly in this period of market volatility and rising inflation.

The impact of the disbursement quota increase will differ among Canadian E&Fs depending on size, current investment program and disbursement quota already in force. We recommend that you assess the impact and most appropriate remedial actions for your organization before the increase takes effect in 2023.

We see the forward-looking economic environment as a trigger for conducting an asset mix review to ensure that you are 30

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© 2022 MERCER (CANADA) LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

❯

well positioned to face the headwinds and keep meeting your objectives. The increased focus on ESG factors also warrants a review of the investment portfolio. Private markets provide access to impactful investment strategies in that regard.

Mercer has been helping Canadian E&Fs with these issues for more than 40 years. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us or your Mercer consultant to discuss your organization’s specifics so that we can put you on the right track.

ABOUT MERCER At Mercer, we believe in building brighter futures. Together, we’re redefining the world of work, reshaping retirement and investment outcomes, and unlocking real health and wellbeing. We do this by meeting the needs of today and tomorrow. By understanding the data and applying it with a human touch. And by turning ideas into action to spark positive change.

For 75 years, we’ve been providing trusted advice and solutions to build healthier and more sustainable futures for our clients, colleagues and communities. Welcome to a world where empathy and economics make a difference in people’s lives. Welcome to brighter. For further information, please visit www.mercer.ca foundationmag.ca

COLUMNISTS

Re-Inventing Learning CONTINUED FROM page 15

while erasing the discomfort of our transformation by saying “everything will be OK”. This perspective, however, may not offer the possibility to critically reflect on a given “discomfort” that we are experiencing, which can lead to profound transformative change.

Dr. Riddell’s solution is the Hope University. She says, “One of the fundamental questions in all my work is how do we rewire our systems, how do we renew them, how do we understand how the structures, policies, and systems form places where we create belonging, where we are invited in, where we can flourish, and we can tap into or connect to our own purpose. That, according to Dr. Riddell, is a fundamental question and an entry point into discussions about Hope University.”

Just last month Dr. Riddell was in Manchester, UK launching the EuroSoTL 2022 (International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) where she delivered the keynote at the conference centered on Hope University.

She was showcasing how Hope University as a concept without borders, can be built around fostering communities’ purposeful connections and creating moments where individuals can build their skills while still being in service to others.

My Final Thoughts An interview with Dr. Riddell is like absorbing a massif flow of positive energy that pulls you into a new direction.

She reminded me that we are all on a learning journey that miraculously has been impacted by a global pandemic.

This pandemic, in itself, is deeply uncomfortable and unsettling yet can contribute to transforming what was — to what can be.

As Dr. Riddell said: “if the portal created

by COVID, to fundamentally transform as institutions, as individuals and as communities is closing, we all need to continue to take part and to facilitate public-facing activities and projects”. As professional fundraisers, we are experts foundationmag.ca

at building relationships and can provide further forums of consultations on a number of social “discomforts” that have arisen during this pandemic.

If we use a critical reflective practice, that is to narrate our own learning journey and then listen with the intention to transform, it is possible to unlearn and then re-learn. Could this be what the Hope University proposes: a community of learning which is meant to amplify voices and decolonize our institutions and where academy is more equitable, diverse and inclusive?

Then we can all play an active role in this “Great Awakening”.

and disinherit the tax department.

We’re passionate about facilitating philanthropy in ways that maximize donor impact, allowing charities to accomplish more of their valuable work.

Are you a charity, a donor or a like-minded financial professional interested in joining our $1 Billion legacy planned giving campaign? Please visit wealthinsurance.com/billion.php and get in touch.

Our advisors across Canada are available to help you preserve your estate for your family and the causes you care about, often by converting taxes to charity. We look forward to helping you.

KATHLEEN A. PROVOST, CFRE is currently the Director, Campaign Initiatives at St. Francis Xavier University, in Antigonish, NS. She brings over 25 years of fundraising experience within the charitable sector. She has been a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) since 2007, and a longtime member and volunteer for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). As a recognized leader, Kathleen has tailored presentations and workshops for French and English audiences at various events including AFP-Nova Scotia, AFP-Ottawa, AFP-National Congress, Coady International Institute and the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education. Kathleen is a McGill University graduate and holds a Master, Adult Education from St. Francis Xavier University.

She has received numerous recognitions during her career, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her contributions to the charitable sector and 2021 Fundraiser of the Year in Nova Scotia.. She writes this column exclusively for each issue of Foundation Magazine.

MARK HALPERN is a well-known CFP, TEP, MFA-P (Certified Financial Planner, Trust & Estate Practitioner, Master Financial Advisor – Philanthropy). He was honoured to speak in the Disruptors Category at Moses Znaimer’s most recent ideacity conference. His talk generated high interest and comments.

Watch “The New Philanthropy” at bit.ly/MarkHalpernTalk.

Learn more at www.wealthinsurance.com. He writes this column exclusively for each issue of Foundation Magazine.

Mix It Up: Blended Charitable Gifts CONTINUED FROM page 19

same amount, or less money. There are many smarter, less costly ways to give to charity versus giving cash, cheques and credit cards. Contact us for a copy of our one pager More Than 20 Ways To Be Generous.

Adopt the charity While charity truly does begin at home, we enjoy explaining to donors that, far from disinheriting their children, building a charitable legacy enables them to adopt the charities they care about

Are Donors About to Dwindle Even More?

CONTINUED FROM page 34

fielded via the Ipsos’ online omnibus.

The combined data has been weighted by age, gender, education and region to ensure the sample composition reflects the Canadian population. The precision of Ipsos online surveys is calculated via a credibility interval. In this case, the sample is considered accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points had all Canadians aged 18+ been surveyed.

A background document can be found online at: cpacanada.ca/thrive.

THE CHARTERED PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANT (CPA) designation is used by more than 220,000 professional accountants around the world. Canadian CPAs are valued for their financial and tax expertise, strategic thinking, business insight, management skills and leadership. Canadian CPAs serve in senior roles in Canada and abroad and are recognized as having the highest standards of professionalism and integrity. They work in all sectors of the economy including not for profit and academia.

July/August 2022

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FUNDRAISING

When Fundraising Takes Flight

F

BY MICHAEL BROOKE

rom a very young age, Callum Wallace has always wanted to fly. “I am pretty sure I would have a been Air Canada pilot by now, but I am red green colour blind” he confesses. “Everyone told me that I had no chance to fly.”

This led Callum to pursue a different career path. At the age of 19, after trying less than a year in college, Callum dropped out.

He realized it wasn’t for him, so he decided to get his real estate licence. This turned out to be a smart decision. Over the past seven years, Callum has built up a successful business selling commercial real estate.

Just over three years ago, one particular real estate client would change his life forever. “This man had a warehouse in Oakville and he told me about an alternative test you can 32

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July/August 2022

take if you are colour blind. If you pass it, Transport Canada will overlook that restriction and let you become a pilot.” After an extensive search, Callum eventually found someone to administer the test. He passed (with flying colours!) and soon began his quest to become a pilot.

Right away, Callum started taking flying lessons at the Burlington Airport. His first instruction flight was in December of 2019. He quickly got all his licensing completed and flew his first solo flight in March of 2020. The next day, COVID restrictions hit and closed everything down for several months.

In August of 2020, Callum received his pilots licence. “Flying is the easy part” he says.”It’s all the huge amount of theory that can be extremely challenging.”

The average pilot flies about 100 hours per year but Callum foundationmag.ca

FUNDRAISING

The World Flight is the ultimate flying challenge and Callum says this moment is the perfect time for him to take it on.

But Callum’s mission is not just about flying solo. It’s also about working to promote the charity “Home Suite Hope.”

This organization is based in Oakville and helps mothers with children overcome homelessness and financial hardship. It is a four year programme that offers both housing and college tuition. Upon leaving, mothers emerge strong and independent with skills for a promising career.

Callum has worked with Home Suite Hope and has actually helped clients find shelter. “Through this mission, which I am calling “Flight for Hope,” I want to bring awareness to the affordable housing issue. I also hope to raise a million dollars for the charity.” In addition to this money, Home Suite Hope will be able to receive seven times the amount in matching funds from the federal government. Plans are underway to purchase a building that will have ten residential units, a daycare along with in-house learning.

The plan is to start the journey in May of 2023 with Callum piloting a Beechcraft Bonzana. This plane can fly for five hours on one tank of fuel. For a good part of the mission, this will be sufficient. However, there are some very lengthy parts including a flight from Hawaii to California. He will fly over the ocean for fifteen hours non-stop as there is no where to land to refuel.

“I have to modify the aircraft and bring in extra fuel tanks” explains Callum. “They are called tip tanks and I will attach them to the wings. I also have to remove the back seats of the plane to add an extra fuel tank. This should give me about sixteen hours worth of flying time which should be enough to make it across the Pacific Ocean.”

As he flies solo around the world, Callum will visit over 30 different places. This includes Greenland, Egypt, Pakistan, Bali, foundationmag.ca

New Zealand along with Canada and the USA. “It’s more of a logistical and planning feat than it is to actually fly” he says.

While North America, Europe and Australia have lots of people who fly, many other countries flying is not really a thing. You have to look professional. Thankfully, I have local handlers who will assist with any problems and get me the fuel I require.”

But not everywhere he lands will have fuel. For example, he’s shipping 2 barrels of fuel when he lands on Christmas Island (located 2600 km from Perth, Australia). “It’s a half gravel runway and I’ll siphon the fuel into my tanks when I arrive.”

Callum estimates it will take about 200 hours of flying to accomplish his task. This equates to about 75 days but it doesn’t account for any delays. “I’m not trying to set a world record for time, so I will assess each day and decide if it’s safe to fly.”

Worldwide, there are about 135 people who have accomplished an around the world solo mission. Callum will be the fourth Canadian who will be able to put this on his resume.

The flight will be live tracked and people can follow Callum in real time. Despite the enormity of the trip, Callum seems completely unphased and exuded calmness. “My father has accepted the fact that I am going on this mission and my mom tends to avoid any conversation” he admits. “But they are happy to come up in the plane with me to fly around Niagara Falls.”

While Callum’s mission is indeed extraordinary, there is one other goal he feels is equally as important: ”I want to be able show other people that they too can take their passions and do good for others.” To find out more, please visit Callum’s website flightforhope.com.

MICHAEL BROOKE is a Toronto-based writer.

CartoonStock.com

spends significantly more time than most. “If I’m not selling real estate, I am at the Burlington airport.”

Callum relishes challenges and he soon found out about something called World Fight. This challenge is about solocircumnavigating the world in a small-single engine aircraft. By sheer coincidence, a neighbour and his partner had done it as a duo to raise money for Sick Kids Hospital in 2014. “As I heard about their adventures, I knew this was something I wanted to do.”

July/August 2022

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FUNDRAISING

A

re we thriving or merely surviving? New CPA Canada study examines the state of Canadians’ finances in today’s turbulent times, which may signal more difficulties for fundraisers drawing upon donations from the general public.

A recent survey conducted by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) indicates that many Canadians are treading water financially after more than two years of pandemic and economic turmoil. The Thriving or Surviving study uncovers the kitchen table issues that confront Canadians daily, revealing how the country is coping with concerns such as debt, savings, emergency funds and financial literacy.

Overall, roughly one-in-four Canadians (27 per cent) feel worse off financially than they did a year ago, meanwhile just over one-in-three (34 per cent) are optimistic that they’ll be better off financially a year from now. Money-related stress remains high, with almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of Canadians agreeing that they worry about money.

Debt is causing financial fright Almost half (49 per cent) of Canadians have debt and roughly two thirds (68 per cent) of those with debt are “concerned” about it. One-in-four Canadians have carried forward a credit card balance in the past year and a similar proportion (23 per cent) plan to do this over the next month. Other debt debacles include: More than half of Canadians (61 per cent) who have borrowed money to cover day-to-day expenses over the last two years have yet to pay it back.

Nearly half of Canadians (45 per cent) have borrowed some money over the past year. Of this group, 22 per cent have borrowed from banks and 18 per cent have borrowed from family.

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A whopping three-in-five of those who are under the age of 65 and have a mortgage or other debts don’t think it will be paid off by the time they turn 65.

“Being in debt is frightening and can make you feel like there’s no way out – but there is,” said Doretta Thompson, CPA Canada’s financial literacy leader. “If you are struggling financially, there’s no shame in asking for help and there are several free CPA Canada financial literacy resources and non-profit organizations that exist to help Canadians thrive financially.”

Canadians are on thin ice financially When it comes to emergency funds and savings, The Thriving or Surviving study found that Canadians are cutting it fine. Strikingly, half (50 per cent) of the country would not be able to come up with $2,500 in a pinch. Almost two in five (38 per cent) can’t come up with $1,000 and about one-in-four (26 per cent) can’t even come up with $500 during an emergency without borrowing or selling something. Additionally, only a little over half of Canadians (54 per cent) say they have an emergency fund stashed away.

Meanwhile, saving money was mentioned most often as a cause of financial stress for 47 per cent of Canadians; respondents cited they are saving 10 per cent of their aftertax income on average and as many as one third of Canadians are not saving anything after taxes.

Making the grade Despite walking a thin line financially, 78 per cent of Canadians graded themselves an ‘A’ ‘B’ or ‘C’ on their financial report cards and feel confident they have the knowledge and skills needed to make the right choices when it comes to saving, managing debt, investing and budgeting.

Here’s how the country nets out when

ISTOCK/ DMITRIY POPOFF

Are Donors About to Dwindle Even More? asked to assign themselves a letter grade based on their personal financial skills: ❯ Nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) end up in the middle ❯ 31 per cent mark themselves with a B and an equal number grade themselves aC ❯ Giving themselves top marks with an A is 16 per cent ❯ Just eight per cent admit they are failing (F grade) “There appears to be some disconnect within Canadians’ financial behaviours and how confident they feel about their financial skills and knowledge,” continued Thompson. “Most believe they have the knowledge to make the right decisions when it comes to personal finances, but some key indicators around the state of debt and savings point in a different direction.”

Individuals having trouble managing money can learn how to deal with debt and take control of their finances with expert knowledge in order to thrive and not just survive. CPA Canada offers many free tips and resources to help Canadians improve their understanding of money and make responsible financial decisions.

Its catalogue of financial literacy sessions is available online, including workshops and education materials for all life-stages. There is also a free e-book available to help people cope after job loss and get themselves back on track - Survive and Thrive: Move Ahead Financially After Losing Your Job. Survey Methodology These are the findings of an Ipsos survey conducted on behalf of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada. Fieldwork was conducted between March 24 and April 4, 2022.

A total of n=2,000 Canadians aged 18+ participated in the survey which was CONTINUED ON page 31 foundationmag.ca

TORONTO BUSINESS DISTRIBUTION November 2022

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We Please feel free welcome your feedback and your questions. to contact us with any questions General information or comments you have. about our program or volunteering: tagsinfo@anim n an ageless society, alguardian.org Telephone: we recognize and value and contribution nurture everyone's at every life stage.

We also are proud in 2005 under a NICE was of our grant from the Networks of Centresfounded initiative Canada Excellence — New HomeShare an Initiative Program. of intergenerational excellence, NICE Mobilizing research housing solution brings by the National the academic, private, together researchers and partners Initiative for the public and non-profi from Care of the Elderly t sectors.

(NICE). We work providers with Our Mission students to create to match older adult home mutually solutions. Find Improving care our more at www.canadah beneficial living for all, not just the elderly. Translating knowledge into omeshare.com action. Hear more.

N.I.C.E. is a not-for-profi help close the NICE’s main goals gap between evidence-base are to t charitable organization. donation will help actual practice, d research and Your NICE continue improve the training to produce practical evidence-base geriatric educational of existing practitioners, d informational tools curricula, and interest spectrum of issues addressing a wide in specializing in new students relating to aging. geriatric care, and www.nicenet.c changes for the effect positive a/donate policy care of older adults.

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Each Ad includes equivalent space for editorial opposite your Ad, for all the details go to http://foundationmag.ca/gtagivingguide/

Plus…

Our most important new initiative you can learn is TALK2NICE more about here: which www.nicenet.ca/talk2nice

National Initiati

NICE 246 Bloor Street West, Room 234, Donations of $25 or more will receive Toronto, ON M5S 1V4 a charitable tax www.nicenet.c receipt. a/tools

ve for the Care

NICE is an international network of researchers, practitioners, and students improving the dedicated to care of older Canada and adults, both abroad. in

of the Elderly

(NICE)

246 Bloor Street Toronto, Ontario West, Room 234 www.nicenet.c M5S 1V4, Canada a nicenetadmin @utoronto.ca 2021 GTA Giving

The Riverwood Conser vancy

T

he Riverwood Conservancy (TRC) is a member-based charity that provides volunteer and focused on environmental programs and education, conservation,services gardening, and horticulture. Founded Garden Council, today The Riverwoodin 1985 as the Mississauga like-minded groups Conservancy works and individuals with cultures, ages, and to enable people of all abilities to respectfully and learn about connect with nature the importance of protecting and the beauty of Riverwood. experiencing Our Vision: A community that lives in harmony Our Mission: The with nature.

Riverwood Conservancy provides programs is the charity that and urban nature preserve direction for Riverwood, a 150-acre situated on the in Mississauga, Ontario. Our mission shores of the Credit River cultures, ages, and is to abilities to respectfullyenable people of all and learn about connect with the importance of protecting, conservingnature restoring natural spaces and while also experiencing for the well-being of future the beauty of Riverwood’s generations With the support gardens. of donors and members of the community and the local business our work will continue volunteer and education community, to strengthen the youth and nature. connection between Please visit our website the history, activities and programs offeredto learn more about at our centre.

Chappell

Our members represent a broad spectrum disciplines and professions, of medicine, gerontological including geriatric nursing, gerontological social work, gerontology, rehabilitation sociology, psychology, policy, law and science, adults themselves older and their caregivers.

The best part about being a NICE member diverse network. is our is FREE! So join The second best? Membership today.

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n 1902, James Ross donated funds to build and equip much-needed hospital a Lakes. Five generations to care for people in the Kawartha later, with every continue to touch gift, our donors patients’ lives by needs that are not covered through supporting vital hospital Through their generous government funding. support for medical saving technology equipment, lifeand priority projects, Team provide 24/7 donors help the care, You can make a lasting and inspire brighter tomorrows. Ross impact on patient Ross is the heart care with a legacy of the gift. The care for our residents, community and ensures exceptional seasonal residents By naming the and regional Ross Memorial Hospital Foundation patients. you join generations in your Will, supports the entire of caring people in creating a legacy that community.

We are honoured are here to answer to be considered in your legacy plans and your questions. you want to play Let’s talk about the role in advancing health Kawartha Lakes.

How will you touch care for people in the the next generation?

Erin Coons, CFRE, CEO, RMH Foundation 705-328-6113 | ecoons@rmh.or g | www.rmh.org/ foundation

Guide

GUIDE

t’s been over 30 years since Kathy Asling old puppy on the street. She immediatelyfound an 8-weekpet owners in the possible link to called every Toronto and Durham the As an animal rescue in her local newspaper.pup’s owners and ran an advertisement Region area. group we know A reporter who to microchip pets.

Kathy to write how important saw the ad called a cover You cannot predict it is the future so we what will happen Although no owner story. always was ever located, make an appointment advise responsible pet owners in 200 calls to adopt she received almost to the for this quick and less) procedure. prospective adopters puppy. She instinctively screened painless 5 minute It’s better to be (or safe than sorry. expensive options decided on a home and conducted home visits.

With other Kathy out there, we also but had names owners decide know that many families she felt and numbers of not to proceed would several pet with because of the next day she visited provide a loving home to a price. That is why micro-chipping their pets dog. The the local shelter TAGS initiated microchip, saving by contacting the and started ‘match a cheap way to a good people who had called her looking making’ $90 and up). The revenue amount of money (instead of paying to adopt. goes toward a dogs & cats in need through The Animal good cause – helping Guardian Society.

How We Use Your Money 100% of your donations goes to helping program as we the animals in have our far is the veterinary no paid staff. TAGS’s largest expense bills. We want by are healthy, and to be sure that all our dogs sometimes this means expensive or surgeries that medications cost hundreds or even thousands In addition, all TAGS of dollars. and microchipped dogs are spayed or neutered, vaccinated prior to adoption. to receive some Identifying the donations of dog While TAGS is fortunate need for someone purchasing quality food, we also spend lives of good dogs to step up and dog save the money from being put care. Other expenses food to feed to our dogs to death, Kathy daughter created in foster and her the name The Animal include the production educational and (TAGS). In March Guardian Society of training, promotional material. of 1987 the first Durham Region To donate visit was formed. based rescue our website at www.animalgu see our donation Kathy set out to ardian.org or information meet with individuals https://www.canadahelps.o at Canada Helps guide her into who could mentor developing a program and rg/en/dn/134 integrity and ethics that 92 that would promote would operate with our community humane education and find homes to for Vision displaced Perhaps the most Statement animals. relationships with difficult task in the early days ❯ To sustain the was creating operation of our Animal Controls. a foreign word, program and continue to serve and the constant Rescue in those days was and protect the struggle to save from death and our animal community. citizens of animals research labs became be emotionally ❯ To never see a task that proved and any animal abused, that this was not physical draining. It soon became to abandoned or unwanted. left the job for one person. Kathy neededevident ❯ To continue Now 30 years later to provide medical help. and thousands homed, she has care and training animals in our yet to stop! Kathy of dogs successfully recare. to work closely with and her corps of ❯ To construct a shelter that will volunteers animal shelters, community to humane societies, provide safe housing for animals until improve the lives permanent homes of canine citizens. and the ❯ To ensure that Today, TAGS is a charitable non-profi our shelter offers are found. not receive any a centre for learning and education government funding. t organization and does to public donations We are entirely ❯ To see no animal our community. reliant for put to death in TAGS needs other funds. Other than monetary donations, on municipally run shelters because pet care items like they are overlooked beds and blankets, good quality dog of space. or due to lack leashes and collars, food, dog We also need other ❯ To encourage winter coats, dog those items toys, The Animal Guardian like building materials and services. etc. dedication to animalswho profess their love and Society’s microchip to take a stand a popular tradition, participate in the to educate and clinics have become offering inexpensive ❯ To see the day cause of rescue. microchip services when rescue will for 14 no longer be necessary, as all 2021 GTA Giving Guide animals will have safe, loving homes.

2021 GTA GIVING

Find your path to new major donors and sponsors. Get into the 2022 GTA Giving Guide and get your charity’s story and key mission statements, fundraising campaigns, major gift programs, sponsorship opportunities, accomplishments and donor stories into Toronto’s largest official guide to help major individual donors and corporate foundations find new ways to support your efforts. Reach more than 20,000 senior executives in marketing, finance and C-Suite leadership in the largest firms in the Toronto area. Headquarters of companies which allocate millions of dollars for donations, sponsorship, social programs, volunteering, governance, advice and insights. And whose leaders and proven individual donors.

House, 4300 Riverwood

905-279-5878 | foundationmag.ca foundationmag.ca

Park Lane,

Mississauga, ON, www.theriverwo L5C 2S7 odconservancy.o rg/donate/

Spending time in nature is essential for a child’s well being and But access to natural development. spaces can be limited for low-income, diverse and marginalized communities.

The Riverwood Conservancy’s Education Naturally program offers accessible nature connections for children and youth in Peel, helping to break down barriers and ensure nature is accessible for all members in our community.

Learn more and donate at theriverwoodco nservancy.org/n atureforkids Registered Charity

No: BN889418034RR0001

2021 GTA Giving

FOUNDING PARTNER

ASSOCIATION PARTNER

27

TORONTO’S CORPORATE PATHFINDER TO CHARITABLE INVESTMENT

For more information call Steve Lloyd, Greater Toronto Chapter

Guide

905-201-6600 x225 or steve.lloyd@lloydmedia.ca

HISTORIC PLAQUES Historic Plaques Which Honour Philanthropy

Van Egmond House, Egmondville, ON. | Huron East The historic Van Egmond House is now a museum, but wasn’t always so.

The house was built in 1846 by Constance Van Egmond, the eldest son of Colonel Anthony Van Egmond. Generations of Van Egmonds lived there until 1949, at which time the house was sold and changed into apartments, housing military quarters for the local base.

By 1970 the house fell into a state of disrepair and was destined for demolition. A local group stepped up and with the help of the Ontario Heritage Foundation bought the house and it became known as the Van Egmond Foundation.

After extensive renovations to restore it to as close to original as possible, it became a museum and was designated the prestigious “Blue Plaque” symbol. Today the executives of Van Egmond House host various functions to fund raise enough money to maintain the house to its current state. The group said it is always looking for executive members and volunteers.

Fundraising events consist of spring and summer breakfasts, Ciderfest in the fall, meat pie sales and a drive-through pickup roast beef dinner. The museum is open most weekends but private tours are also available with the curator by appointment.

The Van Egmond family had a long history in the town of Egmondville. Anthony and his son Constant Van Egmond were contracted, in 1830-1832, to widen 45.5 miles of the Huron Road. They were paid one-third of the contract value in currency and two-thirds in land audits. This made them the owners of 13,000 acres of land, and Huron’s largest land holders. Anthony Van Egmond’s participation in the Mackenzie uprising of 1837 led to his imprisonment and death. After his death, his land was sold to pay his debts.

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foundationmag.ca

HISTORIC PLAQUES

One Good Deed…

Just up the road from this historic house is a roadside fundraising effort by one of the local youngsters. This kind of selfless effort brings the world of philanthropy full circle, from a nearby historic foundation to perhaps a future leader of the area’s most generous citizens. We made our donation and enjoyed the warmth the wood fire brought us a few days later. A roadside attraction we won’t forget.

foundationmag.ca

July/August 2022

FOUNDATION Magazine

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Five Lives: What We Do

Each issue Foundation Magazine provides a mini-profile of five people whose work and commitment make Canada a more liveable country. We thank them for their service.

ISTOCK/ KATFLARE

RECOGNITION

Sylvia Braithwaite is the Director of Shelters and Women’s 24 Hour Drop-in Services at Fred Victor. She says it’s within this context that the homelessness support sector now works to manage the pandemic. She says factors such as lack of food and unbalanced diet, limited access to clean facilities and underlying health conditions, all greatly contribute to the vulnerability of over 9,000 homeless individuals across the city. “For people experiencing homelessness, there’s no option to stay at home and self-isolate. Your options are to sleep rough outdoors, or to enter a shelter with other people,” she said. “The unfortunate reality is the risk of exposure is heightened in places like shelters, drop-ins, and respites because there are more people in these spaces – though we understand how critical these services are for people who are experiencing homelessness and who have nowhere else to turn.” (courtesy of blogTO) Eric Richer is Director, National Search and Rescue Secretariat at Public Safety Canada. The number of people with dementia who go missing is steadily increasing across the country and delays in locating them can result in tragic outcomes.

Canada has one of the world’s largest and most difficult areas for search and rescue (SAR), conducted over varied and often austere terrain, in extreme weather and in areas with low population density. The SAR system draws on the resources and expertise of partners at all levels of government, Indigenous communities, volunteers and the private sector to respond to people who are lost, missing or in distress. Public Safety’s work is an important part the Government’s fundamental responsibility for the safety and security of its citizens.

Louie Porta is the Executive Director of Oceans North. With extensive experience living in, working in and exploring Arctic Canada, he oversees projects related to marine conservation, oil and gas, Arctic shipping, indigenous protected areas, coastal stewardship, and plastics. He was appointed to serve on Canada’s National Advisory Panel—charged with recommending how Canada can meet its international conservation obligations. Louie is also an adviser to the Students on Ice Foundation, is a senior associate for the International Institute for Sustainable Development, serves on the governing council of the Ocean Tracking Network and sits on the research oversight committee for Genome Canada’s investigation into oil spill countermeasures for the Arctic. His work includes the International Monarch Monitoring Blitz (July 29 to August 7) invites community scientists from across North America to come together with the shared goal of helping to protect and conserve the beloved and emblematic monarch butterfly. Data collected by volunteers each year support trinational efforts to better understand the monarch butterfly’s breeding productivity, range, and timing in North America.

Brooklyn Shewaybick, 12, is from Webequie First Nation, a fly-in only community in Northern Ontario. She is one of the recipients of DAREarts’ annual RISE 2022 Youth Leadership Awards. For the past 20 years youth from DAREarts, a not-for-profit that provides leadership development opportunities to children and youth in underserved communities, have been identified from programs across the country for creating positive change in their own lives and in their communities to be celebrated for their incredible contributions, commitment, and creativity. Brooke enjoys camping, singing and playing sports like hockey and basketball. Being a leader to Brooke means being a great example to her friends and to encourage them to make positive decisions in school, at home and in their community. DAREarts programming helped Brooke boost her self-esteem when she practiced dance and learned to perform a routine. She has shared that she is grateful for the opportunity to learn and become the best person she can be to create positive impact.

Tammy Suitor, Canadian Disaster Relief Manager for Smaratin’s Purse, says one of the tasks they will perform is ash sifting. Crews sift through the remains of a home, looking for anything the home owner may hold dear. “We’ve got 100 volunteers across Canada that work with us regularly. They would come in and they would lead the teams…that would sift through the ashes to help homeowners find things that may be left over from the fire,” said Suitor, noting last week in Lytton, a cookbook from the homeowner’s grandmother was found. “Lots of people think it was such an intense fire nothing will be left, but it’s amazing, fires burn very differently and so how things fall and how things come down, sometimes those things can be preserved,” she said. Samaritan’s Purse will be in the Okanagan until the end of the month, and possibly longer. Samaritan’s Purse is a Christian relief and development organization that takes its name from Jesus Christ’s biblical story of the Good Samaritan.

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foundationmag.ca

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