Foundation Magazine March/April 2022

FOUNDATION The Business & Spirit of Philanthropy in Canada March/April 2022 | Vol. 3 | No. 13

The Fur-Bearers: Power of Leadership

INSIDE: COURTESY JOHN E. MARRIOTT

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THE LEAD IN

The World Around Us

Invading Russian forces destroyed a museum in Ivankiv, a city northwest of the capital Kyiv, that was home to dozens of works by the Ukrainian folk artist Maria Prymachenko. This is titled A Dove Has Spread Her Wings and Asks for Peace (1982).

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Russian oligarchs have donated millions to U.S. charities, museums and universities, according to analysis from the AntiCorruption Data Collective. American philanthropies, museums and universities have accepted millions of dollars from tycoons aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including several who are the targets of Western sanctions.

As many as a dozen oligarchs landed in the crosshairs of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, with several more coming under scrutiny during President Donald Trump’s recent impeachment saga. These oligarchs’ financial activities in the United States, however, are by no means limited to politics or connections to political interference campaigns. Instead, they extend to a range of philanthropic activities, much of which has gone previously unreported.

As reported in the Washington Post, a new database compiled by the AntiCorruption Data Collective reveals that seven of these post-Soviet oligarchs connected to interference efforts have donated between $372 million and $435 million to more than 200 of the most prestigious non-profit institutions in the U.S. over the past two decades. Recipients include think tanks like the Brookings Institution and the Council on Foreign Relations, to world-renowned universities such as Harvard and the University of Southern California, to cultural icons such as the New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Beneficiaries have also been renowned institutions such as New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Mayo Clinic and the Guggenheim Museum. ACDC’s data demonstrates and documents how deeply money from Russian oligarchs has penetrated American society.

The findings are likely to amplify demands that U.S. cultural organizations disavow donors believed to have profited from the Putin regime. The analysis was produced by the Anti-Corruption Data Collective, a group of academics, data analysts and policy advocates working to expose transnational corruption.

The fall out was swift. For example, in New York, Carnegie Hall halted concerts by conductor Valery Gergiev and pianist Denis Matsuev and the Metropolitan Opera will not engage pro-Putin artists.

As the world condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the data could amplify demands for American institutions to disavow donors aligned with Putin.

The ACDC brings together leading journalists, data analysts, academics and policy advocates to expose transnational corruption flows and push for policy change using the advocacy reach of ACDC partners.

The Collective draws from experts and participating organizations with on-theground networks of local non-profit partners and journalists in more than 100 countries around the world. We leverage both data and expertise to target specific vehicles for hiding and laundering ill-gotten gains.

One wonders how Russian charities are going to navigate these realities. Their work and their benefactors may fall victim to the war in ways with no clear path to recovery. Sad all around for philanthropy across the planet.

March/April 2022

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CONTENTS

ON THE COVER

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March/April 2022 | Vol. 3 | No. 13 www.foundationmag.ca

Protection, Attention and the Healing Words of a Leader How The Fur-Bearers Maximize Their Voice

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 Michael Brooke Maryann Kerr Malcolm Burrows Mona-Lisa Prosper Mary Cahalane Kathleen A. Provost Lynn DeCaro Kristen Rouse Mark Halpern LLOYDMEDIA INC. HEAD OFFICE / SUBSCRIPTIONS / PRODUCTION:

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March/April 2022

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POSTMASTER: Please send all address changes and return all undeliverable copies to: Lloydmedia Inc. 302-137 Main Street North Markham ON L3P 1Y2 Canada

COURTESY JOHN E. MARRIOTT

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.

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CONTENTS

FUNDRAISING

18

COURTESY FUTURPRENEUR

16

Fundraising Appeals: Think Before You Act

DIVERSITY

18

Building Equity, One Program at a Time

WILDLIFE & ANIMAL WELFARE

28 29

33

Helping Wildlife Through Land Donations Vital Signs Bodes Well for All Life in Muskoka

3 THE LEAD IN 7 SEEN, HEARD & NOTED

33 ISTOCK/ TEAMOKTOPUS

41

COURTESY ELODIE GONCALVES

COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS

THE DONOR

36

New Ways to Help Ukraine

10

BEYOND 2022: WHAT NOW?

12

Wealth Management - Malcolm Burrows

Profile: Inspirational Philanthropy

Paul Goldstein – A Force of Nature

SMALL CHARITIES

41

COLUMNIST

8

Fundy Community Foundation Making Big Impact in Rural New Brunswick

How One Small Charity Rose During the Pandemic

HISTORIC PLAQUES

43

Jean Lumb | Jean Lumb Foundation

In Conversation with Bruce MacDonald Leadership - Kathleen Provost

MANAGEMENT

Eat your cake. And donate it too!

46

The Accidental Philanthropist - Mark Halpern

MARKETING & FUNDRAISING SARAH CHAMBERLIN will return next issue foundationmag.ca

Everything Comes Down to Relationships

Next Issue…

Coming in the May/June Issue...

Fundraising Day & CAGP Conference, Special Edition Reports March/April 2022

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SEEN, HEARD & NOTED

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FOUNDATION Magazine

“Scotiabank is proud to support this unique award since its launch in 2017. We have seen artists share and present deeply inspiring and creative works, not just on Canadian shores but internationally as well.

Scotiabank has a passion for

COURTESY NQPA

NGC in partnership with Scotiabank to support the careers of talented Canadian artists aged 35 and under working behind the camera, the New Generation Photography Award recognizes outstanding photographic images by three artists.

COURTESY NQPA

Winners of the 2022 New Generation Photography Award. Scotiabank and the National Gallery of Canada announced three winners of the 2022 New Generation Photography Award, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. Séamus Gallagher of Halifax, NS, Marisa Kriangwiwat Holmes of Vancouver, BC, and Clara Lacasse of Montreal, QC are this year’s winners.

Each of the three winners will receive $10,000. Some of their works will be on view at the Scotiabank CONTACT Photo Festival in Toronto, beginning May 1, 2022. A selection of their works will also be featured in an exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada in the fall of 2022. This exhibition is supported by the Scotiabank Photography Program at the NGC and the National Gallery of Canada Foundation.

Andrea Kunard, Senior Curator, Photographs, at the National Gallery of Canada and Chair of the NGPA jury, is curating both exhibitions.

The three artists will also be mentored by the NGC curatorial team.

The jury chaired by Andrea Kunard; and composed of Stephen Waddell, artist and past winner of the Scotiabank Photography Award (2019), Dainesha Nugent-Palache, artist and past winner of the New Generation Photography Award (2021), and artist Isabelle Hayeur, selected the winners from a long list that also included the following nine other lens-based artists: Jorian Charlton, Matt Horseman, Zainab Hussain, Tanea Hynes, Alvin Luong, Farihah Shah, Eve Tagny, Louie Villanueva and Shellie Zhang Launched in 2017 by the

“Congratulations to Séamus Gallagher, Marisa Kriangwiwat Holmes, and Clara Lacasse, winners of the 2022 Scotiabank New Generation Photography Award. We look forward to showcasing their work to the public at the Gallery this fall. For five years we have partnered with Scotiabank on this Award and program, and it is rewarding to see the impact this is having for Canada’s emerging generation of lens-based artists.” - Dr. Sasha Suda, Director and CEO, National Gallery of Canada.

March/April 2022

supporting the arts and we believe the Scotiabank New Generation Photography Award provides a critical and unique opportunity to help foster the successful careers of young artists.

Congratulations to the 2022 winners Séamus, Marisa and Clara. We look forward to seeing your work at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa this fall.”

- Laura Curtis Ferrera, Chief Marketing Officer, Scotiabank “The 2022 winners of the New Generation Photography Award explore the many challenges in contemporary

representations of identity, culture and the environment.

A common preoccupation is the protean nature of the photographic image — its capacity to reveal and conceal and find disparate sometimes contradictory applications.” - Andrea Kunard, Senior Curator, Photographs, at the NGC and Chair of the NGPA jury, is curating both exhibitions.

The Winners. Séamus Gallagher is a non-binary photo and new media artist currently based in Kjipuktuk (Halifax, Nova Scotia). They graduated from NSCAD University with a double major in Photography and Expanded Media (BFA 2019).

Their work has shown in festivals/exhibitions across Canada, as well as in Germany, England, Switzerland and Los Angeles.

They are the recipient of the 2017 AGO | AIMIA Photography Scholarship, the 2018 NSCAD Student Awards, and the 2019 BMO 1st Art! Awards. They were also recently longlisted for the 2019 and 2021 Scotiabank New Generation Photography Awards. Since 2019, Gallagher has worked in partnership with IOTA Institute.

Marisa Kriangwiwat Holmes studied photography at Emily Carr University but often works fondly with sculpture and music. Winner of the 2017 Philip B. Lind Emerging Artist Prize, Holmes has a solid exhibition record, which includes solo, public and group exhibitions. Her practice is the product of looking closely at, and being attentive to, the ways in which people create and foundationmag.ca

SEEN, HEARD & NOTED

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••••••••••••••••••• Ontario’s first new credit union in more than a decade will support philanthropy. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has approved Lighthouse Credit Union, the first new credit union in the province in over a decade. Lighthouse Credit Union will primarily serve the Greater Toronto Area’s diverse Jewish community and will offer residential mortgages and traditional financial services, while promoting and supporting community philanthropy and financial literacy. “This is an important development in Ontario’s credit union and caisses populaires sector.

New entrants are a sign that the sector is thriving and growing and is playing a meaningful role in serving the financial needs of over 1.7 million people across the province,” said Mehrdad Rastan, FSRA Executive Vice President, Credit Union and Insurance Prudential. “FSRA determined that the founders of Lighthouse presented a strong business case and demonstrated a need for these services within the community.”

••••••••••••••••••• $110M for the medicine of the future in Quebec - Thanks to the support of donors. The Montreal General Hospital Foundation (MGHF) completed its major fundraising campaign CODE LiFE: Vital Support for Vital Care. Launched in November 2018, this ambitious campaign exceeded all expectations by raising $10 million more than its original goal, for a total of $110 million. This achievement

is unprecedented in the history of the MGHF. “The impact of this campaign is being felt far beyond the walls of the Montreal General Hospital, as more than 40 frontline hospitals across the province of Quebec refer their patients there. From the

Judith Ménard, François-Xavier Seigneur, and Mark Smith.

The $110 million will support medical teams around five major themes: trauma, personalized cancer care, clinical innovation, brain health and healthy aging.

“Thanks to the success of the CODE LiFE campaign, all

CNW GROUP/MONTREAL GENERAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

share digital images. Her most recent works are photographs she has taken of objects in the style of second-hand selling/shopping overlaid with altered seating plans of concert halls and auditoriums in Hong Kong.

Clara Lacasse is inspired by the construction of narratives related to history, nature, science and the collective imagination. Through work focused on the photographic image, she supports a critical reflection on the representations generated by visual culture and on the image as an instrument of knowledge and power. She holds a BFA with a major in photography from Concordia University. In 2019, she participated in a researchcreation residency in Fermont as part of the programming of the artist-run centre PANACHE art actuel (SeptÎles) and was the recipient of a development grant awarded

by VU, centre de diffusion et de production de la photographie (Québec).

The National Gallery of Canada Foundation is dedicated to supporting the National Gallery of Canada in fulfilling its mandate. By fostering strong philanthropic partnerships, the Foundation provides the Gallery with the additional financial support required to lead Canada’s visual arts community locally, nationally and internationally.

The blend of public support and private philanthropy empowers the Gallery to preserve and interpret Canada’s visual arts heritage.

The Foundation welcomes present and deferred gifts for special projects and endowments.

Co-chairs of the CODE LiFE campaign (from left to right): David McAusland, Andrew Molson, France Chrétien Desmarais and André Desmarais.

bottom of my heart, I would like to thank all the donors and partners, as well as the Campaign Cabinet and the Foundation’s outstanding team, for their incredible support,” says Jean-Guy Gourdeau, President and CEO of the MGHF. To reach its goal, the Foundation relied on the leadership of a strong Campaign Cabinet, co-chaired

by André Desmarais, France Chrétien-Desmarais, David McAusland, and Andrew Molson. The Cabinet also included Kim Anderson, Grégory Charles, Jacques Chamberlain, Richard Cherney, Vincenzo Ciampi, Yvan Cournoyer, Brenda Gewurz, Gail Jarislowsky, March/April 2022

Quebecers and Canadians will benefit from the impact of medical research and clinical innovation made possible by the generosity of our donors,” adds JeanChristophe Bédos, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the MGHF. The Montreal General Hospital Foundation was established in 1973 and is now one of the largest foundations in Quebec, with assets of more than $200 million. The mission of the MGH Foundation is to provide vital support for vital care, not only within the MGH and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), but for the entire Quebec healthcare system.

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COLUMNIST

WEALTH MANAGEMENT MALCOLM BURROWS

New Ways to Help Ukraine

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Malcolm Burrows 8

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March/April 2022

GARY TANNYAN

BY MALCOLM BURROWS

he invasion of Ukraine by Russia has prompted many Canadians to ask, “how can I help?”. This war is different from previous international disasters and so is the response to it by ordinary caring citizens. New ways to help are shattering traditional charity norms.

This isn’t a “how to” article and it doesn’t recommend one organization over another. Instead, I want to reflect on how Canadians and other people of the world have stepped up. Two months into the conflict there has been a lot of giving and doing. These actions are changing the humanitarian landscape.

The war in Ukraine is different than past foundationmag.ca

COLUMNIST

Large, experienced NGOs are typically better at reaching vulnerable populations. humanitarian crises for three major reasons. First, it’s in Europe, and in a country with strong ties with Canada through immigration. Second, Eastern Europe is modern, middle income, and accessible. It’s the perfect setting for private aid. Third, established charities and NGOs are being pushed to go deeper.

Identification A war in Europe stirs up traumatic 20th century memories. The world wars were supposed to end war, and Europe was reshaped to ensure this happened.

Putin’s attack is so egregious that it has created a “just” war, complete with an action movie villain who wants to make his country great again. It’s a narrative that is pre-loaded.

There is especially strong identification with Ukraine in Canada. Approximately 1.4 million Canadians have Ukrainian heritage. The ties run deep, and it is easy to see previous conflicts and injustices in the current moment. In my neighbourhood in west Toronto, for example, the experience of 3.5 to 5 million Ukrainians dying of forced Stalinist starvation (the Holodomor) is an active source of trauma.

One of my humanitarian friends told me that Ukraine is such a bright light that it is casting other current humanitarian disasters — Yemen, Tigray, Myanmar, etc — into the shadows. That it’s a “white” war, and that resonates in the west. There is truth in this observation.

The depth of this connection is inspiring broad-based action.

Modern Ukraine; Modern Europe One of the first signs that this war was different was Google maps. It picked up a traffic jam on day-one, when a massive column of Russian armour produced a long red line on the road Kyiv. Ukraine is wired and connected. That means it is accessible and easier to provide aid in foundationmag.ca

new ways. Online shopping ways.

There are four million refugees who have left Ukraine, and, for the most part, they are being welcomed in the neighbouring states of Europe. Poland has been especially helpful in finding food and shelter, via government and voluntary efforts. Citizens are sharing their homes and businesses. Unlike other crises, there are few refugee camps or centres.

The vacation rental platform Airbnb is enabling hosts and donors to support housing for refugees. Compassionate Canadians have placed Walmart food and clothing orders for refugees and sent money to local businesses in Poland providing shelter. Gift and pre-paid credit cards are as useful there as they are here.

The crypto community has also jumped on board.

The number of volunteer groups in Canada is also impressive. They are collecting funds, clothes, and heavy equipment — and even stuffed animals and weapons. While money is the mostneeded commodity — supplies can be bought in Europe — the existence of a well-developed international air freight system means there is a lot of stuff being sent to eastern Europe that may just end up in landfill.

There are also reports of an influx of “disaster tourists”, most acting independently. These include volunteer organizing small-scale aid deliveries, medical clinics, and kitchens. There are would-be medics, packing bags of expired drugs and freelance soldiers looking for action.

Most of the help is being delivered in neighbouring countries and the western part of Ukraine that is less affected by the war. Some of the citizen aid will be effective. Other by-products — corruption, theft, human trafficking, virtuous competition — will do more harm than good.

Charities and NGOs The established humanitarian actors like Red Cross, Humanitarian Coalition (i.e.

Oxfam, CARE and others), MSF/Doctors without Borders and UN agencies have received hundred of millions of dollars in donations, but they are experiencing mandate and trust issues. Some were quick to start dedicated fundraising campaigns for the crisis, long before they had a clear response strategy. The ICRC, which is the humanitarian arm of the Red Cross, got caught in partisan crossfire for meeting with both the Russian and Ukrainian governments, which is consistent with their principle of neutrality.

As the conflict is accessible and the needs many, there have also been a lot of registered charities with no humanitarian experience jumping into the fray. The Canada-Ukraine Foundation is the largest organization with roots in the Ukrainian Canadian community, but not the only one. Smaller charities such as the CMAT/ Canadian Medical Assistance Teams, a medical mission organization, have also sent teams.

Large, experienced NGOs are typically better at reaching vulnerable populations.

They have operational plans, experienced staff, security protocols, and expertise.

Many of the citizen groups and small charities do not. Some, but not all the larger NGOs, are operating in the war zone. ICRC has attempted a mass evacuation of the Mariupol, an eastern city under extended siege. Informal citizen groups don’t have the capacity or resources to operate in the battlefield.

This is important differentiation point, and sobering reminder of the ugly nature of war.

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

March/April 2022

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COLUMNIST

LEADERSHIP KATHLEEN PROVOST

BEYOND 2022: WHAT NOW?

In Conversation with Bruce MacDonald

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BY KATHLEEN A. PROVOST, CFRE, MADED

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March/April 2022

s a professional fundraiser, I have come to wonder how the presence of a global pandemic over the last two years will shape my profession. In my last article, I talked about a “Great Awakening”, wondering what may come from what we learned from this world pandemic. What may have been learnt after weathering this storm? In my opinion, this “Great Awakening” means individuals are taking control of their professional, personal and philanthropic choices. If this is true, then, how will this shape the charitable sector going forward?

To look beyond 2022, and to help inform our outlook on the role we play in the midst of these shifts and uncertainties, I have decided to interview community leaders in our charitable sector. Join me on this journey as my next columns will each reflect segments of conversations, in an attempt to help us give consideration to what lies ahead. foundationmag.ca

COLUMNIST MY CHAT WITH BRUCE MACDONALD I have crossed path with numerous extraordinary individuals throughout my career; but as I wondered about what tomorrow may bring to this charitable sector, Bruce was the first name I thought of to have an honest conversation.

Bruce MacDonald is the President & CEO of Imagine Canada.

Bruce MacDonald is the President & CEO of Imagine Canada, a national organization created in 1981 and whose mission is to strengthen Canadian charities and nonprofits so they can better serve individuals and communities both here and around the world. Bruce was also appointed in 2019 as Co-Chair of the Permanent Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector working with the Canadian federal government. I have known Bruce for many years and wanted to hear what he had to say about some key considerations within our charitable sector following a global pandemic.

What challenges does our charitable sector have at the current moment?

Bruce was saying that when looking at the current operating environment in our sector, we may still be looking at a “bumpy period ahead”. He reminded me how government programs made available during the pandemic have had a significant impact on our sector. He referenced the “Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy” (CEWS) for example, which was stopped in October 2021 (given we had not yet experienced Omnicom).

It is estimated that about half of the organizations who applied for wage subsidies received it, and these programs supported upward of 55 percent of their staffing cost. Bruce reminded me that the longer the gap between this kind of support and the capacity for foundationmag.ca

organizations to resume any fundraising, or any revenue generating activities, the more pressure there will be on charitable organizations. These pressures will necessarily affect employment trends in our charitable sector.

We also talked about the rising costs of “doing business” due to inflation, and how inflation affects us all. Given the nature of our sector, Bruce said we are faced with two key obstacles: first, our sector cannot pass along any increased costs to its constituents; and secondly, many of us work in a fix revenue environment. That is, we have multi-year signed agreements, sponsorships or pledges that will not be adjusted to inflation.

How will the charitable sector, as we know it, change in the years ahead?

Throughout his outreach to his members during the pandemic, Bruce did witness examples of organizations “pivoting” or “adapting” to maintain their activities.

The counselling sector was a great example that illustrated to Bruce the benefits of hybrid services. These counselling services may now continue to offer both virtual consultations and in-person consultations because the virtual experience had proven at times to be more effective — hence, a re-design.

We also talked about how professionals who steward donors had found creative ways to outreach to these donors. A number of professionals and donors now express that they have found an easiness to having meaningful conversations, because they have learnt how to be comfortable in this new virtual world.

Additionally, we both observed how charitable organizations of all sizes had developed the ability to tell stories differently — through digital storytelling and via social media.

Bruce did share that in some of his latest media interviews, the topic of the day was crowdfunding, citing for example the Ottawa Freedom Convoy, or some recent Ukraine relief efforts. He reminded me that individual or family recipients of crowdfunding are not accountable to report to their donors how they spend the funds they raise. With consideration

to accountability: the very rules and regulations registered charities are required to follow may present charitable organizations as a more “trustworthy” option for donors. Both Bruce and I were wondering if this may be an opportunity for registered charities to further demonstrate accountability, trust, and impact.

What is the role of rules and regulations for the charitable sector?

Because Imagine Canada is a national organization working to bolster the Canadian charitable sector’s role in building, enriching and defining our nation, with a vision of a stronger Canada where charities work together alongside business and government to build vibrant and prosperous communities; Bruce and I talked about regulations concerning our sector. The Disbursement Quota, for example, is a regulatory area the federal government is attempting to simplify; but, realized through this attempt that it was a far more complex issue than originally expected.

The range of data and sector related information needed to simplify these regulations come from a wide spectrum of stakeholders. Amendments to any regulatory items would lead to numerous social impacts. Bruce was telling me the federal government, in the example of the Disbursement Quota, struggled to have an agreed upon data starting point upon which to base its decisions. This would suggest the necessity to create a department or ministry within the federal government to coordinate and coherently assemble information from all stakeholders to help inform policy and have positive impacts in the charitable sector. Bruce did mention that provinces like Newfoundland and British Columbia are already forming departments to help advice governments on key provincial charitable sector issues.

What values are emerging from this post-pandemic moment?

There is a shift of expectations around the inherent power imbalance between

March/April 2022

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COLUMNIST

THE ACCIDENTAL PHILANTHROPIST MARK HALPERN

Eat your cake.

And donate it too!

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BY MARK HALPERN, CFP, TEP, MFA-P

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here are many ways to mix and match insurance products to meet your financial planning needs. Today, I’d like to introduce you to one that lets you enjoy relatively high levels of guaranteed income for life and leave a meaningful bequest to your favourite charity.

Here’s how it works. You use non-registered funds (outside RRSPs, RRIFs and TFSAs) to purchase an Annuity that pays regular income for life. At the same time, you buy permanent Life Insurance to match the purchase amount of the Annuity and transfer ownership of the policy to a registered charity of your choice, including your own Private Foundation or a Donor Advised Fund (DAF). That way, every premium payment made on the Life Insurance is tax-deductible because it’s a donation to the charity — which has the effect of reducing your annual tax bill. foundationmag.ca

ISTOCK/ ANNA FRANK

COLUMNIST

An Insured Charitable Annuity is an excellent way to maximize your charitable legacy

For as long as you live, you receive guaranteed income (a mix of mostly principal and interest) from the Annuity.

The Annuity used is a prescribed Annuity that has very favourable tax treatment that is levelized for the life of the Annuity.

Think of it like your very own pension plan. You don’t have to worry about market volatility or changing interest rates. You don’t have to decide where to allocate that portion of your portfolio when investments mature. You can just have confidence that a predictable stream of income will continue for life.

You’ve also locked in a charitable legacy.

Assuming you keep making the scheduled payments on the Life Insurance (which you fund from the Annuity income), the charity will receive the tax-free, lump-sum proceeds of the policy after your death.

They can use that money to further their mission in a meaningful way. Or if it’s owned by your own private foundation or DAF, your children and grandchildren can continue to give in perpetuity to the causes you care about. All of this is made possible by your generosity and the smart foundationmag.ca

use of tax and donations that is fully endorsed by the tax department.

A strategy with a long history We have been marrying the benefits of Annuities and Life Insurance in a similar fashion for decades. Twenty years ago, the usual strategy was to use the Annuity to provide guaranteed income for life and the Life Insurance to provide an inheritance for the family. It was called

AGE

an “Insured Annuity” or a “Back-to-Back”.

It’s a way of getting around the primary downside of an Annuity, which is that nothing is left of it after death. In 2022 it is an excellent strategy for Canadians age 65 or older who are paying taxes in highest tax bracket.

But now if you have other assets to leave to family, this Insured Charitable Annuity is an excellent way to maximize your charitable legacy, while benefiting

MALE SINGLE % FEMALE SINGLE %

MARRIED COUPLE %

50

6.56

6.37

6.02

55

7.17

6.93

6.44

60

7.72

7.39

7.07

65

8.2

7.96

7.7

70

9.38

8.76

8.36

75

9.92

9.67

9.39

80

7.79

9.41

10.32

Assumes: $1 million Annuity, Healthy, non-smokers, paying tax at the highest rates in Ontario, and can utilise the full value of the donation tax receipts. Rates subject to change daily.

Prepared using rates available in March and April 2022.

March/April 2022

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COLUMNIST from charitable tax deductions on your insurance premium payments throughout your life. It really is about “having your cake and donating it too!”

For us, this strategy came about for the first time about 15 years ago for a client interested in generating income from his non-registered savings. He didn’t have family but wanted to leave a bequest to a charitable organization.

When we looked at the strategy for that client, the after-tax income generated was the equivalent of about double what market GIC rates were at the time, so it gave him a good return on their money.

They also knew that when they passed away the original principal amount would go to charity. When I look at that today, with regards to the charitable giving tax credits available and where our tax rates are and where GIC rates are for fixedincome investments, this thing really shines for the right people.

Without the charitable giving element (and accompanying tax credits), Annuity rates are right around GIC rates these days. The reason this strategy stands out is that the tax credit on charitable donations (made via premium payments) is worth between 46.41 percent and 50.41 percent, depending on your tax bracket.

We use a rule of thumb that for every $2 you give to charity; you can save $1 of tax.

Suddenly, the income this is producing when you factor in the tax savings is like it used to be in the old days. When we calculate the equivalent rate of return that we would need on a GIC or other fixed-income, when we ‘gross-up’ the net return to achieve a pre-tax equivalent return, we’re getting numbers like 7 percent to 10 percent!

We ran several different scenarios for illustration purposes and measured the income generated. A 70-year-old nonsmoker male could generate the pre-tax equivalent interest rate of 9.38 percent annually from a $1 million Annuity. That return is guaranteed for life. Using the same strategy, a married couple, both age 80 and non-smokers, could generate return of 10.32 percent. That’s a great rate — well above market rates — with iron-clad security. foundationmag.ca

To sum up, if you’re looking for a strategy to get a good return on your money, and at the same time make a lasting difference to a cause or organization that you want to support, it’s a good strategy to consider.

Is it right for you?

This strategy works best for people in their 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Whether it’s the right approach for you depends on several important factors. ❯ Your age and health status ❯ Your eligibility for Life Insurance ❯ Your taxable income and marginal tax rate ❯ Your non-registered savings and whether there is an amount you don’t need to access during your lifetime, except to generate income ❯ Your wishes when it comes to the size of the legacy you want to leave to charity Keep in mind that you can leverage existing insurance to implement this strategy. For example, if you already have a permanent Life Insurance policy in place, you can assign it to a charity and continue to make premium payments that will become tax-deductible. Also, if you’re in your 50s and thinking of implementing this strategy in the future, it may make sense to ensure you have sufficient term insurance while you’re younger and healthier — just make sure you choose a policy that can be converted to permanent insurance later on.

Especially when using an existing insurance policy to implement this strategy, but really in all cases, we’ll obtain tax advice to make sure we have considered every potential tax impact on your personal situation.

And remember that your term Life Insurance, which will increase in cost and eventually expire, can be converted fully or partially into a permanent Life Insurance policy with no medical underwriting required. So don’t cancel your term policy before you speak with us.

Make the time to explore how you can best realize your charitable objectives, while ensuring you also meet every other financial planning goal.

The “eat your cake and donate it too” strategy in four steps Step 1: Apply for permanent Life Insurance and assess the premium cost.

Step 2: Get quotes for annuities and assess the income offered.

Step 3: If everything is satisfactory, accept the insurance policy, assign it to the charity of your choice after confirming it will accept this type of donation, and then pay the first insurance premium, which will result in a charitable donation tax credit.

Step 4: Purchase the Annuity and (if you wish) set up automatic premium payments from the bank account into which your Annuity income is deposited.

Don’t do this alone. We look forward to helping you maximize your philanthropic footprint. There are many great ways to help reduce taxes now and, in the future, but putting them together requires comprehensive estate planning and knowledgeable people. Proper planning will ensure you are not only on the right side of CRA, but also for your plans to work effectively.

Our advisors across Canada are available to help you preserve your hardearned money with a meeting on the phone, Skype or through Zoom.

MARK HALPERN, CFP, TEP, MFA-P, is a well-known 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. Watch his talk “The New Philanthropy” at bit.ly/MarkHalpernTalk. Learn more at www.wealthinsurance.com. Mark writes this column exclusively for each issue of Foundation Magazine

March/April 2022

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FUNDRAISING

Fundraising Appeals: Think Before You Act

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BY MARY CAHALANE

ISTOCK/ DEAGREEZ

o you’re ready to write a fundraising appeal. Now what?

Before you even begin to write your appeal, there are some things you should think about. What’s the ONE thing you’ll ask a reader to do?

Too often, we use a fundraising appeal as a catch-all for everything we want to tell people. This is an even more perilous problem if you don’t communicate often.

Suddenly, there are All The Things you want to say! And so much you want people to do!

But no matter how we try, we’re not really built for multitasking — or at least multi-tasking of this kind. If you want people to act, keep it clear and simple. Ask for one thing: an urgent gift, a monthly commitment, attendance at an event, consideration of a bequest.

Keeping the focus on that one thing gives it the weight you want it to have.

Who is the ONE person who will be writing the fundraising appeal?

No communication from more than one person is really personal. (Unless, maybe, it’s your grandma and grandpa.)

So pick someone. Preferably someone the donor knows — or thinks she knows. A sense of personal connection matters.

You also want someone with importance. Maybe it’s someone telling their own story — who could be more important to that story? Or maybe it’s someone in your organization who has a strong public identity. Match the writer to the readers as much as possible.

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What is THE most important thing you want to say?

This goes with the ask you choose, of course. But once you know what you’ll be asking for, hone your message so that you focus on the why of your ask. foundationmag.ca

FUNDRAISING If you want someone to send an urgent gift today, don’t spend time telling them about all your organization’s good work. Focus on the problem you’re asking them to fix, NOW. You don’t need to send your organization’s resume. You want to make the problem real and clear, tell them how they can solve it with a gift, then tell them how to make that gift. You can encourage more gifts simply by keeping it, well, simple.

Is it getting crowded in here?

Giving is a personal act. And you want to act one person (at a time) to act on your request.

Have you ever been in a group where someone asks for a volunteer? That old bit where everyone steps back, leaving one person who has to volunteer? The truth is, so long as someone else might be taking care of a problem, your donor has an out.

It’s not rational to give away your money. So you need to feel, well, needed, if you’re going to give.

Resist the urge to write an out into your ask. Here’s what I mean: If you give to Wonderful Organization today, we can help find emergency housing for people who are out in the cold now.

The out hiding in there? You’ve just made your organization the actor, not the donor. Give us money and we’ll take care of it. That’s not nearly so persuasive as “someone is out in the cold

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tonight. But you can change that with a gift.”

See what I mean?

Empowered donors act. You can make them feel capable of doing something great.

Cut out the middle man You want donors to feel they can trust you. Trust that you can and will do what you promise. So review your language — it is full of hedges? Are you “striving to” do something? Or “working to” to do something? Or are you actually DOING SOMETHING? Those hedges may make you and your colleagues more comfortable. They take off some of the heat. “Well, we’re TRYING!” But donors are looking for ways to accomplish something good. They’ll be understanding — to a point — if you aren’t immediately successful. Or if circumstances are even worse than you expected. But you need to be honest with them, too.

If your mission says you feed people, then feed people. And ask people to fund that. As Yoda said, “Do. Or do not. There is no try.”

Focus is your friend: Think about these things and your appeal will be stronger. And a stronger appeal will raise more money.

MARY CAHALANE is a fundraising specialist.

March/April 2022

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Building Equity, One Program at a Time

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Mona-Lisa Prosper is the Director, Black Entrepreneurs at Futurpreneur.

BY MONA-LISA PROSPER

o be truly inclusive, you must be intentional about it.

Diversity is a fact, but inclusion is a choice! Marginalized communities are said to be those excluded from mainstream social, economic, educational, and/ or cultural life and that exclusion has been entrenched in our society for quite some time. I am a Black woman, proud daughter of Haitian immigrant parents, born and raised in Montréal and because I was taught to love and celebrate my roots, I always made it a point to stay active in uplifting my community.

Evolving in what I qualify as being an “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Bubble”, I often forget that an entire world exists outside of that bubble, and in that world, the case study for inclusion still needs to be made. In that world, many are still adamant about the fact that specific programming for BIPOC communities is reverse racism, many still qualify themselves as being “colour-blind” and think that in 2022, “things have changed”. Interestingly enough, these same individuals would struggle, if not fail, to come up with a list of just five BIPOC entrepreneurs or professionals and they would likely blame it on the false and frustrating assumption that opportunities are equally accessible to all but are just not seized

by BIPOC individuals.

As Peter Drucker said, “What gets measured gets managed”, and the past year has served us with statistics that can no longer allow for disparities to be ignored. We finally have data about Black entrepreneurship in Canada. Seeing these numbers was 18

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somewhat validating and made me feel heard! A study by the African Canadian Senate Group & Senator Colin Deacon found that 76 percent of Black entrepreneurs surveyed said their race makes it harder to succeed as an entrepreneur. Similarly, another study by the Black Business and Professional Association in Canada found that 78.5 percent of Black women entrepreneurs agreed or strongly agreed that access to financing was an issue, and a staggering number of 81.4 percent used only personal financing to launch their business.

We finally have proof about what I, and many others before me, have been screaming at the top of our lungs for years. Like most people in the Black communities, I was not surprised by any of it, and as the director of Futurpreneur’s Black Entrepreneur Startup Program, I felt like I was handed a very powerful tool to help continue building awareness for the program. Futurpreneur has always helped a very diverse set of young entrepreneurs launch successful businesses.

Back in 2015, way before joining the organization, I remember being impressed that a Black woman operating a natural hair salon had been funded by them. The natural hair movement in Black communities is a very important and powerful movement about breaking down the internalized desire to conform to the conventional western beauty standards, reclaiming our identity and embracing our natural afro-textured hair. At that time, not many people outside of our communities were familiar with the movement nor understood its depth. foundationmag.ca

COURTESY FUTURPRENEUR

DIVERSITY

DIVERSITY For such a business model to receive funding meant that the organization not only understood the importance of the movement, but also saw financial value in it. This goes to show that Futurpreneur could easily have settled for the numerous BIPOC entrepreneurs funded to show its contribution to a diverse, inclusive, and representative Canadian Startup ecosystem but thankfully, the organization chose to go deeper.

It starts with understanding why Black or other marginalized communities targeted have been underrepresented, what specific barriers they face and taking the time to see what that looks like within the organization’s process. Designing a program without taking these steps fails to recognize the real issues. More often than not, these segments of the population are not intentionally excluded, but the exclusion is created by the systems in place, and that is what needs to be deconstructed. To be truly inclusive, you must be intentional, and I like to question that intention whenever I come across an announcement of a new diversity program. In addition to recognizing the barriers and addressing them, it is also essential to understand why the organization decided to develop such an offer and how they aim to truly make a difference.

What does diversity look like in that organization’s workforce?

Who is designing and delivering the program? Are BIPOC voices involved in the process and properly represented? Leaders with

lived experience must be an integral part of the process and occupy positions of impact. Specific programming for Black entrepreneurs, and for marginalized communities in general, is an absolute must, and these programs must be well thought-out and executed. It is how we will get to truly level the playing field one day and build equitable entrepreneurship opportunities in Canada.

I will conclude by saying that even if I consider specific programming essential, I firmly believe that we can all play a role in building a more inclusive society. It is the sum of all the efforts, big and small, that will create the impact we need.

Whether you are a student, a young professional, the leader of an organization or just an engaged member of the community, you are all part of the solution. Recognize and understand your biases, educate yourself, stay open-minded, never stop questioning and act! What step will you take towards building a more inclusive society?

MONA-LISA PROSPER is the Director, Black Entrepreneurs at Futurpreneur. Futurpreneur has been fueling the entrepreneurial passions of Canada’s young enterprise for two decades. We are the only national, non-profit organization that provides financing, mentoring and support tools to aspiring business owners aged 18-39. Our internationally recognized mentoring program hand matches young entrepreneurs with a business expert from a network of more than 2,400 volunteer mentors.

We Create Accidental Philanthropists™

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March/April 2022

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KICKER

Protection, Attention

and the Healing Words of a Leader

PHOTOS COURTESY THE FUR-BEARERS

How The Fur-Bearers Maximize Their Voice

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WILDLIFE & ANIMAL WELFARE

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BY MICHAEL BROOKE

n 2023, The Fur-Bearers will celebrate their 70th anniversary. Since 1953, the nonprofit has been dedicated to advocating and protection for all fur bearing animals in Canada. This includes badgers, bears, beavers, foxes and coyotes. As Lesley Fox, their Executive Director explains, “It is an honour to be a steward of this incredible organization.

I view my being here as something truly sacred.” Lesley along with her team, work with grandchildren of the original donors.

From a small office in Vancouver, The Fur-Bearers garnered a huge amount of media attention.

Lesley admits her organization is small, but with this comes the benefit of personalization and really connecting with their donors and supporters. “I can’t stand form letters” she quips, noting that “very often you’ll find me hand writing thank you cards.” Lesley tells me she keeps a collection of beautiful cards that she chooses for specific donors. “When I first took on this job, I decided that I never wanted anyone to feel like an ATM.” She concedes there is a lot of pressure on the non-profits to fundraise but her goal is to foster relationships. “If you do good work and if you treat people well — staff, donors and supporters, people are happy to invest in you.”

When I first approached The Fur-Bearers, it was to set up a get-to-know you session and set a date for an actual formal interview. But Lesley’s enthusiasm and passion was so evident that I hit record on the Zoom call and just listened intently. “I love what I do” says Lesley and her energy is so infectious that we went from what I thought might be a 15 minute call to a fullblown interview.

Lesley’s background is in marketing, non-profit management and communications and as she notes, “I can do the corporate thing.” She points to the Pandemic along with the general feeling of the world being a bit out of sorts as reasons why people are craving connection and meaning in their lives. “My job is to be a matchmaker.” Lesley explained that she sees her role as someone Clockwise: In 1990, George Clements demonstrated against Miss USA pageant use of fur coats.

The European Parliament debated the use of foothold traps in the early 1990’s.

Fur-Bearer volunteers in the 1970’s.

Outside their Vancouver offices circa 1975.

Longtime directors, George and Bunty Clements holding a new bumper sticker in 1985. foundationmag.ca

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PHOTOS COURTESY THE FUR-BEARERS

WILDLIFE & ANIMAL WELFARE

Lesley Fox, Executive Director, The Fur-Bearers.

Celebrating a critical victory over Revenue Canada in 2021.

Lesley Fox being interviewed by the media outside the Supreme Court.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re working to help other people, the environment or animals — any kind of injustice, the work is so important because the world is facing some very dire problems.”

who will connect people to things they care about in order to make an impact.

The Fur-Bearers, through their grass roots organization and ingenuity have indeed made some incredible things happen. For example, in 2021, the government of British Columbia officially banned mink farming. It took seven years for this law to be enacted, but the Fur-Bearers worked tirelessly with government agencies, the public and the media to push for change.

One of Lesley’s key points about working in the charity/ non-profit section is that the work is so vital in society. “It is a big deal and so relevant in this crazy world. It doesn’t matter if you’re working to help other people, the environment or animals — any kind of injustice, the work is so important because the world is facing some very dire problems.”

By their very nature, fur bearing animals are objects of both awe and fascination for humans. We marvel at how cute or cuddly a fox looks and stare in amazement at the power of a bear.

Animals have an exceptional ability to really open up our hearts and stir our souls. The Fur-Bearers tap into these emotions and feelings to have their supporters make meaningful change.

For Lesley and her organization, the way humans treat animals is of supreme importance. Beyond this is the recognition that it 22

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falls to NGOs to be the changemakers and not necessarily the government. She acknowledges that sometimes it’s the smaller, less well-known charities that can sometimes make the biggest impact. With a yearly budget of less than $500,000, the FurBearers definitely punch well above their weight.

When I asked Lesley how the Fur-Bearers were able to accomplish so much, she first mentioned the fact that she has a great team. “We have a bit of secret weapon in Michael Howie — he’s a former journalist. We also happen to be extremely responsive and can get our message out quickly to the appropriate audiences. We know how to speak to the heart of an issue and the media tend to pick up on our stories.” Lesley also explained that the Fur-Bearers are also very mindful of media. “We are small, swift and scrappy. We don’t have big advertising budgets so we work on a number of platforms to get our messages out there.” foundationmag.ca

COURTESY WE ANIMALS MEDIA

COURTESY WE ANIMALS MEDIA

PHOTOS COURTESY THE FUR-BEARERS

WILDLIFE & ANIMAL WELFARE

Back in 1999, Revenue Canada annulled the Fur-Bearers charity status because they believed they were spending more than the allowed 10 percent of their revenue on advocacy campaigns. They spent years fighting this and in 2021, the Supreme Court ruled in their favour.

Lesley credits a number of crucial relationships and partnerships they have with different non-profits as part of their success. “Change doesn’t happen in isolation or a vacuum. If we want to make meaningful, social change it really is all about diversity. For so long, where NGOs get it wrong is they stay in their own lane. After a while you realize there is a limit to the number of people you can reach with your specific message. When working with First Nations, things become very interesting. It is still an animal issue, but it is now viewed with an indigenous lens.”

Lesley explains that the Fur-Bearers have also worked with an infectious disease specialist, allowing them to discuss animals but again with a different viewpoint. “Animal issues are people issues that are environmental issues. It’s all the same the thing, but once in a while you need help to facilitate your message.” The network and alliances create a spectrum of knowledge that helps politicians and the general public. It captures their attention and brings them into the conversation that they normally wouldn’t have participated in.

She points to the work the Fur-Bearers did to ban mink farming as an example of a truly integrated campaign that worked with a number of different charities and communities. “We pulled out all the stops. We worked with the SPCA, Indigenous peoples, infectious disease specialists, veterinarians and the David foundationmag.ca

Suzuki Foundation. Everybody cared about the same thing and asked the most basic question: why are we still farming mink?”

The messages resonated with people because they hit a number of different areas. As Lesley explains, “mink farming was bad for the environment, animal welfare is a concern, it’s not consistent with Indigenous values and there are serious disease issues.” The passion from all these different people created a very compelling story that no politician could ignore and eventually, the laws were changed.

With so many things to worry about in this world, Lesley admits it can be easy to ignore animals. “The challenge for us as an organization is to make people understand that animal issues are in fact human issues which means they are environmental issues. We see our role as both a bridge to those who are stuck in silos and as catalysts for change.”

As the Fur-Bearers enter their seventh decade, they have also had to deal with an extremely difficult financial challenge that spanned over two decades. Back in 1999, Revenue Canada (now Canada Revenue Agency) annulled their charity status because they believed the Furbearers were spending more than the allowed 10 percent of their revenue on advocacy campaigns.

As you can imagine, the loss of this status was an enormous problem, as it prevented the group from issuing tax receipts CONTINUED ON page 26 March/April 2022

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to their donors and limited their ability to apply for grants.

However, due to a court ruling, the arbitrary limits on advocacy were lifted in 2021 and made them eligible once again for charitable status.

I was interested in learning what have been some of the most important ideas that the Fur-Bearers have done to engage audiences.

“We know how to speak to the heart of an issue and the media tend to pick up on our stories.”

“We are constantly tweaking and we have tons of analytics” explains Lesley. “We are quite sophisticated on the back end but what I think is very critical is that we are open minded and we’ve welcomed new voices and ways to spread our message. We’ve shared our platform with other experts.”

Authenticity is a key part of the Fur-Bearers persona and 26

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COURTESY JOHN E. MARRIOTT

COURTESY JOHN E. MARRIOTT

WILDLIFE & ANIMAL WELFARE

being real with people is one of the organization’s cornerstones.

Lesley is a big believer in using simple language. “I get really turned off by jargon and form letters. We are very mindful of the use of graphic imagery.” She points to the fact that when it comes to advocating for animal rights, the Fur-Bearers are very selective where and when they share disturbing photos or videos. “Context matters and I have very strong opinions about groups that drop the shock value imagery.”

“When people go through a Facebook feed, and go from a photo of someone’s dinner to a decapitated animal, it is a feeling of being hijacked emotionally.” Lesley says sometimes this is done intentionally to shock people to gain their attention in the hopes they’ll fill out a petition or make a donation. “The concern I have is partly the intention — is it a manipulation, a tactic or a tool? What is the context? Anytime you share an image, no matter if it is of a person or an animal, there is a duty and obligation to present context. It’s not enough just to dump it out there because you’re pissed and you want to upset someone else.”

As Lesley explained, it’s not fair to hijack the public with graphic imagery. “It’s not fair and it doesn’t create change. Sometimes I’ll see images that are very misleading (i.e. from decades ago or now banned practices) and I understand people’s reasoning for doing this, but for me it creates a credibility issue.” Lesley is quick to point out that this content isn’t really necessary and it is imperative to be honest and transparent with the public. “We foundationmag.ca

PHOTOS COURTESY THE FUR-BEARERS

WILDLIFE & ANIMAL WELFARE

The Fur-Bearers describe their organization as small, swift and scrappy.

Volunteers spend countless hours educating the public on the use of fur traps and advocating for the humane treatment of animals.

“We see our role as both a bridge to those who are stuck in silos and as catalysts for change.” don’t need to traumatize people to make a point.”

Lesley also made a very salient point about the fact that when it comes to sharing photos of abused animals on social media, many people don’t think twice. But as a society, we would never encourage this kind of act if they were children or women.

The Fur-Bearers might wade into some very difficult areas, but it’s not all doom and gloom. “We go out of our way to find good news and try to find the balance. You can find yourself immersed in a constant barrage of horrible news, so we try to temper some of this by showcasing success stories” says Lesley.

The Fur-Bearers encourage people to learn about animals and understand their environment.

“There are a lot of stereotypes when it comes to certain animals — the wolf comes to mind, for example. As you can imagine, it can be quite difficult to argue for the rights of coyotes if there have been reports of them attacking neighbourhood dogs. We are aware that many people might have had negative experiences with wildlife.” foundationmag.ca

Lesley says that she is very aware of the impact of the Fur Bearer’s advocacy. “I know that some of these fur farms are family run and are multi-generational. It can be difficult to navigate these waters and I am concerned about how our work can negatively impact the work of others. I know that as an animal person, I can be portrayed as being some kind of radical lunatic, but it’s not true.” She acknowledges the mink farming community did not respond well to the ban but feels that now it is up to the government to encourage a new path for the fur farmers and support during this transition is critical.

“What made the mink farming situation a bit tricky was that for many years, it wasn’t a viable industry. There are a lot of reasons for this, but the writing was on the wall and most people in society have moved on from fur — in the same way we’ve moved on from typewriters. Technology makes things redundant and obsolete. The fur industry will implode on itself, regardless of what we are doing.”

As Lesley so eloquently put it, “Advocacy is going to make some people feel uncomfortable.”

MICHAEL BROOKE is a Toronto-based freelance writer and founder of Time For My Story, a service helping individuals document their legacy in the form of a professional memoir.

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STEVE LLOYD

WILDLIFE & ANIMAL WELFARE

Helping Wildlife Though Land Donations

M STAFF

ore than 1,600 ecological gifts have been donated across Canada, protecting more than 213,000 hectares of wildlife habitat, including for many species at risk.

The $1-billion milestone was reached with the most recent project in Frontenac County, Ontario, thanks in part to two generous neighbours who donated adjacent parcels of land to the Land Conservancy for Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington, resulting in the creation of a 171-hectare nature reserve in southern Ontario.

The nature reserve protects remarkably diverse habitats that include mixed-age coniferous/deciduous forests, thin-soiled grassy ridgetops, rock outcrops and small cliffs, and a wide-array of wetlands including fens, marshes, swamps, vernal pools, a large creek, and two large ponds.

To date, 965 unique species have been identified within the nature reserve, including multiple species at risk such as Midland Painted Turtle, Snapping Turtle, Blanding’s Turtle, Eastern Wood Pewee, Five-lined Skink and Monarch.

For over twenty-five years, the Ecological Gifts Program has provided a way for Canadians with ecologically sensitive land to protect nature and leave a legacy for future generations. Many of these ecological gifts contain areas of national or provincial significance, rich in biodiversity, and home to some of 28

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Canada’s iconic species at risk.

Donations range from family land legacies to corporations in British Columbia donating covenants on forested land in the Gulf Islands and Atlantic communities pulling together to preserve treasured coastal habitat. Each ecological gift, no matter the size, contributes to the creation of a network of protected areas that reaches across every region in Canada and is a true reflection of the value individual Canadians place on the importance of protecting nature.

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced that the Ecological Gifts Program has reached an important milestone: Canadians have donated over one billion dollars’ worth of ecologically sensitive land for the purpose of conservation since 1995.

Between the generosity of Canadians and the commitment of the Government to nature protection, we are making progress towards conserving a quarter of lands and a quarter of oceans in Canada by 2025, and 30 percent by 2030. ‘’I want to thank all Canadians who are stepping up with generous gifts of land for conservation and wildlife protection through the Ecological Gifts Program,” said Guilbeault. “Valued at one billion dollars, these spaces will go a long way in safeguarding our environment. Today’s milestone is yet another step towards reaching our commitment to conserve a

quarter of Canada’s land and oceans by 2025. Whether by protecting nature with initiatives like this, or investing in clean technology, we’re focused on building a healthy future and strong economy for generations to come.’’

In addition, Mark Gerretsen, Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands said, “A special thanks to the generous Canadians who donated 171 hectares of land in Frontenac County through the Ecological Gifts Program.

Their donation is helping us to protect more of Ontario’s natural spaces and species at risk. With help from the Land Conservancy for Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington, this nature reserve will be conserved not only for now, but for our children and grandchildren.”

Canada’s Ecological Gifts Program is made possible by the terms of Canada’s Income Tax Act and the Quebec Taxation Act. It offers significant tax benefits to landowners who donate land or a partial interest in land to a qualified recipient.

Both individuals and corporations can donate land through the program.

Recipients ensure that the land’s biodiversity and environmental heritage are conserved in perpetuity.

Each donation of land or a partial interest in land must be certified as ecologically sensitive according to specific national and provincial criteria before it can be included under the Ecological Gifts Program. foundationmag.ca

WILDLIFE & ANIMAL WELFARE

Vital Signs Bodes Well for All Life in Muskoka

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BY LYNN DECARO

he Muskoka Community Foundation, a charitable organization founded to support donors meet their philanthropic goals and support local charities in Muskoka’, published two Muskoka Vital Signs Reports in 2018 and 2021. At first glance the reader might wonder why the environment was included amongst topics such as food security, economic health, income security and mental health and wellness.

The purpose of a Vital Signs report is to capture the health and vitality of a community. It is therefore imperative to view the environment with an intersectional lens to gain a better understanding of the important role the natural landscape plays in contributing to a healthy Muskoka.

Muskoka has often been identified as one of the best places to visit in Canada and also as one of the most popular vacation spots in the world. In 2011 and again in 2012, National Geographic declared Muskoka as one of the top destinations in the world to visit. Muskoka encompasses more than 1,000 lakes and is home to 10 provincial parks including Hardy Lake, Arrowhead and Six Mile Lake, as well as more than 10 conservation areas that include the Torrance Barrens Conservation and Dark Sky Reserve. Georgian Bay Islands National Park is Muskoka’s only National Park, and is home to more reptiles and amphibious species, including the threatened Eastern Massassauga Rattlesnake, than any other national park in Canada.

According to Statistics Canada there were 3 million-person visits to Muskoka in 2016, with 1.9 million of those visits occurring between July and September, and nearly 500 million dollars in visitor spending. The food and beverage, accommodations foundationmag.ca

and retail sectors accounted for the bulk of visitor spending.

As Muskoka becomes known as a four-season destination, the tourism industry continues to play an important role in the local economy and a major source of employment. With many visiting the region to participate in boating, staying at provincial and national parks, hiking, camping and viewing wildlife it is important to recognize that Muskoka’s economies are based on a healthy and diverse ecosystem. It is also important to consider the impact of a healthy environment on income security.

Muskoka is often considered an affluent cottage/vacation destination, but this idyllic vision of the region obscures the economic reality among the population. Muskoka, like many rural communities, faces challenges in addressing poverty and helping the community’s most vulnerable people. A barrier faced by many living at or below the poverty line is the reality that many jobs in the tourism, construction and service March/April 2022

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WILDLIFE & ANIMAL WELFARE

Species include the Grey Wolf, Moose, River Otter, American Raven and the Common Loon. Any upset to the balance of this ecosystem could have irreversible consequences. industries are part-time and seasonal. Any disruptions within these industries can have a devastating and long-lasting impact on individual households.

Ice cover is shrinking In 2020 the volume of economic activity in Muskoka decreased by 4.5 percent due to the impacts of the pandemic. One of the most impacted sectors was the tourism industry. While not directly related to the health of the environment, this sudden change in the way people were able to interact with Muskoka’s natural landscape highlighted how integrated Muskoka’s environment is with the economy. Another concern for Muskoka’s environmental related economy is climate change.

Indicators, such as the number of days with ice cover on lakes, indicate a warming trend. According to ice-cover data provided by the Dorset Environmental Science Centre, there are approximately 3 weeks fewer of ice cover on our lakes than 45 years ago (140 days vs 121 days).

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As a four-season destination climate change will affect industries that serve visitors who come to Muskoka to enjoy skiing, snowmobiling and ice fishing. In addition, there is concern for the Muskoka watershed. Considered part of the “land between”, which runs between the Canadian Shield and the St. Lawrence River Lowlands, it is the northern limit for species such as White Oak, Woodchuck, Chorus Frog and the Common Crow. It is also the southern limit for species that include the Grey Wolf, Moose, River Otter, American Raven and the Common Loon. Any upset to the balance of this ecosystem could have irreversible consequences.

A changing Muskoka climate also impacts our physical health and safety as well. According to the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit climate change can affect our health in a number of ways. These changes might include, more summer heat warnings, heat-related illness and hospitalizations, more extreme storms, injuries and community wide emergencies, poor air quality possibly leading to increased respiratory and foundationmag.ca

WILDLIFE & ANIMAL WELFARE cardiovascular illness, greater exposure to UV radiation and an increase in the presence and numbers of vectors that carry diseases like West Nile Virus and Lyme disease. In addition, changing weather will also affect water and food safety, and the ability to grow food.

It is easy to see how any change to Muskoka’s environment, big or small, can very quickly impact the region as a whole.

While it is important to capture potential negative impacts of these changes, it is equally important to recognize the collective action being undertaken by individuals and organizations to preserve one of Muskoka’s most important assets. In an effort to balance tensions between economic growth and environmental stewardship, efforts are being directed at raising awareness of environmental issues and engaging a broad range of stakeholders.

Currently, the District of Muskoka, with the support of a grant from the provincial government, is overseeing multiple projects that will inform long-term watershed planning. These initiatives bring a science-based perspective to environmental and landuse management in the Muskoka River watershed, while considering social, environmental, and economic factors.

Let’s begin a dialogue The District of Muskoka is also implementing A New Leaf

Muskoka Climate Strategy, as well as partnering with area Municipalities to assess climate change risks in Muskoka and develop a regional climate adaptation plan to address them. The District of Muskoka is not the only organization working to protect Muskoka’s natural environment. Other groups working to preserve the environment and natural landscape include the Muskoka Conservancy, Aspen Wildlife Sanctuary and The Friends of the Muskoka Watershed.

The Muskoka Community Foundation recognizes that the Vital Signs® Reports do not provided a comprehensive overview of all of the issues that need to be considered when assessing the overall health and vitality of the Muskoka Community. Rather these reports present a snapshot of Muskoka at a specific point in time.

Instead of presenting the final word, the goal of these reports is to begin a dialogue and encourage discussion about what needs to be done to strengthen the well-being of Muskoka. It is important to engage with the complexities and interconnectedness of a broad range of issues, including the environment, as strategies are devised ensuring Muskoka is an inclusive and supportive community for residents and visitors.

LYNN DECARO is Executive Director of the Muskoka Community Foundation.

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COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS

“The 2022 Community Grants Program supports projects throughout rural southwestern New Brunswick in arts, culture, heritage, health and well-being, education, environment, and social services” – Kirsten Rouse, Executive Director, Fundy Community Foundation (left)

Fundy Community Foundation Making Big Impact in Rural New Brunswick

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BY KIRSTEN ROUSE

n the fall of 2010, Peter and Cindy Bartlett tragically lost their young son Andrew. The close-knit family from St. Andrews, New Brunswick, had strong ties to the community and every single resident mourned the loss. While the loss was unexpected and devastating to the family, Peter and Cindy made the thoughtful decision to honour and preserve their son’s memory by setting up a fund in his name with the Fundy Community Foundation, a small foundation based in St. Andrews that serves southwestern rural New Brunswick. In addition to donations made by family and friends, Cindy and Peter initiated an annual golf tournament to raise money and awareness. Thanks to their passionate work and determination, the Andrew Bartlett Memorial Scholarship Fund is now large enough to provide scholarships to two students graduating from a local high school each year. Together, the Bartlett family has created a legacy that will positively impact young people for many years to come.

The Bartlett’s story is just one example of the important and heartfelt work of the Fundy Community Foundation (FCF). As a registered charity and a public foundation, FCF fills the charitable gap between local support and local needs. The mechanics of what we do are quite simple; We accept donations, pool them together to invest them wisely and then issue grants from the earnings. In

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other words, Community Foundations connect donors with needs and opportunities and have done so since the first Community Foundation was established in Canada in 1921.

Unlike other granting organizations, the spectrum of projects supported by Community Foundations is broad. We recognize that mental health and affordable housing are pressing social issues today, but our foundations also see value in a beach cleanup project, a local school breakfast program, an accessible park bench or even a historic display case. These are all worthwhile community initiatives that make our communities special.

Many of the volunteer organizations supported by FCF appear to survive on volunteer sweat and the kindness of strangers. If we can help these volunteer organizations by telling their story, that’s something we want to do. If we can further help them by talking to donors about setting up a fund to benefit them forever, we want to do that too.

Here are a few more Fundy Community Foundation Stories of Inspiration: New Funds to Hit the Road: Charlotte Dial A Ride recently established an endowed fund with FCF. This fund will provide valuable and stable support for their ongoing operational costs.

As volunteer John Castell will tell you, the Dial A Ride concept grew from a Fundy Community Foundation led community March/April 2022

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COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS dialogue in 2005. The need for local transportation was identified and the organization has not looked back. Since its inception, Dial a Ride has provided more than 80,000 rides to people who do not have safe and reliable transportation. Their model has been replicated around the Atlantic Provinces.

School. The Welch family of Deer Island grew and grandson, David, now stands as the fund advisor for this Scholarship. We love the connection that David and his family have with this area and FCF is honoured to be the stewards of this Scholarship Fund for them.

In our Rural Schools: FCF was able to support the expansion of Bee Me Kidz to a local school in 2021. BMK focuses on teaching a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum to at-risk elementary school-aged children and their parents. This program teaches individuals how to recognize, understand, and manage their emotions and research has shown that developing these skills can result in improved mental health, academic performance, and relationships within families. This group was able to have an immediate impact on the lives of 60 families during a very difficult pandemic year.

Ambassadors in the Community: Many people know Alan Dunfield from his time as Principal of the local middle school. The After School Activity Program was Alan’s brainchild; by carving out 45 minutes from the school day and gathering volunteers to help, one local school was able to offer every child the chance to try a new activity each month including photography, soccer, cooking, and philanthropy. Yes, philanthropy! Alan was part of a group who created the Youth in Philanthropy Fund with FCF that still exists to this day. Proceeds from the fund are disbursed by student representatives from each middle and high school in Southwestern New Brunswick. This early introduction to the concept of giving back is sure to stay with these young people forever.

Families, Legacies and Scholarships: Wes Welch grew up on Deer Island, New Brunswick developing a passion for the Island and for the sea that stayed with him his entire life. After his passing and to honour his memory and his devotion to this part of the world, Wes’s son Ralph used a portion of his father’s estate to set up the H.W. (Wes) Welch Family Scholarship which is awarded each year to a graduating student at Fundy High

Bringing help closer to home: The Sophia Recovery Centre celebrated the opening of their satellite centre in one of our communities last year. One of their key programs “Beyond Trauma” is designed to help women and girls move beyond addiction. This program is now offered to women and girls, ages

Thirty years ago Canadian FundRaiser started reporting on the nonprofit sector Now weekly, as Hilborn-charityenews.ca, we’re the most trusted news source serving the Canadian nonprofit sector.

To advertise: contact chris@hilborn.com To subscribe: contact mary@hilborn.com To contribute an article: contact editor@hilborn.com

Independent Canadian news and analysis for the nonprofit sector 34

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COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS 18 and older who have experienced addiction themselves or those who live in households where substance use disorder is or has been a significant influence. We were pleased to be able to support their good work through our Community Grants Program.

Serving the underserved: The Dragonfly Centre for Autism Inc. is an amazing resource for children and young adults on the autism spectrum. Their summer camp program located in St. Andrews provides music therapy, socialization opportunities and physical activities with one-on-one support for those in attendance.

FCF helps with annual disbursements from a designated fund established by a local family. This investment will benefit the Dragonfly Centre with financial support every single year.

At the heart of most Community Foundations are endowed funds which are permanent gifts given to a Community Foundation to use as needed. But Community Foundations are also a trusted source of information for philanthropy. We take pride in the active cultivation and nurturing of new ideas. While we are not a front-line service provider, we remain focused on amplifying the good work happening all around us and helping in any way we can.

KIRSTEN ROUSE is Executive Director of the Fundy Community Foundation.

About Us

Fundy Community Foundation (FCF) was established in 1993 as the first rural community foundation in Canada. We are now one of 191 foundations across the country working to better the lives of people in our community. We serve the people of southwestern New Brunswick by connecting donors with community needs and opportunities.

As a registered charity and proud member of Community Foundations of Canada, we have been working with groups and individuals to establish funds in support of the causes most meaningful to them for more than 25 years. FCF pools the charitable gifts of many donors into an income earning fund. Grants are disbursed from the earnings on this fund.

Funds can be established by families, individuals, or groups.

They can be set up today or as part of a legacy in a will. Our grants support a wide range of not-for-profit initiatives for health and wellness, education, social services, environment, animal welfare, arts, culture, and heritage.

In 2021, we disbursed $264,000 in grants and scholarships in rural southwestern New Brunswick. That support impacted thirty-three students and fifty-one non-profit groups or charities. Our current assets total $8.6 million.

Through great transparency and trust, we remain reputable stewards of community resources.

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PROFILE: INSPIRATIONAL PHILANTHROPY

Paul Goldstein - A Force of Nature

Paul Goldstein has contributed much to the lives of the children who attend school in Netzer Ariel, Israel. He met his future wife Naomi, in March of 1967 and by May, they were married.

Paul loves visiting with the children at the school and is proud of their achievements.

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THE DONOR

T

BY MICHAEL BROOKE

o those in the insurance and financial world, he is known as a legend — a 40-year member of the Top of the Table club where the top one percent of all insurance agents reside.

To the 700 children of Netzer Ariel, in Israel, he is known affectionately as Saba (grandfather) Paul. A playground, a hall, many classrooms, a library, a day care center, a place of worship and a music room. This is just a partial list of where Paul Goldstein has donated his money. In helping out the community of Netzer Ariel in Israel, Paul views his philanthropy as an act of redemption. “I cannot bring back the children who were lost in the Holocaust, but as one of the few survivors, I feel that there is no greater act of redemption than to provide the Jewish children of this generation with the opportunity to fulfil their potential, the opportunity that 1,200,000 children of my generation never had.

There is no easy way to say it: Paul Goldstein’s childhood was the stuff of nightmares. Before World War Two started, he had the misfortune of belonging to a family with an extremely abusive father. My home was a very violent environment.”

Paul recalls when he was six years old and it was time for him to go to school he wound up in a very unusual situation. “In Antwerp, Belgium, where I was born, one could choose to be taught in Flemish or in French. My father decided to put me in the Flemish side for grade one and then try the French side for grade two.”

“Here I was, a little Jewish kid in grade one, learning about the valiant Flemish fighters going up against the French. Of course, this wasn’t part of my history, because we were Jewish and my family’s roots were from Poland. But as a result of this propaganda, I became a Flemish nationalist brainwashed to hate anything from the French side.”

Paul’s fellow Jewish classmates who attended the French part of the school, became sworn enemies of the Flemish kids. “At recess, we would divide into two camps and re-enact battles in the schoolyard. We hated each other and the fighting only stopped once we all heard the bell ending recess.”

When it came to his next year in school, Paul was put into the French side. “Before I knew it, I had switched sides and had become a French nationalist. Now at recess, I was fighting my former Flemish speaking classmates.

Each new year of school, Paul was switched from either the Flemish or French side. “I know what it means to be brainwashed as a child. If we had weapons during recess, we surely would have killed each other.”

A Life Turned Upside Down On May 10, 1940, the day Nazi Germany invaded Belgium, at the age of 7, Paul’s life was turned upside down. For more than two years, the Nazi’s went about sowing the seeds of destruction of the Jewish community. They imposed curfews, encouraged people to boycott Jewish businesses and forced Jews to wear a yellow star. “Nazi teachers were placed in my school and would foundationmag.ca

beat up the Jewish kids regularly. I saw everything changing, but I had no idea why this was happening. It has taken me a lifetime to understand and piece together why this happened to me, my family and the Jewish population.”

In January 1942, Paul’s father was shipped off to a slave labour camp on the Atlantic coast of France. “One Friday night, when my mother and brother and I set out to send a package to my father, we noticed Jews being rounded up and being put into a big moving truck. I saw a little old lady begging on her knees not to be taken into the truck. I saw the officer grab her and throw her into the truck. The scene is forever engraved in my soul. I later learned that everyone rounded up in that truck, were murdered at Auschwitz. If I had been in that truck, I wouldn’t be here now.”

Paul’s mother decided to hide him and his brother with a Christian couple. While his mother had the best of intentions, it turned into a horrendous two-year ordeal for Paul and his brother. This woman took the children into a small village outside of Antwerp and starved and beat them for two years.

“It was absolute torture and no one ever explained to me what was happening or why it was happening.” In the village that Paul was staying there were many other Jewish children who came from his school. Like him and his brother, they were put into hiding. But he was the only one who spoke Flemish fluently (as a result of his schooling). This meant he could blend in. “All the other Jewish kids were denounced and people turned them in for a $40 reward.” Paul and his brother were the only two Jewish children who survived from the village.

After surviving this horrendous nightmare, Paul and his brother were reunited with their parents when Belgium was liberated by the Canadian Armed Forces in fall of 1944. His father had escaped from a train to Auschwitz and his mother was of the few survivors who, in September 1944, were liberated in the transit camp through which close to 25,000 Jews had been sent to the death camps.

Tragically, the sons had to face further abuse from their father for the next number of years. “He kept us like prisoners.

My father took out all his anger about the war on his family.

We were beaten daily. It was ten years of hell.” The family also lived in poverty. “We had lost everything in the war and had no money for shelter and furniture. We started out living in a court yard with orange crates for furniture” recalls Paul.

On top of losing most of his extended family to the death camps, Paul also encountered a tremendous amount of antisemitism after the war. Despite this extremely painful situation, Paul managed to complete high school (where only four percent of the students graduated) and did two years of compulsory military service in the Belgium army. He eventually found work at a bank, but quickly determined it was not a life he wanted. $200 and A Dream Paul realized he had no future in Belgium. Despite huge numbers of people wishing to leave places like Holland, Italy March/April 2022

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THE DONOR

Jews were rounded up and put into moving trucks. Most were sent to the gas chambers at Auschwitz.

Paul, aged 6, before his life was turned upside down by the Nazi’s.

It took thousands of hours at the gym for Paul to build this body and he did it without steroids or performance enhancing products.

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and France, very few Belgians wished to emigrate. He was determined to leave and contacted the Canadian embassy to make arrangements to leave. Oddly enough, his request to leave Belgium was handled extremely rapidly as there was no waiting list.

Paul arrived in Canada at the age of 21 with $200 in his pocket. “I had no profession, no contacts, no family and I spoke no English.”

Since he spoke French fluently, Paul wound up in Montreal.

At the age of 23, Paul started a job at the Montreal YMHA that allowed him to have free access to the gym. He started working out up to five times per week for hours at a time. This fanatical devotion propelled him to becoming an award-winning bodybuilder and weight lifter. “I was nominated for the 1956 summer Olympics in Australia, but I couldn’t go because I didn’t have the finances to compete internationally. People who view my photo as a bodybuilder can’t believe it’s me.

And, for the record, I never took any steroids or performance enhancing products!”

Over the course of the next decade, Paul developed a hugely successful career in the packaging industry. He was offered a position as vice president at a large company. But something happened that took his life into a completely different direction. Israel’s capture of Aldolf Eichman in May of 1960, his trial in Israel in 1961 and his execution in 1962, led to a resurgence of Nazism around the world — including Canada. “As a Holocaust survivor, I couldn’t believe it. Fascism was starting to gain in popularity and people started displaying swastikas. Even one of Quebec’s most notorious fascists, Adrian Arcand came out of the woodwork.” Paul and his fellow survivors formed an organization to fight this neo-Nazi resurgence. Since Paul spoke a number of languages and had received a BA in political science at Sir George William’s College (now called Concordia), he was chosen to lead this group. It was called The Survivors of Nazi Oppression. Paul was its executive director at first and subsequently became its national President.

“I was so emotionally disturbed by what happened during the war, that I started to devote all my time to the organization — it became all consuming” recalls Paul. He explained to the packaging company, with whom he had been for 10 years and in which

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he had risen to the top, that he couldn’t accept the job as vice-president because he was spending a huge amount of time fighting race hatred. “I did a huge amount of volunteer work for this organization and they offered to pay me a salary if I would work full-time for them. Unfortunately, after three months, they ran out of money and they didn’t support me any further. I fell flat on my face. It was the biggest setback in my life. I was in shock.”

Paul found himself back to square one and was completely disillusioned. In 1966, he went back to Belgium for a couple of months to reassess his situation. Paul was given a wide range of opportunities in his home country including job offers and a chance to marry into a very wealthy family. “I said ‘no’ to everything. I wasn’t going to admit defeat.

I wanted to succeed in Canada.” When Paul returned to Canada, he was completely broke and had no idea what he was going to do next.

It just so happened that Paul had met a life insurance agent in the Organization of Survivors of Nazi Oppression, who felt that he might be a good insurance salesperson because of how well Paul spoke in public — especially when he gave a speech in three languages in front of Parliament Hill, flanked

by Prime Minister Lester Pearson and a number of government dignitaries.

Despite many misgivings about working in the insurance industry, Paul agreed to meet for a job interview. Once he found out how much the top performers were making, Paul was on his way. “My reason for signing up was simple. I felt confident that whatever anyone else could do, I could also do.”

“The company gave us a stupid pitch and made dozens of calls trying to get appointments. It was so frustrating and I was ready to give up. I decided to do two additional calls, just to see if the sales theory was legitimate. On the 11th call, I made a sale.”

By the end of the month, Paul was the leading new agent in the branch. The turnover was enormous — about 98 percent of the agents left each year. But Paul worked hard bringing in new business and eventually he moved up to branch manager.

Paul brought his family to Toronto in the early 1970’s after living through the FLQ crisis.

“I really felt the country was falling apart — there was widespread panic with kidnapping and bombs being put in mailboxes.” When foundationmag.ca

THE DONOR Paul arrived in the city, he didn’t know anyone. He spent three years studying tax laws and making contacts. Eventually, the business started to grow and Paul became one of the top 1 percent of insurance agents in the world. He accomplished this remarkable feat each year for four straight decades.

A Thirst For Knowledge Paul has spent a huge amount of his life learning and reading.

One of the things that puzzled him was why do Jews, after 2,000 plus years, still have to fight for survival. “Everyone who I met kept telling me, ‘well, you know so much about antisemitism, why don’t you write a book.’” But Paul wasn’t interested in writing about his feelings or opinions — he wanted to do scholarly research. So, he decided at the age 81, to go back to school, get his Master’s degree and become an academic.

He first tried to enrol at the University of Toronto and dutifully applied online. He was immediately rejected. “They said I was too old because I had graduated university too many years before and that I had no current support system.” Paul was adamant about becoming a student and wouldn’t take no for an answer. He eventually convinced Woodworth College to allow him to take three Master’s courses. “I wasn’t in the Master’s programme, but they wanted to see if I could qualify for this kind of academic work. I wound up getting three A’s.”

Paul so impressed one of his professors that she went to the admissions board on his behalf asking that he be granted permission to the Master’s programme. The university accepted Paul and he went back to being a full-time student while at the same time running his insurance business. He received A’s in all his courses and for his thesis, he received an A+. This was the first time in six years that a student in the political science department had received this mark.

After he received his Master’s degree, Paul decided to do a PhD on the Balfour Declaration.

Prior to embarking on this mission, he admits he knew nothing about this piece of history that is so closely associated with the creation of Israel.

Paul found himself at a university conference in June 2017 marking the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration and that’s when he decided, at the age of 85, to start his PhD. At the age of 88, he completed the work. The Serendipitous Evolution of The Balfour Declaration was published by Cambridge Scholars Press to wide acclaim. As Dr. Elad Ben-Dror of the department of Middle Eastern Studies at Bar Ilan University in Israel, wrote in his review of Paul’s PhD dissertation, “I believe that this is an important and worthwhile work and the contribution of a new perspective on the history of Zionism.”

A Journey of Discovery What is extraordinary is that Paul’s life mirrors that of this critical part of history. In his introduction he writes: “Each element, regardless of shape or size, played an essential part in the functioning of the whole, while the absence of one of them would have altered the outcome of the entire process,” foundationmag.ca

As he told The Times of Israel in an interview in November of 2021, “I feel the same way about it as I do about the fact that I survived the Holocaust.

Both were against all odds.

The element of happenstance is so frightening and daunting. We see how little is due to human agency. There is a higher force at work. The things we can’t control can overthrow the things that we can control.”

As he rounds the corner into his 90th year, Paul’s intense drive is something to behold. It’s also very difficult to put into words. When I mentioned that he was truly a force of nature, he replied with a wry smile. “My best friend Joe Dickstein, who passed away about eighteen months ago, followed my career and was amazed by what I had accomplished.

He too called me a ‘force of nature.’”

As our conversation wound down, Paul became philosophical and began to share even more wisdom and insights. “Every human being has dreams, ambitions and natural resources to achieve them. Not pursuing these to the maximum of our ability is wasting this amazing one-time opportunity that life has given us.”

“I’ve done many things in my life that created tremendous change but I never took credit. The people I worked with took all the credit. I was only interested in the impact. The greatest acts of heroism and good deeds are done anonymously.”

“I’ve done a lot of introspection and I find that the journey of life is not only a journey about discovering the world. It is also a journey of discovering yourself. As you go, as you learn and as you acquire different perspectives, you start to understand what has motivated you. You keep looking back and examining your strengths and decisions and the goals you set. Every time the picture gets more complete. It’s like climbing a mountain. As you get higher up the mountain, your perspective widens and the panorama changes. You see things that you didn’t see before.”

One of Paul’s favourite subjects in university was Greek philosophy and he greatly admired the writings of Pericles.

“He was a prominent Greek politician and general, who played a major role in developing democracy in Athens in the 5th century B.C. One of his sayings really resonated with me — in fact, I believe I could have written it myself.” Paul says this is his message to all philanthropists in the world and that he wishes to have it engraved on his tombstone: “What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”

MICHAEL BROOKE is a Toronto-based freelance writer and founder of Time For My Story, a service helping individuals document their legacy in the form of a professional memoir.

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Foundation Magazine is the Canadian bi-monthly publication and media channel which reaches more than 25,000 individual executives in Canada who represent the full charity and foundation sector and the major donor community, as well as the spectrum of companies which support, supply to, and advise all aspects of the not-for-profit industry.

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SMALL CHARITIES

How One Small Charity Rose During the Pandemic

A

nika Apollon is the founder of a remarkable charity that started up during the 2020 pandemic.

While working full-time at her job as a funeral director, Anika started to think about how to help children in need — especially those who are with their families in shelters. Anika has had a first-hand understanding of the financial barriers single-parent-women face. “It made me think more about the effects these barriers have on children experiencing poverty and homelessness.”

As she explains, “being a young mom, in school full-time while raising my children really opened my eyes to the other side. During my time of adversity, all I could think about were the things I wanted to give to my kids but I couldn’t.”

While the essentials like rent, food and clothing came first, Anika thought about the emotional well-being of children. “We all know that a child’s birthday is truly a special occasion, but for those kids in the shelter system, it can be a real challenge for a family to celebrate this time” says Anika.

This is where Birthday Wonders comes into the picture. The charity provides a delightful birthday party for families who may not have the financial wear with all to put something together.

There are a number of critical challenges that a parent and their child or children face in the shelter system. Sometimes, a shelter does not have enough space to accommodate a parent and child. Quite often, a family is unable to find a home in a short amount of time and now has to stay in the shelter for an extended period.

Anika also points out that residents at a shelter are unable to disclose to friends and family where they are currently living due to safety precautions that the foundationmag.ca

shelter must take and caregivers must follow. Above all, it can become very uncomfortable for the caregiver and child living in a shelter because it’s not their own personal home. They have to share the space with other families that are in need.

COVID-19 had a huge impact on Birthday Wonders. “The biggest challenge we faced was not being able to provide a birthday party due to the lockdown mandates” explains Anika. “Sadly, the global pandemic displaced thousands of people in hundreds of communities, forcing them to turn to local shelters for a host of reasons. This meant hundreds of kids were missing their birthday which in turn created ever more collateral damage from COVID-19.”

Anika was determined to show these children that they were not forgotten. “I was relentless. We changed our program from celebrating in local indoor and outdoor venues to a contactless delivery method. We deliver the birthday box, cake, balloons, and food all at the front door. The shelter caseworker will then facilitate the party with the children participating.” The birthday box has been an enormous hit with the children.

“I was surprised as to just how happy the children were when they received this box. These simple boxes have been a powerful tool to show them that they matter and they are special.”

When a child experiences Birthday Wonders, they walk into a room already prepared with table decoration, a personalized birthday cake, loot bags for all their friends attending the party, and a Birthday Wonders box filled with surprise gifts. The amount of gratitude and joy these experiences have generated has fueled Anika’s vision. There are countless magical moments including the time

COURTESY ELODIE GONCALVES

BY MICHAEL BROOKE

Anika Apollon is the founder of Birthday Wonders.

when a young boy asked for a remotecontrol car. This simple request prompted him to say “thank you for making my dreams come true.”

Anika acknowledges that some people may say “well they are homeless, they need a home, they need money.” Anika has a message to those people: celebrating your birthday is a basic necessity of life. It is your special day, the day you were born, and a day you will never forget” As word spreads on the terrific work that Birthday Wonders is accomplishing, Anika is thinking about the future.

“We would like to collaborate with organizations that value all good things for kids. We don’t only provide birthday celebrations — we also provide basic necessities of life such as winter gear, shoes, and clothing. We also provide experiences such as tickets to a sporting event, the zoo and the museum.”

Anika is hoping that awareness of Birthday Wonders grows and that she is able to delight more children on their special day. For more information, please visit birthdaywonders.ca MICHAEL BROOKE is a Toronto-based freelance writer and founder of Time For My Story, a service helping individuals document their legacy in the form of a professional memoir.

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HISTORIC PLAQUES

PHOTO BY CAVOUK COURTESY JEAN LUMB COLLECTION

Historic Plaques Which Honour Philanthropy

Jean Lumb Plaque, Chinese Version, Downtown Diversity Garden, Elizabeth St, Toronto, ON M5G 1P4, Canada. Plaque in the Diversity Garden located in the former First Chinatown of Toronto describing the achievements of Jean B. Lumb.

foundationmag.ca

Jean Lumb | Jean Lumb Foundation Toronto, Ontario A table tennis champion from Vancouver, a scholar with a 99.5 percent average from Bolton, Ontario, an advocate for social justice from Calgary, a Taekwondo black-belt from Markham. These were four of eighteen student winners of the 24th Annual Jean Lumb Awards.

Jean Lumb was the first Chinese Canadian woman to receive the Order of Canada for her tireless community work as a voice and advocate for Chinese communities in Toronto and across Canada. Jean Bessie Lumb (née Toy Jin Wong), CM, community leader, restaurateur (born 30 July 1919 in Nanaimo, BC; died 17 July 2002 in Toronto, ON). Jean Lumb was the first Chinese Canadian woman and first restaurateur inducted into the Order of Canada. She is also best known for her role in successfully lobbying the federal government to change its discriminatory immigration policies that separated Chinese families. Lumb also led the Save Chinatown Committee to prevent further demolition of Toronto’s Chinatown in the 1960s. The Jean Lumb Foundation celebrates 24 years of awarding scholarships to recognize excellence in students of Chinese heritage from coast to coast. Since the Foundation’s inception in 1998, it has recognized over 130 young people, many of whom are now leaders in their chosen fields. Past recipients of the Jean Lumb Award are now working as lawyers, medical doctors, entrepreneurs, engineers, graphic artists, educators, accountants, and dentists locally, across Canada as far north as Nunavut, and around the world in the United States, China, and Singapore.

The total number of awards has been doubled again due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has unleashed challenging demands on students and their families. A total of eighteen students will receive the Jean Lumb Award, including winners from British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. Our Foundation is pleased that we are able to increase our support for young people.

“The judging panel had the challenge of selecting the eighteen winners out of so many outstanding applications from across Canada,” said Arlene Chan, eldest daughter of Jean Lumb and president of the Jean Lumb Foundation. “I am so impressed by these young people who have excelled in so many areas of interest. My mother would have been so very proud of their achievements.”

The Jean Lumb Awards are given annually to recognize the extraordinary talents and skills of young people and to encourage their continued quest for excellence. The awards celebrate the hopes and dreams of the early generations of Chinese Canadians whose hard work and sacrifice have paved the road for today’s generation.

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COLUMNIST

BEYOND 2022: what now? In Conversation with Bruce MacDonald CONTINUED FROM page 46

donors and charities felt in every area of the charitable sector that will impact everything we do, from programs, intentionality, staff composition, to Board appointments. Bruce was saying that this trend is here to stay. Leadership will need to adapt and ensure organizations reflect what Canadian society is looking for in a charitable sector.

The pandemic has also shown a light on the vulnerability of our sector. We are looking at a painful disruption of the status quo. The debate on the Disbursement Quota has surfaced many aspects of philanthropy that have underpinned the system for many years.

Issues like the idea of ‘gifts in perpetuity’ are being called into question. Some are suggesting that they should move to ‘mandatory spend down’ and the very idea of endowment philanthropy being viewed through the lens of colonialism and privilege. These important questions and debates will shape the future of philanthropy for years to come.

Bruce’s concluding remarks caused me to reflect. He said that this pandemic has cast a light on the importance charitable organizations have in our communities.

He argued that one in two charities he has engaged with recently reported that during this pandemic Canadians were coming to them for more services.

In times of trouble people turn to our

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sector, hence it is imperative that we have a strong sector.

FINAL THOUGHTS In my conversation with Bruce, it became apparent that the effects of a global pandemic are influencing a number of key components that will reshape the charitable sector has we know it today. We must therefore consider issues between donors and charities, and what this means for our communities. If philanthropy is to be impactful, successful, and rewarding, maybe funders should approach the grantee-donor relationships from a place of trust, humility and transparency. This specific grantee-donor relationship is giving rise to the concept of “trust-based philanthropy” a peer-to-peer learning and advocacy initiative to make trustbased practices the norm in philanthropy.

Maybe this pandemic has awakened our curiosity to new ideas and alternatives?

Reading authors Stephanie Beasley and Catherine Cheney for Devex: a media platform for the global development community, I found they exemplified these “new philanthropic behaviours”.

Their recent article demonstrates how tech entrepreneurs are bringing new approaches and challenges to philanthropy.

Trends are demonstrating that these tech-donors are turning their attention to global development causes, as well as pivoting from making money to giving it away. This change in focus by tech-oriented philanthropists acts as a pacesetting model and offers a new perspective. Nick Tedesco, president and CEO, National Center for Family Philanthropy claims that: We are now encountering

first-generation wealth creators who are not part of multigenerational wealth constructs where wealth is the norm and preservation of capital is essential.

Following twenty-four months of this global “tsunami”, we have learnt to “rethink” and adapt to ensure we have desired impacts. My conversation with Bruce reminded me that rules and regulations, such as the private member’s Bill C-240 — an Act to amend the Income Tax Act (donations involving private corporation shares or real estate), can play a key role in supporting our charitable sector as it adapts to a new philanthropy. The role of leaders, professional fundraisers and the choices of fundraising activities are all becoming key pieces of this change. But most importantly is the role the donors play in defining this new philanthropy. The donors desire to enable immediate changes needed in our society will influence every aspects of our charitable sector.

I am grateful to Bruce for shining some light on a few key components that impact our charitable sector today.

I think that with a positive outlook, we may envision the world differently and stimulate our ability to problem-solve creatively by making purposeful choices as we re-design this charitable sector.

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 long-time 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. She writes this column exclusively for each issue of Foundation Magazine. foundationmag.ca

MANAGEMENT CONTINUED FROM page 46

look at the basics that we all need to thrive at work: belonging, support, and trust. We stay at companies in which we feel we belong and where we can be our authentic selves.” This has certainly been true in my own career.

As the new Executive Director for a health promotion organization, I found myself on my third day on a call with our National Executive Director. He called to influence the vote my President would take at a conference in a few weeks and suggested that if I could get the Board President to vote in a particular way, he would ensure funding would be made available for a position he knew we wanted to hire. I was flabbergasted.

Is this how business was done here? I told the caller that I had no real grasp on the issue at hand and did not appreciate that he thought my Board President’s vote was “for sale.”

When “benefit of the doubt” is your default position It was the beginning of a rocky relationship with a key stakeholder in the organization. Despite my best efforts and a strong belief in the “benefit of the doubt” principle, I was never fully able to trust his intentions. The benefit of the doubt principle is my default position: always give the other person the benefit of the doubt even if at first they don’t appear to deserve it. After the third strike with this tenured leader, who had been with the organization more than 20 years, I finally stopped, and it was a rocky relationship until the day, two years later, that I resigned.

In another role, within the first week as the Chief Philanthropy Officer at an educational institution, the most senior member of my team told me not to trust my supervisor. It took a year to realize he was right, but I still chose to base my relationship with the supervisor on our interactions and make my own decisions.

It turned out that this supervisor was indeed a bully and a narcissist who used grand gestures, charm and outright lies to get their way, with traumatic results for me and my family.

I believe you deserve to be trusted, until you don’t. Had I listened to my associate and been more politically astute, I might have under¬stood that he was trying to help, not hinder. Unfortunately, the organization was filled with people who worked in fear of being fired, others who upheld shoddy systems because they and their families personally benefitted, and “losers” like me, who try to call it as they see it, in this case, calling out my boss for being a bully.

leader, we need to find a balance between our natural tendency to trust and the workplace challenges we face. We can avoid becoming part of a toxic system if we listen carefully to the political landscape and understand where power is held, used and misused.

Guest contributions represent the personal opinions and insights of the authors and may not reflect the views or opinions of Foundation Magazine.

MARYANN KERR is Chief Happiness Officer, CEO and principal consultant with the Medalist Group. Maryann is a governance, leadership and culture specialist, has worked in the social profit sector for 34 years and helped raise over $110M. She is an associate consultant with Global Philanthropic Canada. Maryann is a sector leader with a passion for her social justice, feminism, and continuous learning.

Maryann’s first book was published by Civil Sector Press in 2021: Tarnished: Let’s rethink, reimagine and co-create a new social impact sector. Maryann earned her CFRE in 1997 and her master’s in organizational leadership in 2016. She is currently exploring opportunities for a Ph.D. or perhaps a second book.

Listen carefully to where power is held, used and misused The most difficult workplace relationships I’ve encountered, those that caused me and the organizations I worked for the most harm, happened because I chose to believe in the inherent goodness of others. There are, of course, unintended consequences; when I trusted and should not have, others were harmed — my family, staff teams, and donors with whom I’d developed relationships on behalf of the organization. As a foundationmag.ca

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MANAGEMENT

ISTOCK/ TEAMOKTOPUS

Everything Comes Down to Relationships

BY MARYANN KERR

An excerpt from Tarnished: Let’s rethink, reimagine and cocreate a new social impact sector.

I

n every workplace, there is an effort underway by leaders to earn the trust of stakeholders. Trust is the foundation of relationships, and relationships are everything. But what comes first? In his book, Learning in Relationship, Ronald R. Short suggests “we need to risk before we can trust — not the other way around.” Patrick Lencioni calls this vulnerability-based trust. It is a fundamental shift from the way in which we’ve been conditioned to believe that trust is something we earn.

Instead, it is something we lose.

When we take the risk of being imperfect, not having all the answers and admitting to our mistakes, we open the door to building trust. We make space for others to ask for help, seek guidance and do their best work. And we open the door to abuse. When we take the

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risk to be vulnerable, it can come at a significant price, particularly if you are in a workplace where your social capital or positional leadership does not protect you. Like leadership itself, many books are available on the topic of trust, which is deeply rooted in how we were raised, cultural differences, relationships with family and friends, and the impact trust has played in our early lives at home, school and work.

Our personal unique relationship to the concept of trust creates a tendency towards or away from it. This is why it is critically important as leaders to do the internal work that allows us to be selfaware and identify when trust is helping or hindering our relationships.

To start from a place of trust is a human characteristic shared by most. Sadly, our desire to believe the best of others does not always serve us well. As Malcolm Gladwell says in Talking to Strangers, “To assume the best about another is the trait that has created modern society. Those

occasions when our trusting nature gets violated are tragic. But the alternative — to abandon trust as a defense against predation and deception — is worse.”

Making the team feel like a crew Trust is indeed at the very core of our relationships and many of our organizational operating models.

Michael Prosserman in his book Building Unity, Leading a Nonprofit from Spark to Succession, describes the culture that was nurtured throughout the organization, “When people asked me why our culture was so strong, I pointed to our unflinching almost dangerous, levels of trust: Trust that put staff and artists in the driver’s seat. Trust that gave people the space to fail. Trust that made the team feel like a crew.”

In their article on achieving racial equity at work in Forbes Women, Julia Coffman and Maria Gordian write, “Let’s CONTINUED ON page 45 foundationmag.ca

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