Giving Guide 2024 by Great River Media inc.

OTTAWA'S CAPITAL CAMPAIGNS

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CHARITY PROFILES

There’s a lot of competition out there — can Ottawa step up?

How lucky are we?

It’s so inspiring to read in this year’s Giving Guide about some of the multiple large capital campaigns happening in Ottawa — each one supporting a great cause.

In fact, it’s almost impossible to argue against the need for a new Civic campus for The Ottawa Hospital, better stewardship of the Ottawa River, more social housing, or improved medical care for children and young adults in our community. It’s tremendous to see these multimillion-dollar initiatives come to life. Many of them are adding to what is already a busy construction scene around town, with cranes towering into the air and machinery and people hard at work at various building sites. It’s easy to believe that these projects will have a lasting impact on our city and be there to serve many generations to come.

Reading through our main feature, it’s also a chance to reflect on and appreciate the role of the innumerable business professionals in our community who are quick to share their time, talent and passion in support of so many great causes. Not to mention the hard dollars needed to see these visionary projects through to completion. I’m always impressed by the commitment and zeal that Ottawa’s business community demonstrates when it comes to philanthropy.

At the same time, it’s easy to see how competitive the charitable landscape has become. As David Gourlay of the Shepherds of Good Hope Foundation says, “Getting people’s mindshare is a significant challenge, even though housing is very topical right now. When we pick up the phone to talk to people, there’s often an immediate response of, ‘I’m interested,’ but there’s a lot of competition out there. Individuals are being asked to support a variety of amazing causes in our community.”

Jonathan Bodden at uOttawa echoes that thought: “ …. this is a competitive marketplace. The city of Ottawa is frequently touted as one of

the more generous cities in the country; there are a number of really excellent campaigns on the market and that presents a challenge.”

Not only do these large capital campaigns “compete” against each other for valuable charitable dollars, but the risk is that “regular” fundraising by Ottawa’s myriad of other organizations gets lost in the buzz of these major projects.

In the end, donors must do what is most meaningful to them. I have confidence that, given talented employees throughout our charitable sector and dedicated donors from all walks of life, Ottawa will continue to rise up to support all those things that give our city such heart.

A HEARTFELT THANK YOU …

Finally, as many of you know, OBJ’s longtime social columnist Caroline Phillips has decided to pursue other opportunities and activities. This means we will no longer see her fabulous photos and witty write-ups as part of our OBJ coverage. Rest assured, though, that OBJ will continue to feature the city's philanthropic sector online and in print.

There's no doubt in my mind that, no matter what she chooses to do, Caroline will continue to have a significant impact. Her contributions to OBJ, which pre-date my time as editor, have been nothing short of tremendous. And I think I can say with confidence that her ability to shine a spotlight on so many worthy causes and selfless individuals has done nothing but make our city a better place for all of us to live, work and play.

Thank you Caroline and best wishes!

Anne Howland Editor in Chief OBJ’s

OTTAWA'S

CAPITAL CAMPAIGNS

With so many big projects underway, it’s a competitive

landscape for charities

By Zenith Wolfe

It’s a big year in Ottawa for capital campaigns, or large-scale fundraisers run by non-profit organizations.

The Ottawa Hospital, CHEO and the University of Ottawa are each expanding or renovating their medical campuses; Shepherds of Good Hope is building dozens of new supportive housing units; and Ottawa Riverkeeper is offering more educational and research programs at its recently opened River House.

We sat down with the leaders of these campaigns to learn where donors’ funds are going and how their fundraising strategies are faring in the highly competitive world of philanthropy.

The transcripts have been edited for length and clarity.

SHEPHERDS OF GOOD HOPE

Raising $5M for the 216 Murray campaign

Interview with David Gourlay, CEO of the Shepherds of Good Hope Foundation

Q: Through its community kitchens and emergency shelters, Shepherds of Good Hope has been helping Ottawa’s homeless population for the past 41 years. Can you tell us how the 216 Murray St. project will transform those methods of care?

DG: 216 Murray, our new build behind our existing shelter building on the corner of King Edward Avenue and Murray Street, is so critical because it integrates all our services from our various locations under one roof. It will offer 48 units of supportive housing, which operate on the idea that a person experiencing mental illness, addiction or chronic homelessness deserves the dignity of a door, a room and a key. Shelters are temporary; you access them overnight and the next night you don’t necessarily have that bed, so it’s transitional and there’s no stability. We want to house more people permanently in supportive housing units because it means we work together to stabilize them. We currently have 291 units across Ottawa.

In our new multi-purpose community kitchen, we’ll make meals at breakfast and dinner for our shelter service users, but the lunch service will be open to anybody, no questions asked. Combined with the drop-in program we already use at other locations, we’ll give individuals somewhere to go during the day. We offer active programming that can break down social isolation, since living on the street makes it difficult for people to connect, even though sometimes it’s as simple as playing games or watching movies together. 216 Murray will include a courtyard for the summer.

Q: You launched the capital campaign in February 2024 by announcing a $1-million donation from Chris and Mary Taggart and you reached your $5-million goal by October. What were some of the challenges and successes you faced while raising the remaining funds?

DG: Getting people’s mindshare is a significant challenge, even though housing is very topical right now. When we pick up the phone to talk to people, there’s often an immediate response of “I’m interested,” but there’s a lot of competition out there. Individuals are being asked to support a variety of amazing causes in our community.

The compelling factor for us has been our strategic relationships in the community with our donors. We looked at the services we offer in our facility and sought out the groups who would be most invested. So, for example, we’ve been working with Ottawa’s executive chefs, like Joe Thottungal of Coconut Lagoon, because of the kitchen. We cultivate these relationships without making the direct ask initially and offer tours to anyone who wants to come to an existing open facility. It’s not until an individual sees us in operation at the ground level that it connects to them.

Having very clear champions in our community such as Chris and Mary Taggart has been important. They joined as co-chairs and together we’ve met with individuals and businesses to explain the value of 216 Murray. We have one of Ottawa’s best advertising firms working with us, Mediaplus, run by Don Masters and Chris Kincaid, who built our website. All those strategies put together made a visible presence in the community and helped us succeed in the campaign.

Q: When do you expect to finish the infrastructure project?

DG: We are hoping to open in the late winter, early spring of 2025. The official grand opening will likely be April or May, but we should start onboarding residents in March.

OTTAWA RIVERKEEPER

Raising $5M for the Big River Give campaign

Laura Reinsborough, CEO of Ottawa Riverkeeper

Q: Since it was founded in 2001, Ottawa Riverkeeper has monitored the presence of everything from microplastics to road salt runoff in the Ottawa River. How will the Big River Give campaign help you build on that work?

LR: With the campaign we’re scaling up our impacts with better scientific monitoring, education and advocacy, and some of the funds are already in action. We’re expanding our public-facing space, which we call the Learning Lab, situated at River House. It was opened 100 years ago but as a private community club, so there wasn’t public access to the river and the 27-kilometre stretch of road from Westboro Beach to Petrie Island until we opened the space in July last year. This is where we do community events to showcase our science lab to the public and where we train community scientists. It’s also a space to convene different environmental groups. The UN global plastics treaty negotiations were happening in Ottawa this spring and we convened frontline leaders to share their stories of how plastics are affecting them. We hosted the federal minister of the environment on World Environment Day last year.

Q: Where are the funds going when it comes to education?

LR: We’ve launched River School, our education initiative where we’re bringing classrooms to the river. We’re going to develop interpretive exhibits because what you’ll see right now is pieced together from the programming we bring to classrooms. We know there are more stories to tell about the river and we’ll tell them in a more polished way. We want every grade schooler to learn about the river and how they can help. And we have a dream of getting a bigger research vessel. We have just one boat now that only seats four and there’s so much more to be done for scientific monitoring and educational programs. Your whole perspective shifts on the water.

Q: In June 2024 you launched your campaign looking for $5 million over a five-year period to protect the watershed. What challenges have you faced so far and how are you overcoming them?

LR: The Government of Canada stepped up to get us the initial funds, so now it’s a matter of asking the community who enjoys the river to give back, yet so few individuals give to environmental charities. It’s roughly three to five per cent of individual giving that goes to the environment, according to Imagine Canada. We tend to think government has the environment taken

DAVID GOURLAY

LAURA REINSBOROUGH

care of, but when it comes to the Ottawa River, it’s so dissected into jurisdictions that there isn’t a single government body looking after it. There are provincial borders between Ontario and Quebec, federal sections because it flows right past Parliament, and there are over 300 municipalities in the watershed.

Another part is that we’re still a small charity and this decade really demands more from environmental organizations. We’ve had a fundraising cabinet come together to support the campaign, including community leaders like Jeff Parkes of the Taggart Parkes Foundation; Michaela Tokarski, who has been a volunteer and longtime supporter; and honourary riverkeeper Mark Carney and his wife Diana Fox, who helped launch the campaign.

People understand that the issues are dire — that these are the true crises of our generation — so we’re seeing that uptick. We’re at around 68 per cent to our goal. We’re also seeing other wonderful opportunities come about that we hadn’t anticipated.

Q: What opportunities are those?

LR: We’re incubating turtle eggs in the Learning Lab. Our initiatives are usually more on the policy side, but in this case we had the opportunity to host an incubator because the Petrie Island turtle project purchased an incubator and needed a place to house it at the same time as we were opening our lab. We also do research with the Museum of Nature, with Kitigan Zibi and Pikwakanagan First Nations, and with Kettle Island, where they found a rare species of freshwater mussel that’s never been documented this far upstream.

These new opportunities are coming about because we have a site on the river, because we’re public-facing, and because of people’s increasing awareness. With more funding we’d be able to help with more of these projects.

CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF EASTERN ONTARIO

Raising $220M for the Integrated Treatment Centre

Steve Read, President and CEO of the CHEO Foundation

Q: The Integrated Treatment Centre (ITC), which will double the size of the current CHEO campus, is the largest of many projects the CHEO Foundation is pursuing over the next 10 years. How will this infrastructure overhaul advance CHEO’s mandate?

SR: Over the past 50 years, we’ve really been leading the charge in the lives of children and youth, but now what we’re finding is the population in this area especially has grown so significantly that wait times are long and access to care has become difficult for

families. So we need to grow our people, programs and capacity. We’re building some new and improved spaces and using what we’ve learned about artificial intelligence to solve persistent health-care issues.

The ITC is a large tower that will be built on what is now a parking lot. It’s 220,000 square feet, which will double the size of our campus and allow us to address some mental health issues we’re seeing with kids, improve access to emergency care, and some complex care needs as well. Once that centre is built, some of the services that are now scattered across the city under leased spaces will be brought under one roof. It will be much better for families to access care and for employees to coordinate care since the two buildings will be physically connected by a tunnel. By moving some of the services out of the hospital and into the ITC, it’s going to free up the existing campus to make improvements to the emergency rooms, the operating rooms and the pharmacy. We’re looking at updating existing infrastructure in terms of new windows and doors, HVAC systems and sprinklers, so part of this is also renovating the existing buildings.

The new treatment centre will also allow us to invest in research and drive more discovery. The CHEO research really excels in genetics — the use of what we call “medical AI” and rare disease in our ThinkRare program. We take newborn screenings, health records, and we’ll put them through an algorithm to see if we can identify kids that are candidates for additional testing for rare diseases, accelerating the identification of diseases that would otherwise not have been diagnosed. Indirectly, the funding is supporting that and it’s supporting a wider provincial newborn screening program where every baby born in Ontario is screened for a slate of treatable diseases. All those screens are brought to CHEO.

Q: You expect to finish construction by 2028, but to get to that point you need to raise $220 million. What challenges have you faced so far and how are you tackling them?

SR: The key thing for us is to acknowledge that we serve a very broad geography of kids. As a leading pediatric

centre in the capital, we serve over half a million patients from as far north as Nunavut and we’ve got work that takes us into western Quebec and western Ontario. When you think of research, we impact kids across the globe. But we’ve never reached out to communities beyond the local area to solicit donations. We have hundreds of local third-party fundraising events that support us and great support from the local business community, which isn’t new, and we’ve had great success through legacy programs, gifts through wills or insurance plans, but it’s really about taking that and growing it to new supporters to align our catchment area for donors with our catchment area for patients.

Our commercial during the 2024 Paris Olympics, for example, was part of a campaign called Kids These Days and the whole idea is to highlight some of the issues kids are facing. Back when CHEO was opened in the 1970s, kids were coming to the hospital for breathing issues like asthma, broken bones, abdominal problems, but today more and more kids are coming with mental health crises, physical disabilities, life-threatening allergies, diabetes, cancer — much more complex and prevalent health issues. The idea of Kids These Days was to take a familiar phrase often used to describe one generation to another and juxtapose it with images of children that really challenge that stereotype.

THE UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA

Raising $280M for the Advanced Medical Research Centre

Jonathan Bodden, Executive Director of Corporate Development for the University of Ottawa

Q: The Advanced Medical Research Centre, which is at the heart of the University of Ottawa’s ongoing capital campaign, will cover 350,000 square feet across seven stories. Can you tell us about the campus and how it will change health research in Ottawa?

JB: This is the university’s largest-in-history investment in research infrastructure. It will be a research-intensive facility attached to our faculty of medicine on our Alta Vista campus, in close proximity to The Ottawa Hospital’s general campus and CHEO.

STEVE READ

JONATHAN BODDEN

We began construction this spring with an official groundbreaking in May and it will be completed in the first quarter of 2026.

This will fill and fulfill several important needs: providing state-of-the-art research facilities to our top-ranked faculty of medicine and supporting the incubation and acceleration of research from innovation to commercialization. It’s where we’ll assemble all 26 core facilities, whereas at present they’re disparately located throughout campus. It will have an animal care and veterinary services centre, wet labs, and it will be among the most sustainable new builds in the city of Ottawa. University of Ottawa is known for its tech hub in Kanata North, but we’re less known for our emerging health and biotech. This facility will help solve some of the attrition we see, where we’ve got these incredible researchers on the cusp of discovery who, wanting to move their discovery into commercial initiatives, end up leaving the National Capital Region. Now we’ll have a place to nourish them.

The opportunity to collaborate among researchers in the Ottawa Health Innovation Hub, which will occupy two floors, will inspire new discoveries and further their work. It's also the first time we’re bringing together academia, medicine and precision medicine, government policy influencers, and private industry. We call it a quadruple helix.

We’ve got at least two noteworthy initiatives that will be connected to the AMRC. Canada’s Pandemic Preparedness Hub (CP2H) and the Brain Heart Interconnectome would not be possible without this project. The Interconnectome, with the help of the UOttawa Brain and Mind Institute and the UOttawa Heart Institute, will combine researching cardiac disease linked with neural disease.

Q: So far you’ve raised around 90 per cent of your $280-million goal. What methods have gotten your fundraising team this far and what obstacles are you facing in that last stretch?

JB: We have an engaged and committed council of champions, leaders from the community that are volunteers. We did the first wave of a communications strategy in spring 2024 to create awareness of the project broadly and to target donors and prospective tenants — companies who will want to rent out the AMRC’s wet labs. We had a successful groundbreaking launch event in May that drew in more than 160 guests, dignitaries, government officials and prospective tenants.

But this is a competitive marketplace. The city of Ottawa is frequently touted as one of the more generous cities in the country; there are a number of really excellent campaigns on the market and that presents

a challenge. This is a project that was not well-known broadly, hence our communications efforts. Also, the crisis in the Middle East has changed appetite among different donor constituents.

Overcoming some of those, we’ve had great interest from partners and donors beyond our 613 area code. They recognize that some of the initiatives we’re leading will have national impact.

THE OTTAWA HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

Raising $500M for the Campaign to Create Tomorrow

Tim Kluke, CEO and President of

The Ottawa Hospital Foundation

Q: The Ottawa Hospital has been serving Ottawa’s health needs and performing cuttingedge virology research out of a building that was constructed early in the last century. How does the Campaign to Create Tomorrow promise to transform the hospital?

TK: The main Civic building was built 100 years ago, in fact, as of this November. Over the years there have been a number of buildings attached to that original Civic but, to be honest, we’ve outgrown the space — the technology has outgrown the space — and it’s time to build a purpose-built facility that will allow us to deliver today’s medicine in what will be the most modern, technologically-advanced hospital of its time. The new campus will replace the existing Civic campus.

One of the key features of the new hospital is each patient room will be a single patient room. Each patient will have their own space, their own shower, and it’s a necessity around infection control. The shift is to move away from multiple patients in one room and toward private care and a space that’s been designed by multidisciplinary teams to work for the employees and visitors. And each room will be connected through technology to the patient’s records. They will be able to,

for example, review their imaging or order food with the technology.

There will be other new elements such as a command centre to direct patients and care teams across the hospital and a host of new developments as technology changes each and every day. We may use it to direct families and patients toward services.

We’ll be building a new research building connected to the main hospital, which will house our neuroscience facilities and our biomanufacturing facilities, where we make viruses and vaccines and conduct research on stem cells and oncolytic viruses. In any given year, we’re one of the top research institutes in the country, based on the Canadian Institute for Health Research Funding. We’ve integrated it right into the patient room so they can participate in trials and studies and contribute to our findings.

Q: Out of your $500-million goal you’ve already hit $330 million in two years. How have you gotten this far and what have been some of the campaign’s challenges?

TK: We really take a private approach because giving’s personal. There’s not a lot of fanfare or special events. We have professional staff and we work with a team of volunteers who go out to talk with prospective donors, because the ability to sit down and have a conversation with them to understand their interests and match them with ours is a priority. We really find one-on-one conversations the most efficient method of fundraising.

We had just recruited our chair and our campaign executive in spring 2020 and we were ready to have our first meeting, but of course everything was cancelled because of COVID. We went the first two years of the campaign, if not three, without having an in-person meeting with our volunteers. We quickly transitioned to inviting people to virtual meetings and we would open the calls by hand-delivering a proposal to donors.

We’ve been very grateful because organizations and families have made their largest philanthropic gifts ever to this campaign. We’ve also seen leaders in our community come together to rally around this cause. Leaders like Roger Greenberg, the initial chair of our campaign. Leaders like Rob Ashe, Jeff York, Michael Runia, Bruce Linton – those core campaign executives stepped up first with their donation and they’re willing to talk to their network to invite participation. Seeing those leaders come together is similar to how thenmayor Harold Fisher rallied the community of Ottawa 100 years ago to build The Ottawa Hospital, coming off the heels of a pandemic. It’s kind of ironic.

Q: When do you expect you’ll hit your goal?

TK: Our plan has always been that we would hit the goal three years from now, in 2027. We’re very grateful to date, but we have a long way to go.

TIM KLUKE

Progress can create unlikely allies

Can mining and environmental causes be friends? Times are certainly changing

By Peter Nicholson

There was a time when mining exploration and the environment were like oil and water.

Several years ago, I attended social impact investing conferences in America and the U.K. with a crazy idea — junior mining exploration and the environment don’t have to be enemies. In fact, they are friends. I remember one conference at Oxford when I introduced myself to other delegates.

“Why are you here?”

“Are you kidding me? Mining is causing all of the problems with the environment.”

“I think you took a wrong turn.”

And that was just day one. By day two of the conference, I discovered that someone had logged a complaint against me. I wasn’t kicked out of the conference, but I was politely asked to leave.

Oh, how times have changed. I wasn’t naive enough to think that junior mining exploration didn’t have a negative impact on our environment. I understood the track record of this industry, the poor regulatory standards of the past, and, of course, its complicated relationship with Indigenous peoples. What I was trying to get across was far more complex. Those delegates were only thinking about the past. My mind was already on the future.

In 1954, the Canadian government introduced flow-through shares, a financial instrument that allows Canadians to invest in junior mining companies. Junior mining exploration is risky — most of the time, they find nothing on the other end of that drill. Therefore, to entice investment, the government offered Canadians a 100-per-cent tax deduction.

This policy has existed for 70 years, four years older than your RRSP. It played an important role in Canada’s emergence as a mining superpower, adding billions to our GDP and thousands of jobs annually.

The next big moment in history came on May 2, 2006. Then prime minister Stephen Harper removed the capital gain tax on the donation of public stock, paving the way for our firm to perform the first-ever charity flow-through transaction.

Rather than someone holding onto that volatile junior mining share, they could donate it to charity and receive a second 100-per-cent tax receipt. Then, that stock could be immediately sold to a pre-arranged liquidity provider, or institutional buyer of mining shares, at a discount.

The result? No stock market risk for the donor.

When you combine those two 100-per-cent tax deductions, plus additional federal and provincial tax credits, our clients can receive a large tax deduction and pass on those savings to charities of their choice. In rough terms, the average donor can bring the cost to give one dollar down from 50 cents (if you receive a 100-per-cent tax deduction for a donation, at the

highest marginal tax rate) to as low as a penny.

There is also a for-profit option, known as a buy-sell, where the client can immediately sell the stock at that discount, keep the cash and receive all the tax deductibility.

Our innovation in 2006 sparked an entirely new industry for charity flow-through shares, resulting in billions of new donations for Canadian charities and billions more for junior mining exploration.

It was the latter that got me kicked out of that conference in Oxford. Sure, you are creating jobs, boosting the economy and helping charities. But the environment is suffering.

What I told them, at the time, was that charity flowthrough shares rarely deal in oil and gas. And today, charity flow-through for oil and gas no longer even exists. Most exploration involves minerals such as copper, zinc, cobalt or nickel. Yes, mining can hurt the environment. But how else can we build solar panels, windmills and electric cars?

Nobody thought about electric cars back then. Green energy, for the most part, was still in the realm of science fiction for most people. That is, until Canada’s 2022 federal budget. Chrystia Freeland, deputy prime minister and minister of finance, announced a critical mineral strategy to help supercharge our path to a low-carbon future.

In addition to the existing tax deductions for charity flow-through shares, the government introduced a new 30-per-cent federal tax credit (equivalent to a 60-per-cent deduction) on any projects exploring for critical minerals. It also announced billions more in critical mineral infrastructure and supply chains.

The government’s plan? That our abundance of critical minerals and the transition to a green energy economy will slowly replace the economic value of the oil sands industry. As we wean ourselves off fossil fuels, energy transition metals will step into their place. Suddenly, mining isn’t so scary anymore.

“I have to say, on a personal level, I’m having this strange experience of sitting on this couch and talking about the virtues of mining,” said Rick Smith, president of the Canadian Climate Institute, noted environmentalist and celebrated author. “Some of you may know, I started my career in 1988 in the environmental field, chained to a tree in Temagami before I was carted away by the OPP. This ivory cream-coloured couch is an enduring testament to the changing nature of this discussion we’re having.”

Smith said these words during a recent panel discussion at my home, when we hosted nearly 100 delegates from the Philanthropic Foundations Canada’s (PFC) annual conference in Ottawa. PFC, which represents all the large, private foundations in Canada, joined us to discuss how foundations can tackle climate change.

“But now we’re friends,” I responded, followed by laughter from the crowd. It was a poignant moment for me, as someone who has been in this business for so long.

In a recent report released by the Canadian Climate Institute, it was noted that global demand for six critical minerals will reach $770 billion per year by 2040. Meanwhile, it is estimated that Canada needs $30 billion in investment for critical mineral exploration. These are eye-watering numbers.

In an average year, my firm, along with our friendly competitors, might do $1.2 billion in financing for these mineral companies. Add to that, charity flow-through providers account for nearly 90 per cent of all junior mining company exploration in Canada. Our structure is that effective — and important — for critical mineral exploration. But the reality is, it’s not nearly enough.

Nevertheless, old habits and perceptions die hard. And, in some cases, rightfully so. By definition,mining requires us to alter the land. Meanwhile, relationships between mining companies and Indigenous groups can be strained as they negotiate the mineral royalty payments and use of the land. Mining is not and will never be perfect.

Just as Canadians need to accept that critical minerals exploration is necessary for a green energy transition, so too does industry need to make an effort toward sustainability. The government also plays a role. More must be done to incentivize investment in exploration, create positive relationships with Indigenous groups, and cut red tape so exploration sites can bring materials to market.

If we are to reach a low-carbon future and create a green energy infrastructure, we can no longer work in silos. We all must play for the same team.

For decades, Peter Nicholson has been a recognized leader in Canadian tax-assisted investments, with a specialized focus on philanthropic tax planning and tax reduction. Through his work with donors, foundations, institutions and boards, he has helped generate in excess of $350 million in client donations. To learn more about how WEALTH (WCPD Inc.) can assist your tax and philanthropic goals, write Peter.Nicholson@wcpd.com

THE SHIFTING DEBATE ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Leaders discuss the challenges facing environmental charities and social impact investing

By Jeff Todd

When Sandra Odendahl started her career in finance, she had a passion for supporting businesses while also doing something positive for the world.

There was just one problem — in the beginning, environmentalists couldn’t understand why she was in the room.

“I would go to environmental conferences and they’d say, ‘Oh, that’s so weird. What’s a banker doing at an environmental conference? What does banking have to do with the environment?’” she recalled.

“How bizarre. It was really a niche thing in finance and investing to look at the effect financial decisions have on the environment.”

While this perspective might feel like ancient history, Odendahl, now the senior vice-president and head of sustainability, diversity and social impact at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), was referring to her earlier days at RBC, more than 20 years ago.

Odendahl was one of three panelists at an event last September as part of the Philanthropic Foundations of Canada’s (PFC) annual conference in Ottawa.

This gathering of more than 80 delegates, representing some of the top private foundations across Canada, was held in collaboration with BDC, the leading business development bank; the Canadian Climate Institute, Canada’s top climate change policy research organization; and WEALTH (WCPD Inc.), a boutique financial services firm specializing in tax reduction, charitable giving and the financing of junior critical mineral mining companies.

The panel explored everything from government policy to social impact investing to philanthropy and the role of critical minerals in a green energy future.

It was a unique pairing of collaborators, a conversation made for the year 2024, bringing together sectors that have not always been allies when it comes to the environment.

“I have to say, on a personal level, I’m having this strange experience of sitting on this couch talking about the virtues of mining,” said Rick Smith, president of the Canadian Climate Institute, noted environmentalist and celebrated author.

“Some of you may know, I started my career in 1988 in the environmental field chained to a tree in Temagami before I was carted away by the OPP. This ivory cream-coloured couch is an enduring testament to the changing nature of this discussion we’re having.”

The couch Smith referred to was in the home of Peter Nicholson, president and founder of the WCPD Foundation, who hosted the reception and served as the third panelist.

Like Odendahl and the realm of finance, there was a time in the not-so-distant past when critical minerals were not part of the discussion around the environment. Nicholson shared a similar story about attending social impact conferences.

“When I first started, people would ask me, ‘How did you get into this conference?’ And I would talk about critical minerals and how you needed them for electric car batteries, solar panels and many other forms of technology,” he explained.

“They would look at me cross-eyed, like you were the devil, akin to the oil and gas business. So it feels a lot better talking about critical minerals now than it did back then.”

SHIFTING PRIORITIES TO CLIMATE

Panelists brought their own unique perspective to the challenge of climate change. The timing has never been more important. Despite the rising impact of climate change, giving to environmental causes remains persistently low.

According to Environmental Funders Canada, for example, this segment makes up about two per cent of all granting done in Canada.

Smith noted that, traditionally, donors have given to religious denominations, hospitals or universities, partly because these causes are more tangible and resonate in their day-to-day lives.

“However, something in the climate change debate has shifted in the knowledge that (climate change) is now part of our daily lives,” he said.

Smith pointed to the wildfire disaster this past summer in Jasper, Alta., or the widespread flooding in Quebec in August, which inflicted great hardship and billions in damage.

“We are also seeing more electric vehicles on the road. There are many new battery storage facilities. We

know the progress is happening globally. So in terms of that expectation or the effectiveness or moving the ball forward, that is clearly possible with climate change.”

The Climate Institute’s recent report “Early Estimate of National Emissions” revealed there has, in fact, been a decline in emissions in Canada. It is a mixed bag of news. On the negative side, emissions continue to increase in the oil and gas industry, representing up to one-third of the national total. Meanwhile, the electricity sector saw a seven-per-cent decline in 2023 compared to the previous year, with a 62-per-cent decline since 2005.

“So we are actually well on the way to decarbonizing the electricity sector even as we grow the amount of electricity we produce,” Smith added.

“It really underlines the importance of electrification.”

BDC AND SUSTAINABILITY

Odendahl also focused on why she remains so optimistic about the future.

The intrinsic link between business, entrepreneurship and the environment has come a long way since those first conferences she attended some 20 years ago. Odendahl noted the business and banking community were also a step behind.

In the early 2000s, when she led one of the first environmental risk management teams on Bay Street in Toronto, there was little appetite for social impact funds or businesses disclosing what they were doing to help reduce their impact on the environment.

“Now, people understand there are examples where you can make money and do good,” she explained.

“I don't think people go around saying, ‘Oh, don’t put money in that responsible investment. You’ll lose money.’ That narrative has changed a lot.”

Today, what inspires her is a whole new generation of entrepreneurs looking to embed sustainability into their business, with an eye on delivering impact across a whole range of returns — financially, environmentally and socially.

Odendahl identified four key “buckets” of climaterelated investment for BDC.

The first is with innovators, or entrepreneurs focused on growing a business that is offering a product or service that can drive sustainability. According to Odendahl, BDC has committed $1.6 billion to investment in cleantech companies, the largest investor of this kind in Canada.

The second area, she said, is supporting existing leaders in climate change, or lending to and investing in the companies or investment funds that are already part of this landscape.

A third bucket is adaption. With the climate crisis already here, she noted that, inevitably, society will be living

From left: Sandra Odendahl, senior vice-president and head of sustainability, diversity and social impact at BDC; Rick Smith, president of the Canadian Climate Institute; and Peter Nicholson, president of the WCPD Foundation. The panel discussion, part of the PFC annual conference, was moderated by Jeff Todd, vice-president of marketing and communications at the WCPD Foundation.

with its effects, even if net-zero were to happen tomorrow. Therefore, BDC is investing in entrepreneurs focused on supporting the infrastructure needed for adaption.

“We are also investing in the supply chain for the energy transition. It takes a lot of materials to actually make all the stuff we will have to make and build to electrify everything. And we don’t have the supply chains yet,” she added.

FINANCING CRITICAL MINERALS

The supply chain and exploration for critical minerals is where Nicholson and the WCPD Foundation comes in.

In 1954, the Canadian government introduced flowthrough shares as a way to finance junior mining in Canada. Three years older than the RRSP, this tax incentive offers a 100-per-cent tax deduction for every dollar invested, giving early-stage mining companies the ability to explore, create jobs and hopefully discover something exciting.

But flow-through shares are volatile. While the buyer receives a large tax deduction, shares in junior mining are risky, resulting in either a homerun or a strikeout. That changed in 2006, when Nicholson and his firm performed the first charity flow-through transaction. Rather than hold onto these shares, the donor could give them to charity, unlocking a second 100-per-cent tax deduction. Then, the shares can be sold to a prearranged liquidity provider (usually an institutional buyer of shares) willing to take on the stock market risk.

All combined, these two 100-per-cent tax deductions, plus additional provincial and federal credits, have allowed Canadians to reduce the cost to donate from 50 cents (assuming the highest marginal tax rate) to as low as a penny to give a dollar. The structure, industry-wide, has generated more than a billion dollars for registered

You are never going to get everything perfect. There is always that economic, social, environmental tradeoff. But at least you can be aware of it and can choose where you want to play.

charities and billions more for mining exploration.

Still, that didn’t endear Nicholson to the social impact conferences until the government introduced its critical minerals strategy in 2022, offering an additional 30-percent tax credit (equivalent to a 60-per-cent deduction) for projects searching for minerals such as copper, cobalt, lithium or nickel. It also announced billions more in critical mineral infrastructure and supply chains.

“Suddenly, the discussion shifted,” Nicholson explained. “People began to understand that, in order to create a low-carbon economy, we need these critical minerals in vast quantities.”

However, Nicholson also identified significant challenges.

As an industry, Canada’s charity flow-through providers generally finance around $1.2 billion in exploration per year. Meanwhile, this sector accounts for up to 90 per cent of all critical mineral exploration in Canada.

According to the Canadian Climate Institute, Canada alone will require $30 billion in investment for critical mineral exploration. Meanwhile, the sector must

continue to improve its sustainability performance.

“We still have a long way to go,” Nicholson said. “One of the barriers to the business — mining companies are interested in exploring. We have plenty of Canadian taxpayers and donors interested in the structure. The short leg in this three-legged stool is the liquidity providers, or the de-risker.”

With the junior mining industry starved for capital, he notes that philanthropists, private foundations and social impact investors will need to lean in and act as liquidity providers to help bolster the charity flowthrough landscape. In doing so, they receive a discount on the critical mineral stock as a reward for taking the risk, while also financing the critical mineral companies that could discover the next deposit of lithium, copper or cobalt.

THE WAY FORWARD

Whether it is policy, advocacy, entrepreneurship or investment, the panelists agreed it will require a multi-pronged approach to help tackle a problem as complicated as climate change.

To find a way forward, various industries will need to work together to find solutions.

“You are never going to get everything perfect. There is always that economic, social, environmental tradeoff. But at least you can be aware of it and can choose where you want to play,” Odendahl said.

Jeff Todd is the president of AFP Ottawa Chapter and vice-president of marketing and communications for the WCPD Foundation.

‘A

full circle moment’

Following her record $5M gift to uOttawa, Patricia Saputo shares her thoughts on the future of philanthropy

By Jeff Todd

Philanthropy can be about more than doing something positive for others. It can also be a way of righting old wrongs.

When Patricia Saputo was in her early 20s, she had the world at her feet — or so it seemed. As the child of Francesco Saputo, one of the founders of the Montrealbased cheese empire, you might think her dream to study law at the University of Ottawa wasn’t far-fetched.

However, Patricia, one of five daughters from a conservative Sicilian family, was told that, as a woman, she couldn’t move to Ottawa and live on her own unless she was married.

Undeterred, she carved her own path, attending Concordia University in Montreal and becoming a preeminent tax accountant and adviser to

enterprising families.

But she never forgot her desire to attend law school in Ottawa.

This memory recently led Patricia to donate $5 million to endow the Family Enterprise Legacy Institute (FELI) at the University of Ottawa, a program that, had it existed in her time, might have been the lifeline she needed.

“It was all personal, because it started with not being able to attend University of Ottawa and get a law degree. But it’s also personal because of all the work I do in the family office space, not just compliance and tax work, but on the human capital side as well,” she explains.

“In a lot of ways, it was a full circle moment. I think if a family enterprise program had existed, I would have attended every single one of them.”

When it comes to family offices, issues can go far

beyond wealth. While succession, governance and administration are important, relationships and the varying needs, values and interests of family members can also play a role in future success. Special programs in the United States, such as the Wharton Family Wealth Program or the Kellogg Family Enterprise, seek to offer instruction and counsel to this unique group.

Meanwhile, in Canada, there was nothing — until FELI at the Telfer School of Business came along, following Patricia’s donation earlier this year.

Not only is it the first school of its kind north of the border, but Patricia’s $5-million donation is the largest ever made by a woman to the university.

“Through her work, (Patricia) has become a leader growing and supporting family enterprises and the next generation of family leaders in Canada,” said Jacques Fremont, University of Ottawa’s president and vice-chancellor.

“God knows that family leaders are really making a difference in this country.”

Family-owned businesses account for 63.1 per cent of all private-sector firms in Canada and employ approximately 6.9 million Canadians. According to the Family Enterprise Foundation, ownership of

University of Ottawa president and vicechancellor Jacques Frémont, family enterprise leader Patricia Saputo, and Telfer School of Management dean Stéphane Brutus.

PHOTO BY CAROLINE PHILLIPS.

more than 60 per cent of family enterprises will change hands in the next decade.

Such a historic transfer of wealth presents an opportunity, Patricia says. With her expertise in family wealth consulting, Patricia is acutely aware that the next generation has a unique chance to chart its own path and make a difference in society.

Her gift has allowed Peter Jaskiewicz, a fulltime professor and researcher at the Telfer School of Management, to continue his work on crafting the modules and curriculum for FELI.

“There is one module we will be working on in November for the program,” Patricia adds. “Philanthropy usually comes at the end. So I am hoping it will be in there. And if it’s not, I will push for that. It needs to be.”

Patricia’s personal gift to the University of Ottawa is part of a trend among donors, especially those from family offices. Whereas in the past, families that had liquidity events might set up a charitable foundation due to the tax advantages, or to just tick a box, today’s generation of philanthropists are much more concerned with tangible impact.

“A lot of families, for example, have made their money in oil and gas,” she explains.

“The next generation feels, ‘Oh, we made our money on a dirty industry. How can we clean it up?’ So they want to give back in that way. How do we make good and make an impact now and undo what we did. There is more of a social conscience.”

Another huge change, Patricia adds, is the rise of social impact investing.

Rather than just giving money away, family offices and the new generation of philanthropists are more concerned with how they can invest their money to achieve societal change. Investment decisions are increasingly being made not just on a financial return, but on how it can help a particular community or segment of society.

In other words, giving for next generation has become more personal.

Of course, for Patricia, her record gift to the University of Ottawa is not for any financial return. Her measure of success, five or 10 years from now, will be seeing families enrolled in FELI and benefiting from its research and teachings. That perhaps, through the institute, future generations will not only be better enterprising families, but also become better people.

“It is all about the relationships in the family, not about the money,” Patricia explains.

“The money is there to help out so they can make the decisions that will really help them keep the family together. The money allows for a better life and to have more choices. And do something they enjoy doing, not because they have to do it, but because they want to. They can make a difference in their lives, the lives of their family, and the lives of the community.”

Jeff Todd is the president of AFP Ottawa Chapter and vice-president of marketing and communications for the WCPD Foundation.

Whether it is in Ottawa, or just about any Canadian city, capital campaigns abound.

Charity flow-throughs help major donors stretch How it works:

Hospitals, universities and every charity or foundation in between are seeking millions to meet the needs of communities. With so many competing causes and demands for charitable dollars, it has never been more important for major donors to leverage and get the very most out of each gift.

That was the case for Patricia Saputo, a wellknown tax accountant and family adviser, when she decided to make a historic $5-million gift to the University of Ottawa to endow the new Family Enterprise Legacy Institute at the Telfer School of Business.

“Using charity flow-through shares has allowed me to give more than I would otherwise been able to give,” explains Patricia, who co-founded the enterprising family advisory firm Crysalia Inc. in 2021. “Because of the fact we are doubling or even tripling our gift through all the tax benefits the government has allowed. So why wouldn’t anyone take advantage of giving a dollar with a cost of about 10 cents?"

Charity flow-through shares is a common financial structure that has been in the Canadian tax code since 2006. When donors purchase flow-through shares, they are investing in junior exploration companies. These companies are often seeking critical minerals such as lithium, copper and cobalt that are essential to technology and our green energy future.

In exchange for the purchase, the donor is given a 100-per-cent tax deduction, plus additional provincial and often critical mineral tax credits. The donor can then give these shares to charity, unlocking yet another 100-per-cent tax deduction.

But here is the special part: one second after donating these shares, they can be sold, at a discount, to a prearranged liquidity provider (usually institutional mining investors) willing to take on the stock market risk.

All combined, these tax policies allow donors, like Saputo, to significantly bring down the cost to donate. WCPD, one of a few charity flow-through share providers, takes care of the process in one seamless transaction. There is just one catch — you must have tax to pay. Wealth is not enough. This structure applies to anyone making over $250,000 in taxable income and/or passive inside a corporation.

For Patricia, as someone who is communityminded, charity flow-through allows her to thoughtfully stretch to more sectors of society.

“There are a lot of advantages to seeing who are the service providers out there, such as WCPD, that allow your dollar to go that much further,” she says.

Jeff Todd is the president of AFP Ottawa Chapter and vice-president of marketing and communications for the WCPD Foundation.

STEP 1:

Buy flow-through shares issued by a Canadian mining company. Every dollar invested in these shares is 100% tax deductible.

STEP 2:

Immediately donate these shares to charity. These shares are then instantly sold to a pre-arranged buyer (liquidity provider) at a prearranged contractual price. This step eliminates any stock market risk to the donor.

STEP 3:

Charity receives the cash proceeds and issues donation tax receipt to the donor, generating a second 100% tax deduction.

THE RESULT:

By combining two tax policies (flow-through shares & donations), the Foundation (WCPD) can help reduce your taxes, and if you wish to, allow you to give more.

Text and photos from OBJ.social columnist and photographer Caroline Phillips.

OBJ SOCIAL:

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS SHINE BRIGHT FOR DINING ON THE GRIDIRON

For the first time in six years, the sun smiled down on OSEG Foundation’s signature fundraiser, Dining on the Gridiron.

Co-host Henry Burris reacted exactly how one might expect of a sports legend known for his sunny disposition: he smiled right back.

“Mother Nature is on our side,” the retired CFL quarterback told a gathering of community and business leaders on the Ottawa Redblacks’ home turf at TD Place Stadium at Lansdowne.

It was an action-packed night filled with food, drinks and engaging games. Most importantly, the evening raised more than $300,000 for the OSEG Foundation, a non-profit organization that’s helping to ensure more children and youth in our community have the opportunity to play sports and to benefit from the mental, emotional, social and physical benefits.

The evening also served as a celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the CFL returning to Ottawa, made possible by the efforts of five Ottawa business leaders.

From left, OSEG executive chairman and managing partner Roger Greenberg, who’s also board chair of the OSEG Foundation, with Gourmet on the Gridiron co-hosts Patricia Boal and CFL legend Henry Burris.

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and his wife Ginny Sutcliffe arrive at OSEG Foundation’s Gourmet on the Gridiron.

From left, OSEG Foundation board member and community cabinet member Rob Ashe; Mark Goudie, OSEG Foundation board member and chief executive of Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group; former mayor Jim Durrell, OSEG Foundation board member and community cabinet member; and the Ottawa Redblacks’ new quarterback, Dru Brown.

Mahesh Mani, a partner in KPMG’s Ottawa office, and his wife, Deepali Mani, director of facilities services at the Bank of Canada.

From left, Telus account manager Rabyin Panicker and area sales manager Ashton Singh.

Ottawa Redblacks defensive back Adarius Pickett.

From left, EY partner Paul Mulvihill with his former colleague, Ian Sherman, CEO of Relationship Capital and a member of the board with the OSEG Foundation.

Leslie Mise, general manager at Mark Motors Group, is flanked by Ottawa Redblacks players Bryce Carter, left, and Winston Rose.

Text and photos from OBJ.social columnist and photographer Caroline Phillips.

OTTAWA

HOSPITAL

CELEBRATES CENTENARY

AND CAMPAIGN FOR NEW HEALTH-CARE HUB

It was definitely time.

The Ottawa Hospital Foundation hosted a party for 450 supporters to celebrate its many accomplishments, from the best in innovative research to the 100th anniversary of the Civic campus to the ongoing progress of its $500-million campaign toward the new $2.8-billion health-care hub that’s to be built in the heart of the nation’s capital.

The “It’s Time” celebration, presented by RBC and held

at the Shaw Centre, was spectacular. This was no black-tie, stuffy affair. Rather, the dress code was summer chic.

The new hospital hub will reshape health care, uncover new ways to treat people, build capacity, and attract and retain talent, attendees heard. Roughly 3,500 people have been recruited over the past three years and the hospital plans to recruit at least that over the next decade, said hospital president and CEO Cameron Love.

From left, event emcee Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, who’s also the department head of critical care at The Ottawa Hospital and a board member with its foundation, alongside the hospital’s president and CEO Cameron Love, and The Ottawa Hospital Foundation’s president and CEO, Tim Kluke.

From left, Alaina Rossiter from The Ottawa Hospital Foundation and foundation board member Sarah Grand, from Engel & Völkers.

From left, Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, and his wife, Fatima Hyder, and Pradeep Merchant, a member of the Campaign to Create Tomorrow executive, and his wife Anita Merchant.

From left, Tim Kluke of TOH Foundation, Cameron Love of TOH, Janet McKeage of TOH Foundation, Marjolaine Hudon of RBC, and Roger Greenberg of the hospital's Campaign to Create Tomorrow.

Colleen Westeinde and her husband, Jeff Westeinde, co-founder of Theia Partners.

From left, TOH board member Catherine Clark and Julie Lupinacci, chief customer officer at Hydro Ottawa.

From left, Kelly Santini LLP founding law partner Pat Santini and Emond Harnden LLP founding partner Jacques Emond.

From left, Rebecca Auer, Colleen Webber and Shawn Aaron were recognized as top researchers in 2023.

From Shelter to Stability: Ending Chronic Homelessness Together

Our Continuum of Care strategy provides permanent housing with wrap-around supports to meet the varying needs of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in Ottawa.

Will you be part of their journey?

151,620 meals served in our community kitchen last year

Over 350 individuals have a permanent home in our supportive housing residences

2,630 individuals access our emergency shelter annually

Over 500 staff and volunteers help us provide services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year

SHEPHERDS OF GOOD HOPE FOUNDATION

233 Murray St.

Ottawa, Ont.

K1N 5M9

sghottawa.com donate@sghottawa.com 613-789-8210

Year founded: 1983

X: sghottawa

Facebook: sghottawa

Instagram: sghottawa

David Gourlay CEO Kaveh Rikhtegar Chair

BOARD MEMBERS

SHEPHERDS OF GOOD HOPE FOUNDATION

Kaveh Rikhtegar

Chair

Carrol Pitters

David Rattray

Irfan Ahmed

Jim Orban

John Peters

Lyndra – GriffithHarnden

Mark Roundell

Michael Williams

Stephanie Montreuil

Wendy Hope

SHEPHERDS OF GOOD HOPE

Dave Donaldson

What we do

Shepherds of Good Hope is one of the largest not-for-profit organizations dedicated to meeting the needs of those experiencing homelessness and precariously-housed people of all genders in the city of Ottawa. Our vision is to provide homes for all, community for all, hope for all. We foster hope and reduce harm in Ottawa by providing around-the-clock specialized services, programs, and partnerships. Many of the people who access Shepherds of Good Hope’s programs and services face challenges with mental health, substance use disorder, and trauma.

Shepherds of Good Hope operates six, soon to be seven, supportive housing residences in five locations across our city. Our continuum of care

How you can help

GIVE

By supporting Shepherds of Good Hope, you are transforming the lives of people of all genders who are experiencing homelessness, many of whom live with mental health challenges, substance use disorder, and trauma. Your investment in our community will help people experiencing homelessness and people who are at risk of homelessness by directly supporting much-needed programs and services that make a difference every day.

also includes a community soup kitchen and drop-in program, health and wellness services, police and paramedic diversion programming, and an emergency shelter. We are proud to share that we officially house more people in permanent supportive housing than we shelter each night! This is a first in Shepherds of Good Hope’s history. Shepherds of Good Hope Foundation is dedicated to ethical fundraising and sustainable fiscal management. We support the work of Shepherds of Good Hope through donor-centred fundraising, ethical storytelling, and help to ensure sustainable financial management of the organization. The Foundation is responsible for all of Shepherds’ fundraising activities, including individual giving, events, grants, and community partnerships.

Fiona

Robin Sellar

John

TOP FUNDING SOURCES

Programs like our internationally-renowned Managed Alcohol Program and Supervised Consumption and Treatment Service save lives in our community by reversing overdoses and helping people with substance use disorders find hope again. Our Transitional Emergency Shelter Program serves individuals who need specialized health care in a non-judgemental and caring environment. This reduces hospital emergency room wait times, frees up first responder personnel’s time, and provides more

Events + fundraising

There are many ways to support Shepherds of Good Hope throughout the year via our community events!

Every spring, Ottawa community leaders gather for Shepherds of Good Hope's highly anticipated, signature event, Taste for Hope. Bringing together Ottawa’s top chefs, guests are treated to exquisite dishes that delighted tastebuds through this fun culinary experience. The food is paired with local offerings of craft beer, wine, and cocktails. The evening is topped off with a lively auction, including the opportunity to “fund-a-need.” The event is

tailored care for the individual. By supporting Shepherds of Good Hope, you are helping to make chronic homelessness a thing of the past as we build permanent supportive housing and move people out of shelters and into homes of their own. Without your support, none of these innovative programs would be possible. Please donate today!

VOLUNTEER

Every day, Shepherds of Good Hope volunteers make positive contributions across our city, showing people experiencing homelessness and vulnerably-housed adults in our community that people care. Find the right spot for you. We offer volunteering opportunities across our city at supportive housing residences in Kanata, Carlington, Lowertown, and Rideau-Rockcliffe. We also offer volunteer opportunities in our community soup kitchen on Murray Street. You can explore our year-round and seasonal volunteering by going to our website to apply and learn more.

Shepherds’ largest fundraiser of the year, with all money raised going directly to support lifechanging programs right here in our community. Stay tuned for 2025 Taste for Hope details – and find out what else we have going on by visiting www.sghottawa.com/events.

Want to host your own event and support those currently experiencing homelessness? Our team is here to help make it easy. Whether at home or in the office, we have the materials and tools you need to make a significant and positive impact on the lives of individuals today! Contact us at donate@sghottawa.ca to learn more.

GEOGRAPHIC REGION OF FOCUS

380 Cumberland St. Ottawa, Ont.

K1N 9P3

optionshousing.ca info@optionshousing.ca 613-241-6363

Year

Norm

BOARD MEMBERS

Liz Wigfull Vice Chair

Rae Wigglesworth Treasurer

Lauren Kupferschmid

Annie Carruthers

Jason Hunt

Heather Lachine

Al Shadid Gesa

What we do

Founded in 1989, Options Housing is a non-profit organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in Ottawa.

We focus on helping people get out of shelters, off the streets, and into stable, permanent housing with supports. Every team member and every program is focused on meeting people where they are, so we can help them get where they want to go.

This year, we became Options Housing, a name that better reflects our expanded services and the people we serve.

OUR PROGRAMS

Supportive Housing

We provide permanent housing to 128 adults who have experienced homelessness. Each of our four

supportive housing buildings offers daily on-site supports to tenants.

HOUSING FIRST

Our team works closely with 175 clients who have experienced chronic homelessness. We help our clients find and maintain permanent housing, and provide ongoing supports after they are housed.

Resource Centres

We operate eight resource centres that support plus 1000 Ottawa Community Housing tenants with services ranging from crisis support to community development.

Additional homelessness prevention programs include our Hoarding Assistance Team (HAT), PeerAssisted Community Engagement (PACE) team, and Housing Supports at Safer Supply Ottawa.