The Calgary Foundation releases Youth Vital Signs 2012

“Calgary is a great place to be a youth!” That’s what Calgarians, aged 12-20, are saying in the 2012 Youth Vital Signs Report. In fact, Calgary youth rated their overall quality of life a B.

Published for the first time in 2010, as a partnership between The Calgary Foundation and Youth Central, the 2012 edition of Youth Vital Signs is hot off the press. Inspired by The Calgary Foundation’s Calgary’s Vital Signs Report, the Youth Vital Signs Report combines the opinions and perspectives of youth, aged 12-20, with timely research to inform the public and private sectors, governments, youth funders and youth-serving charitable organizations.

This year, we were excited to learn that 26% of survey graders were born outside of Canada – adding unique voices to the survey results. The report showed high levels of youth engagement and volunteerism. In fact, 72% of graders indicated they have volunteered within the past year.

The report revealed some eyebrow-raising data. For instance, Canadian teens spend an average of 6 hours a day in front of a screen… substantially more than the recommended 2 hours. On a positive note, survey graders who indicated they participated regularly in a recreational activity were significantly more likely to rate their physical and mental well-being as high, compared to those who did not participate regularly in sports.

Calgary Youth Vital Signs Report Highlights

• Employment & Training: C+
  Calgary youth unemployment rates reached 14% in 2010, nearly double the 2008 rate of 7.4%. Alberta has also seen a 27% drop in on-the-job apprenticeship registrations since 2006.

• Health & Safety: B-
  Youth crime rates continue to decrease in Calgary, with the total youth crime rate dropping by 33% between 2006 and 2010.

• Identity and Belonging: C+
  Youth told us that there is a growing sense of belonging and an increase in opportunities to embrace cultural differences. One area of research was less positive… the high school dropout rate for Alberta ESL learners is more than double the average.

• Youth Spaces: C+
  Youth commented that while Calgary is home to many recreation and leisure centres, including Shaw Millennium Skate Park, there is a real need for more youth-friendly spaces – specifically places out of the downtown core.

Accelerating social enterprise at The Calgary Foundation

By Taylor Barrie

The Calgary Foundation’s work is focused on strengthening the philanthropic sector,  and recently the Foundation’s work in the area of social enterprise determined that nonprofit and for-profit companies are coming together to achieve a connection between social and economic growth.

An initial report, Money and Mission, commissioned in 2009 by The Calgary Foundation, the United Way of Calgary and Area, and The City of Calgary revealed that Calgary has a strong appetite for innovation and growth in the area of social enterprise.

In March 2011, in partnership with Social Venture Partners Calgary (SVP), the Foundation completed a comprehensive 10-month pilot project, detailed in the recently published  Accelerating Social Enterprise Growth in Calgary.

The six-month pilot project provided business expertise to two selected nonprofits to prove out their social enterprises in the marketplace and link them to new sources of social investment. The two organizations selected were: Hull Child and Family Services, with their new Hull Psychological Services program to reduce adolescent drug abuse, and Women in Need Society with their sales of collectible items culled from their thrift store donations.

The key learnings from the pilot component of the project were:

• There are investors in Calgary outside of the traditional granting stream who are receptive to social enterprise opportunities
• Nonprofits demonstrated demand for an initiative to accelerate social enterprise
• The benefits of social enterprise go beyond diversifying the revenue base for nonprofits. Benefits include mission fulfillment, staff retention, internal capacity building, operational efficiencies, and leveraging of grant-funded programs against the marketplace

The full Accelerating Social Enterprise report is available online here.

Taylor Barrie is Communications Assistant with The Calgary Foundation 

Program helps Calgary’s immigrant seniors engage with community

Coming to a new country can be difficult, but older women face distinct challenges – they’re at high risk for social and cultural seclusion as they struggle to adapt to new surroundings and language barriers. Some feel so intimidated they rarely leave their homes.

But a new program supported by The Calgary Foundation is helping. Engaging Immigrant Seniors, founded by the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association, provides language classes and customized programs familiar to the women, easing their transition through sharing stories, and participating in activities and field trips.

The Calgary Immigrant Women's Association is reaching out to senior women in the community. Photo courtesy CIWA

“The project is reducing social isolation and providing meaningful community engagement for senior immigrant women,” says Beba Svigir, CIWA Executive Director.

“In the process they are provided assistance with communication, and access to community resources that enhance their integration experience.”

Calgary’s 2010 Vital Signs report showed that 53 per cent of respondents did not think Calgarians are doing enough to welcome new Canadians. That, coupled with the fact that by 2016, nearly 14 per cent of Albertans will be aged 65 or older, has prompted a new Aging Population key issue area in Calgary’s 2011 Vital Signs.

According to Eva Friesen, CEO of The Calgary Foundation, the CIWA program delivers services in a holistic way.

“We support this initiative to provide senior immigrant women with the confidence and support needed to take ownership of their integration process while making valuable contributions to the well-being of their communities,” she says.

Community engagement at heart of Calgary’s Vital Signs — and new mayor “gets it”

By Janice Francey

“Your old road is rapidly aging. Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand, for the times they are a-changing” – Bob Dylan

Naheed Nenshi’s remarkable upset of two well-known, well-financed frontrunners caused quite a media storm when he became Calgary’s new mayor on October 18, 2010.

From the old (newspapers, radio, CBC, CNN) to the new (Twitter, Facebook, blogs), his unexpected win heralded a new perspective on Calgary as a progressive, multicultural city with a motivated population of young, engaged citizens.

His campaign, dubbed the purple revolution, included the usual rhetoric about the need for change and a promise to make City Hall more accountable to citizens. But with 53 per cent hitting the polls – the largest voter turnout in three decades – he did something else that captured the imagination of Calgarians.

While other mayoral hopefuls favoured the traditional passive, one-way dialogue with a candidate talking at an audience, Naheed wisely embraced both traditional and non-traditional two-way dialogue, creating new audiences through social media and conversations with Calgarians on their own terms, whether it be in living rooms, basements, or even street corners.

Community engagement is at the heart of Calgary’s Vital Signs Report, which was launched by The Calgary Foundation in 2007 to spark discussion, encourage connections and inspire action.

More than 1,100 Calgarians took up the invitation to grade Calgary’s quality of life. Their enthusiasm and insights generated an astounding 22,000 comments in 12 issue areas including Health & Wellness, Sustainable City, Safety, Learning, Housing and Food.

Calgarians are encouraged to continue the conversation by attending Vital Conversations — public forums hosted by The Calgary Foundation in partnership with the Calgary Public Library — which invite citizens to voice their opinions on issues presented in the Vital Signs Report.

Luckily for Calgary, our new mayor, as they say, “gets it.” From the five years he spent serving on several of The Calgary Foundation’s committees assisting charitable organizations that receive grants, Naheed also clearly “gets” community foundations.

His campaign, defined by his belief in politics in full sentences and the importance of letting everyone have their say, reflects that yes indeed, the times they are a-changing.

Janice Francey is a Communications Specialist with The Calgary Foundation

Calgary’s Youth VitalSigns deepening knowledge of local needs

It’s National Youth Week in Canada – a celebration of youth and their active participation in their community which is why the recent release of the Youth VitalSigns Report in Calgary is so timely.

Inspired by The Calgary Foundation’s VitalSigns Report, this youth-driven report combines the opinions and perspectives of youth with timely research to inform the public and private sectors, governments, youth funders and youth-serving charitable organizations.

Youth VitalSigns is part of a growing movement that seeks to hear, strengthen, and empower young people. The project was launched by The Calgary Foundation and Youth Central to support positive leadership opportunities for youth to:

• Influence change by sharing their experiences and perspectives
• Expand their understanding of local community issues
• Take action in their school and community

Young people are an important asset to Canadian communities. The report gives voice to over 1,200 young Calgarians who graded their quality of life in 12 issue areas from ‘Employment and Training’ to ‘Going Green.’ By sharing their concerns, reasons to celebrate and suggestions for improvement – posted at youthvitalsigns.ca – they have become a valuable community resource.

The grades of 5 B’s and 7 C’s reflect the concerns the majority of youth graders have for their community. There are over 140,000 youth aged 24 and under living in Calgary, yet graders overwhelming state that there are few opportunities to “have a voice” in their communities and gave the issue area of Youth Voice a C.

Over 90% of graders live with family, yet the key issue area of youth homelessness and housing received a C, one of the lowest grades. With an estimated 700 people under the age of 24 living on the streets of Calgary, graders identified this area as one of the top priorities that needs immediate community investment.

Recreation and Sports received a B, one of the highest grades, with 54% of youth reporting participation in community activities while acknowledging that fee’s are a barrier for some youth. A few of the other vital facts from the 2010 Youth VitalSigns Report:

• Calgary has the lowest rate of youth cigarette smokers (grades 7-12) in Alberta, but the highest rate of youth who smoked cannabis in the past year.
• Calgary’s Youth offences decreased by almost 25 per cent since 2005.
• In 2009, 29 per cent of Calgary’s Grade 3 students were ESL students, compared to the provincial average of 13 per cent.
• In October 2009, the unemployment rate for Calgary’s youth reached 15.3 per cent – twice the rate of unemployed adults.

Youth VitalSigns has great value in deepening The Calgary Foundation’s understanding and knowledge of community needs to better inform our work in serving donors and in making effective grants to strengthen the charitable community.

Supporting youth has always been an important focus of The Calgary Foundation and its donors. In the last 2 years, The Foundation has contributed over $7 million towards initiatives that serve Children, Youth and Families including $1.9 million to support over 300 student awards last year.

A small sample of the Foundation’s support in this area includes funding for an employment program for street youth, a musical instrument loan program for underprivileged youth, a learning disability CD, anti-bullying campaigns, immigrant youth education programs and youth mentoring programs.

Engaging young people can build a strong sense of connection to their community, a commitment to civic action, and a passion for active learning. Being part of the process gives youth a feeling of ownership, they can mobilize others and become powerful role models.

Interestingly, the report highlights that youth who reported being very connected to their community tended to give higher grades then youth who reported being less connected to their community.

Youth VitalSigns bridges the developmental gap between childhood and adulthood by giving youth a voice, encouraging them to feel more connected to and engaged in their community as they grow into responsible, socially conscious adults. But youth engagement can only happen when youth voices are heard…and when leaders make an effort to listen.

Eva Friesen is the President and CEO of The Calgary Foundation

Voice of Calgary youth heard through 2010 Youth VitalSigns Report

Get the grades on how city youth rated their quality of life

Calgary, AB – The Calgary Foundation and Youth Central are releasing the first 2010 Youth VitalSigns Report.

Inspired by The Calgary Foundation’s VitalSigns Report, the Youth VitalSigns Report combines the opinions and perspectives of youth aged 12-24 with timely research to inform the public and private sectors, governments, youth funders and youth serving charitable organizations.

“We know youth have valid opinions, good ideas and a concern for the future of their communities,” said Eva Friesen, President & CEO of The Calgary Foundation. “Engaging youth builds a strong sense of community. In fact, the report highlights that youth who reported being very connected to their community tended to give higher grades then youth who reported being less connected to their community.”

“We believe that the youth in our city can, and should, have a voice in shaping our vibrant communities,” said Penny Hume, Executive Director with Youth Central. “As contributing citizens and future leaders, our youth hold important knowledge and vision that can help create a city that truly is great for all Calgarians.”

The Youth VitalSigns Report was funded through the generous support of the TELUS Calgary Community Board with a $20,000 donation.

“The mandate of the TELUS Calgary Community Board includes support of innovative youth projects in Calgary,” said Ken King, Chair of the TELUS Calgary Community Board. “This initiative showcases the amazing things that can, and are, being accomplished by our future leaders. It has never been more vital to hear, and take to heart, what youth in Calgary are telling us about their city.”

Not only did the youth grade their quality of life in 12 key issue areas from Employment & Training to Going Green, they also rated their top three concerns, and provided hundreds of comments – concerns, reasons to celebrate and suggestions for improvement that will be posted at thecalgaryfoundation.org and cyfc.ca websites.

A few of the many Vital facts from the 2010 Youth VitalSigns Report:

• Calgary has the lowest rate of youth cigarette smokers (grades 7-12) in Alberta, but the highest rate of youth who smoked cannabis in the past year.

• Calgary’s Youth offences decreased by almost 25 per cent since 2005.

• In 2009, 29 per cent of Calgary’s Grade 3 students were ESL students, compared to the provincial average of 13 per cent.

• In October 2009, the unemployment rate for Calgary’s youth reached 15.3 per cent – twice the rate of unemployed adults.

Full details on the 2010 Youth VitalSigns Report can be found at http://www.youthvitalsignscalgary.ca.

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The Calgary Foundation (TCF) – Established in 1955, TCF facilitates collaborative philanthropy by making powerful connections between donors and community organizations for the long term benefit of Calgary and surrounding area. In 2008-2009, The Calgary Foundation saw $25 million in new contributions, had an asset base of $274 million and granted $22 million to 655 charitable organizations.

Youth Central (formerly Child and Youth Friendly Calgary) aims to inspire, engage and celebrate youth through community participation. This vision is based on the firm belief that young people who experience involvement and philanthropy at an early age grow up with an ongoing sense of responsibility to their community. Youth Central believes that all youth should participate in shaping a vibrant community.

The TELUS Calgary Community Board is comprised of community leaders and TELUS team members who come together to make local funding decisions and seek out charitable partners – an approach to corporate philanthropy unique in Canada – ensuring the decision-making remains within the community. Since 2005, the TELUS Calgary Community Board has donated $2.8 million in support of 181 individual projects run by not-for-profit organizations, 32 projects were funded in 2009. The TELUS Calgary Community Board will allocate $500,000 to charitable and non-profit groups in the city this year. Nine TELUS Community Boards across Canada lead TELUS’ local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company ever to receive this prestigious international recognition.

A Vital Conversation in Calgary

An infectious desire to make this city the best it can be.

Diverse opinions reached a common goal when The Calgary Foundation held the first of a series of Vital Conversations, on the topic of “sustainable city,” in late January.

Vital Conversations are public dialogue events that have become TCF’s way to engage citizens in the development of Calgary’s Vital Signs Report. Each discussion is centred around a key-issue area presented in our report, and the latest was hosted in partnership with the Calgary Public Library and the new Office of Sustainability at the City of Calgary.

The event exceeded our expectations. We had to limit the attendees to 150 people, experienced a full turn-out, had to brew extra coffee and saw every last appetizer eaten. Through planned partnerships, we were able to provide ‘farm-to-fork’ appetizers from a sustainable catering company, Forage, and were supplied with organic, free-trade coffee from a local roasterie.

The early-evening event and reception was held at the downtown branch of the Calgary Public Library, with a casual and energetic tone. After a few short introductory presentations, participants formed break-out discussion groups of 7 to 8 people. The groups were led by volunteers who were equipped  with three rounds of questions, ranging from “What possibilities have the power to transform our city and would most inspire you?” to “What in your view are the top three challenges standing in the way of a more sustainable Calgary?” Each group was assigned a scribe who recorded the discussion on a master sheet – soon to be compiled and posted on our website.

Throughout the event, we incorporated ‘live-tweeting,’ a successful experiment that resulted in more than 30 live tweets that brought out highlights, expressed comments and pointed out who was in attendance. Examples of live-tweets were:

•  Sustainability is more than the environment. It’s about building a great city for everyone forever. #yycf
• Ideas for sustainability seem to revolve around community & means of social interaction & connection. #yycf
• Sounds like all on the same page. Is that b/c of demographics of ppl there? Why so difficult to do these things? #yycf  

By the end of the night, there was a powerful sense of camaraderie as group leaders ran up to the stage for a quick recap, making incredibly inspiring one-minute statements. It was interesting to see how 17 groups from a very diverse crowd managed to come up with very similar discussion highlights – there was a consistent theme of connecting with our neighbours and our community, the need for more public space, community activities, community gardens, collaboration, self-organized events, and teamwork.

One representative came up to the podium to say, “The first step towards building a sustainable city is to go get to know your neighbour. We may not often have much time or resources, but each and every one of you can go out this weekend and meet your neighbour.”

The evening could be summarized in one leader’s presentation: “A diversity of opinions, but a commonality in one goal – an infectious desire to make this city the best it can be.”

We look forward to hosting three more Vital Conversations on other key-issue areas, at different library branches. If you would like more details, please visit www.thecalgaryfoundation.org.
 
Teri Shortreed is Communications Assistant with The Calgary Foundation

A vibrant city needs vital information to thrive

Eva Friesen is the President & CEO of The Calgary Foundation. This piece originally appeared in The Calgary Herald on October 29, 2009

Relative to many other cities in the world, Calgary is a dynamic young city that has seen a very high rate of growth, surging to over one million in just over a century. We pride ourselves on our ‘can do’ attitude, high level of education, employment opportunities, increasing cultural diversity, willingness to volunteer, and access to great parks and pathways. Others think of us as an economic powerhouse and globally, we rate very high for safety and livability.

Yet, in a recent survey, Calgarians gave their quality of life a “B” grade. While not a bad grade, the question remains, how can Calgary do better?

Earlier this month the Calgary Foundation released Calgary’s VitalSigns, our 2009 Citizens’ Report Card. Over 1,700 citizens and community partners contributed towards developing a snapshot of quality of life in Calgary. Unlike many report cards, not only does VitalSigns provide up to date statistics covering 12 key areas of quality of life in our city, but citizens are invited to grade these areas so that we can take the pulse of our city based on both the facts and perceptions of Calgarians.

Coming as it did in the middle of the worst economic downturn in 80 years, one might be excused for thinking that Calgarians were feeling less than bullish about their city this year.

Not so. Despite the tough economic times, citizen perception of the way things are did not drop in any of the report’s categories from last year’s scores. While this perhaps speaks to the genuine pride most Calgarians have in their city, as well as an undeniable drive to “tough things out”, it also speaks to the need to have solid information and continued citizen engagement about the results.

After all, while it is good that the grades were no worse this year, it should matter that we have seen sense of community belonging drop sharply, voter turnout continue to decline, charitable donations fall, and emergency room wait times increase.

Similarly, while Calgary’s unemployment rate remains one of the lowest in the country, it has doubled over the past year, resulting in higher food bank usage, more homelessness, a rise in personal bankruptcies and more high-risk calls to Distress Centre Calgary. Of course, the bad news is tempered by many areas that merit applause–assets to build upon as we look for ways to improve our overall performance.

This year these included the curbside recycling program, which will double the volume of material diverted from landfills; water conservation efforts that are on target to meet the city’s sustainable water use target by 2033; a violent crime rate that is much lower than the national average; high library usage; the highest score in the country for lifelong learning; and a 10-year plan to end homelessness that is on track to add 891 units of affordable housing by 2011.

These results speak to a pervasive need to have a different kind of conversation about what is really happening in our city. We need to ensure our actions are informed by the best information available, both factual and perceptual. Systems scientists call this feedback, and it should underpin any conversation about the real pulse of Calgary.

The power of good feedback is remarkable. For example, in a housing development in the Netherlands, electric meters were accidentally installed in the basements of some houses and in the front halls of otherwise identical houses. Electricity use in the houses where the meters were easily visible was 30 per cent more efficient than in the houses where the meters were out of sight. The only difference was the ability to effectively monitor what was going on. So, how can Calgary do better?

As we reflect on the vitality of our city–and the social, cultural, economic and environmental conditions that support or erode resilience– one response is to continue to improve the breadth and sophistication of how we monitor and celebrate our progress and how we work together to change course when necessary. Community engagement is vital to this process.

Two good upcoming examples are Bowness VitalSigns (PDF) and Youth VitalSigns (Spring 2010). These focused reports will seed conversations and increase our city’s capacity to address issues and celebrate success–and hopefully they will be role models for further innovation.

Early in the new year, The Calgary Foundation, in partnership with community partners, will be hosting Vital Conversations (PDF), dynamic community forums inviting citizen engagement around the results of the 2009 report and input toward development of the 2010 report.

Our ability to improve how we monitor our progress and measure what matters also rests on the availability of credible and relevant indicators. This can be a major barrier to telling the full story of quality of life in our city. For this reason, we are calling for opportunities to work collaboratively to identify and develop new and compelling indicators that will enhance our collective capacity to keep a keen eye on our performance.

While getting an “A” for quality of life may remain elusive for a while yet, The Calgary Foundation is committed to continuing to work with community partners to ensure we earn high marks for our combined efforts to monitor and respond to both the good news and challenges affecting quality in life in Calgary.

Our city deserves nothing less; a vital city needs vital information to thrive.