Vibrant community sport sector an important ingredient in community vitality

By Barbara McMillan

Community foundations understand the value that sport brings to communities, and why programs involving sports are worth supporting.

Whether the focus is on athletic performance or fostering healthy lifestyles, engaging volunteers or cultivating leadership, building confidence or building community, we know that a vibrant, accessible, and adequately funded community sport sector is an important ingredient of community vitality.

We also know that it can be a challenge for sport organizations to access the resources necessary to allow them to meet the demand for their programs, and increase their capacity, their impact or their reach.  And for funders, there may be procedural, capacity or awareness barriers that might limit their ability to support sport organizations in the way they would like.

That’s why more than 60 representatives from sport organizations and community and other foundations, including Ian Bird, Community Foundations of Canada’s President and CEO, recently gathered for a day-long symposium at the UBC John MS Leckie Boathouse in Richmond to explore opportunities to work together to enhance sports philanthropy.

We heard many stories of how community foundations are supporting sport through grants, agency endowments, legacy funds, and infrastructure projects. And we heard about the power of sport to change lives, improve health outcomes, and strengthen community. But we also learned about the regulatory, resource, and turf barriers that can limit capacity and impact.

Initial feedback about the meeting has been overwhelmingly positive. Sport groups and community foundations appreciated the opportunity to learn more about each other and to start a conversation about how we can more intentionally and strategically connect our sport and our philanthropy organizations and networks.

One of the immediate outcomes is that the sport organizations that participated now see community foundations as partners rather than funders.

We’re now pulling together the notes from the meeting, and will be considering how – with some of the many ideas generated and relationships initiated – we will foster a sport and community philanthropy strategy.

As one participant noted: “There is so much value in this discussion, and sharing information may result in movement toward collaboration – let’s keep the discussion going and expand it.”

Stay tuned …

Barbara McMillan is Community Foundations of Canada’s Director of Regional Strategies

Montreal’s Vital Signs shows city on a roll, but challenges remain

By Marina Boulos

Greater Montreal’s Vital Signs returned for a fifth year in 2011.

In five years, Vital Signs has developed a loyal following of people and organizations who await its publication. It has become a great guide for one’s philanthropic actions. In fact, 98% of our 2011 community grants are in response to a Vital Sign.

Vital Signs is a recognizable brand, and the Foundation of Greater Montreal has begun to provide presentations about it to companies, libraries, seniors clubs, as well as private clubs.

Marina Boulos, President & CEO of the FGM

In five years, one can effectively see if our city has made progress and if certain challenges continue to need everyone’s help. What improvements can we point to? For one thing, Greater Montreal is on a roll. With its high-tech industries and the predicted creation of 60,000 new jobs by 2014, Montreal has some good days ahead… its diversity is a great source of enrichment and a vehicle for advancement.

The unemployment rates amongst immigrants has declined by 18% in one year. Other good news is that the high school drop-out rate decreased by 2.8% in  the past three years. While only 48% participate in some form of physical activity, obesity declined by 4% in the last year.

What are the challenges? The cost of living has risen in Greater Montreal. In one year, the city gained almost 20 ranking spots (from 98th to 79th) as one of the most expensive cities in the world. As well, an increasing number of households with employment income are relying on food banks to feed their families, an increase of 65% in 3 years. And finding housing for families is becoming difficult as three-bedroom apartments are scarce, with a decrease in the vacancy rate of 2.1% in 2010 to 1% in 2011.

Finally, 93.5% of Greater Montreal residents are happy with their lives, almost 5% more than in 2003. That makes me happy, too.

Marina Boulos is President & CEO of the Foundation of Greater Montreal

Affordable housing, poverty top issues for youth, says Victoria’s Youth 2011 Vital Signs

Victoria, B.C., Nov. 21, 2011 – Affordable housing and poverty are the top issues for youth in the Capital Regional District according to the Victoria’s Youth 2011 Vital Signs report issued by the Victoria Foundation.

Like Vital Signs, an annual community report card produced by the Victoria Foundation, the Youth Vital Signs report is a combination of public opinion and statistics that provides a snapshot of livability and well-being in Greater Victoria. In this report, which is sponsored by the TELUS Victoria Community Board, youth ages 15 – 24 were asked for their opinions on issues critical to their quality of life.

Of the 12 issue areas covered by the survey, youth housing and homelessness tied with poverty as the top issues that need attention, with respondents giving them a C and C- grade respectively. Seventy-one per cent of respondents called for more affordable student housing, 65 per cent called for more affordable housing, and 55 per cent called for a higher minimum wage.

Transportation (B-) and youth voice (C) tied for second place in the list of top concerns. Respondents called for more frequent (54%) and more late-night bus service (55%) and lower bus fares (50%). They also said governments could better recognize and include youths’ perspective by increasing awareness of options and opportunities for involvement (57%), providing more education about the political system (46%) and consulting youth at all levels (43%).

“We know youth have valid opinions, good ideas and a concern for the future of their communities,” said Sandra Richardson, CEO of the Victoria Foundation. “We also know there are many decision-makers in the public, private and non-profit sectors who want to know how youth understand the world and are willing to provide support and resources to make sure youth are heard. This report gives youth the opportunity to influence change by sharing their experiences and perspectives.”

Richardson said the Victoria Foundation has used the Youth Vital Signs reports to make funding decisions, supporting programs to help youth coming off the streets, to keep kids in school, promote literacy, and to prevent and treat drug and alcohol addiction. Vital Signs is also used to guide granting decisions by participants in the Vital Youth philanthropy program sponsored by the foundation in seven areas high schools.

This is the third year the Victoria Foundation has conducted a Youth Vital Signs survey and the first that results have been published separately from the Victoria’s Vital Signs report – an initiative to celebrate the foundation’s 75^th anniversary. The report was released at the TED-X Victoria Conference Nov. 19.

The full Victoria’s Youth 2011 Vital Signs report is posted at www.victoriafoundation.bc.ca.

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Background: The Victoria Foundation manages funds gifted either in perpetuity or for specific purposes. The funds or the earnings from them are then distributed as grants for charitable or educational purposes. Established in 1936, the Victoria Foundation is Canada’s second oldest community foundation and its sixth largest. To date it has invested more than $100 million in people, projects and non-profit organizations that strengthen communities. Read more about The Victoria Foundation’s vision and mandate.

 

Vacancy rates don’t necessarily indicate types, quality of units available

By Jane Londerville

As the CMHC rental housing statistics in the Canada’s Vital Signs report indicate, vacancy rates vary significantly across the country.

Although not reported, rates also vary substantially by unit type across these cities – so there may be sufficient supply of three-bedroom units but a shortage of bachelors and one bedroom units, for example. Although a rental market is considered to be balanced if it has a vacancy rate of 3%, a vacancy higher than this does not necessarily mean there is a healthy choice available for tenants.

University of Guelph professor Jane Londerville

The survey does not track the quality of the units for rent. Some counted in the 3% may be substandard and poorly maintained. They may be poorly insulated, requiring high utility costs that make them unaffordable. Or they may be poorly located for families with children.

There are also rental units missing from the market survey. CMHC measures vacancy in buildings with three or more units, so apartments above stores on the main street and most rented condos are not included. In some centres, the vacancy rates for these types of units moves with the overall rate but in some cases these categories might have a different vacancy than the rest of the market.

While the rental survey provides a good overview of the health of the rental market and how it is changing over time in each locale, to fully understand the health of each market requires further investigation at the local level.

Jane Londerville is a professor in the Department of Marketing and Consumer Studies, specializing in real estate and housing, at the University of Guelph

 

REEP House builds community in Kitchener

By Cheryl Evans

REEP House for Sustainable Living has transformed a drafty, 105-year-old energy pig into to a state-of-the art showroom for energy and water efficient upgrades.

Located at 20 Mill Street in downtown Kitchener, REEP House provides free, hands-on tours and do-it-yourself green renovation workshops for the entire community. The website and Green Retrofit Workbook, funded in part by the Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation, provide a virtual connection to all things green.

With information in hand, and a growing community of supporters, REEP House demonstrates that in the long term, green renos not only save water and energy, they are also an excellent financial investment.

The Green Retrofit Workbook (GRW) is an innovative piece of software that puts all of the green retrofit decision-making information required into the hands of people on the front lines of green building. Homeowners and contractors input existing data about a home into the GRW to generate a model of its present energy and water consumption rates and associated costs.
It then allows clients to enter their renovation wish list and generates a report that calculates the cost, payback, and resource savings generated by undertaking each item on the list.

By analysing the long-term resource and cost benefits of green renovation, the software aims to inspire renovators across Canada to reduce their energy and water consumption rates by up to 90 per cent and to put thousands of dollars into people’s pockets!

REEP House was built by the community. More than 11,000 hours of labour, 85 contractors, an 11-member design committee, 13 major funders and 28 donors made the transformation possible.

REEP House now builds community. Since we opened our doors only a few short months ago, we have welcomed more than 1,000 visitors. Onsite and on the web these people connect with each other. They are inspired at REEP House and move forward to undertake exciting retrofit projects with the help of local contractors and lenders. Those people then pass on their knowledge
and spread the word about REEP House, and so the REEP House community grows.

Please feel free to book a visit with us at REEP House to use the house as it was intended, as a hands-on learning centre and community meeting place. We are now open for regular tours, workshops and also have meeting rooms available. Or drop by for a virtual visit any time!

For rates and availability please contact Cheryl Evans at info@reephouse.ca or 519-603-0323.

Cheryl Evans is REEP House Outreach Officer

Day of action for a federal strategy to address housing as a critical vital sign

By Christiane Mitchell

October 19th marks the launch of the Red Tent Campaign, a multi-partner campaign to end the coast-to-coast crisis of homelessness and draw attention to the need for a federal housing strategy, such as the federal Bill C-304, should it pass into law.

Rallies in cities across Canada will be held to draw attention to the 300,000 homeless people and the inadequate housing of more than a million others. As a vibrant symbol, carried by hundreds of activists and volunteers, the red-coloured, functional tents will bear the message of “housing is a right” – an international human rights law to which Canada is signatory and bound, but unfortunately does not live up to. The splash of red tents on Parliament Hill, along with other locations across the country, will underscore the key message to parliamentarians: housing is a human right and significantly enhanced investment in housing and housing supports is needed if homelessness is to be eliminated and the right to housing is to be honoured.

Empirical evidence shows that decent, affordable housing is an absolute necessity for good health. On the flip side, inadequate and/or unaffordable housing is linked to:

• Higher risk for illness and death among people who are homeless versus the general population. For example, in Toronto, adult women who are homeless are 10 times more likely to die than other women in the general population;
• High risk of respiratory disease, infectious disease and asthma due to lead, mould, vermin, poor heating, dampness, overcrowding and/or poor ventilation;
• High risk of mental health problems associated with overcrowding;
• Stress, leading to unhealthy coping behaviours, such as tobacco use and substance abuse; and
• Less money available to support other social determinants of health, e.g., nutritious food.

In addition to the adverse affects of poor housing on individual health, let’s comprehend the broader spectrum of health problems associated with low income neighbourhoods.

An Ontario-based study showed children living in poor neighbourhoods had a 67% higher rate of injuries than children living in the wealthiest neighbourhood. Living in a deprived area has also been shown to increase smoking, decrease physical activity, increase depression, increase noise pollution, increase speeding-related accidents, thus impairing a community’s vital signs and its quality of life.

Ensuring access to affordable, adequate, safe housing for all will make an immense contribution to the improvement of emotional and physical health and safety, not only to the immediate health conditions of millions of vulnerable people, but also to the overall health of all Canadians. This information alone should be enough for parliamentarians to ramp up investments in housing across Canada. But in case a reinforcing message is needed, watch for the presence of the Red Tent Campaign in your community!

Christiane Mitchell is the Manager of the Poverty and Health Program of Canada Without Poverty, a national charity based in Ottawa.

A Call to Action on Homelessness

Homelessness has been an issue in Victoria for a while – with many questions about how to address it. But actions to tackle this problem in recent years are starting to pay off.

There is no doubt that the Victoria community wants to help the homeless. The question is how best to do that. Does handing the panhandler some change do any good? Well, are you looking to provide short term relief or are you interested in finding a long term solution?

Our city of Victoria’s homeless are a diverse population made up of individuals dealing with unique challenges. The one common thread that ties them all together is the need for a roof over their heads. Everyone should have access to safe, comfortable, affordable housing.

This notion is perhaps one that recently sparked a generous gift of $50,000 from donors to the Victoria Foundation. It started with a couple who, a few years ago, came to the Foundation to establish the Sun Star Fund. But the story doesn’t end there.

The Sun Star gift came with a call to action: A call to the citizens of this region to dig deep and recognize that homelessness is a community problem that requires all of our attention.

For this reason, the Sun Star Fund announced that it would match, dollar for dollar, any and all donations directed specifically to the Streets to Homes program of the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness http://www.solvehomelessness.ca/ – in essence doubling the impact of their grant.

The effect this grant will have on the Streets to Homes http://www.solvehomelessness.ca/news.html?n=70 pilot initiative will be immense. For starters, it will provide a significant boost to this program, which over the next two years will house and support 120 people who are chronically homeless across this region.

Streets to Homes adapts the successful Toronto Streets to Homes program to the Victoria context and builds on the current resources and knowledge that exist in our community and throughout British Columbia.

To find out more about the I’ll Match initiative, visit the Victoria Foundation http://www.victoriafoundation.bc.ca/ .

Shannon Drew-Burrows is Director of Communications for Victoria Foundation