Peter Buffett wows Halifax, endorses Community Foundation model

By Allison Kouzovnikov

The Community Foundation of Nova Scotia is still celebrating the resounding success of its recent Concert and Conversation with Peter Buffett.

This was the first event in the Foundation’s five year history and could not have been more perfect, with an excellent sponsor (RBC Wealth Management Dominion Securities), a sold-out venue and record-setting book sales.

Photo (from left): CFNS Executive Director Allison Kouzovnikov, Peter Buffett, Dennice Leahey, CM, Board Chair, Robert Orr, Vice Chair

Foundation staff had the privilege of spending extra time with Peter both before and after the event and we were all touched by Peter’s ability to put everyone around him at ease. It truly felt like all had known each other for years.

We especially appreciated Peter’s unsolicited endorsement of our work from the stage mid-concert, which was later summed up by Peter as follows:  ”A community foundation is a vital ally in sustaining a healthy, vibrant region. The Community Foundation of Nova Scotia does the important and necessary work of keeping its ear to the ground and its eye on a vision that donors can participate in – fostering a better world for all within its reach.”

Allison Kouzovnikov is Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Nova Scotia

Community engagement lends Vital Signs even more value in South Okanagan

By Aaron McRann

After witnessing the success of Vital Signs in other communities, the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan committed to its first Vital Signs report in 2011.

Based on the experience of others, we expected going in to this process that we would have the opportunity to highlight key areas of need in the community. We expected that we would offer a document that could provide an unbiased assessment of the health of our community. We expected that the document would be used by many different groups to inform their plans for the future.

And just months after the launch of our first Vital Signs report, we’re happy to have experienced all three of these wonderful benefits.

South Okanagan's leadership team

However, the side benefits that we have enjoyed by engaging in this process are also worth noting. By engaging an effective Community Leadership Team, made up of prominent leaders from every sector of our community, we have been able to forge much stronger alliances that will remain important for years to come.

The process of working together to craft this first Vital Signs report required commitment, ingenuity, compromise, and imagination from each of our Leadership Team members. This level of engagement not only sold them on Vital Signs as a key tool for driving change, but on the Community Foundation as a leader in steering and coordinating that change for the future.

Another very gratifying “surprise” was the level of community interest in the process. In all, the local newspapers provided eleven articles about Vital Signs including discussions of its roots, its development process, and its outcomes. More than 660 citizens completed our community survey, fully three times our expectations.

The end result is a valuable, unbiased report that truly is the voice of our citizens … awesome!

Aaron McRann is Executive Director of the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan

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

Vital Signs continues to shed light, motivate action, on physician recruitment problem in Southeastern Alberta

By Jayne Halladay

Since our first Vital Signs was issued in 2007, the Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta has reported on the lack of family physicians for our community.

Since then we have gone from about 13% of our population (12 and over) without a family physician to more than 20% in 2011.

Jayne Halladay of the Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta

For the first time, in 2010, Medicine Hat was above the national rate of 15% – at about 18% – and the rate continues to climb.

As a result of the yearly increase in our population without a family doctor, the Community Foundation convened a group of community leaders, including representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, the City of Medicine Hat and an Alberta Health Services body known as the Physician Recruitment Group, to address the growing concern.

The Physician Recruitment Group is working to enhances the efforts of Alberta Health Services recruitment efforts to highlight the quality of life in our community. The focus is not only on the doctors but their families, as well as on providing a 360-degree view of a place we hope they will call home.

Jayne Halladay is Community Impact Coordinator with the Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta

TV partner helps Victoria Foundation spread the word about Vital Signs

By Stephanie Slater

On Sunday, Jan. 22, CHEK TV News aired a special feature story about the 1000 x 5 Children’s Book Recycling Project in Greater Victoria’s Saanich Peninsula.

The next morning, the phones started ringing at The Victoria Foundation, which had sponsored the story – the first in a weekly series called Vital People. 

1000 x 5 is a project supported by the foundation that aims to ensure every child in their region has a minimum of 1,000 books read to them by the time they are five years old. Callers wanted to donate books – and not just a few! Two callers each had collections of hundreds of books. Jim Munro, owner of Munro’s Books, asked for a meeting with the 1000 x 5 project leader. Other callers asked about replicating the program in their communities. One call came from an organization that works with people who have developmental disabilities. They arranged to bring some of their clients to the weekly sessions where the books are cleaned and sorted.

All this from one, three-minute television story! It was an immediate affirmation of the value of the project – a partnership between the foundation and CHEK TV. For a fraction of the regular cost of advertising, Vital People provides a weekly profile of people and organizations working on the vital issues outlined in Victoria’s Vital Signs® report.

“Vital People spreads the messages highlighted in the Vital Signs reports about needs and opportunities to make a difference in our communities,” said Sandra Richardson, CEO of The Victoria Foundation.

The series not only keeps Vital Signs alive throughout the year, it reinforces the community report card as a project of The Victoria Foundation, helping to boost awareness and understanding of the foundation’s breadth of work.

Vital People stories are posted on the foundation’s website and are also available to the organizations profiled for posting on their websites. These stories will also be featured as part of the soon-to-be-launched Community Knowledge Centre – the searchable database that will showcase registered charities that have received grants from the foundation. Stay tuned for more developments!

For another example of bringing the Vital Signs message forward, see the new Vital Signs checklist featured in the January edition of The Victoria Foundation’s Philanthropy page – a monthly newspaper feature sponsored in partnership with Black Press.

Stephanie Slater is Director of Communications with The Victoria Foundation

Car club helping at-risk students for past 15 years, thanks to Fundy Community Foundation

By Skana Gee

Sandy Thurber still remembers the day the Grand Manan Community School student council members came to Fundy Community Foundation looking for a grant to start a car club.

It was more than 15 years ago, and the foundation was just getting up and running in Charlotte County, New Brunswick. Thurber, now the organization’s Executive Director, remembers that the students were worried about education cuts that would see their school lose its shop classes.

The small island school had experienced high drop-out rates, and these savvy students wanted to make school relevant to kids at risk. The car club, they believed, would help.

The students were doing their part with fund-raisers – even chopping and stacking wood – but they needed a $1,000 grant to get started. It was one of the first grants awarded by Fundy Community Foundation, which now has almost $3.5 million in endowments and has granted more than $500,000 to worthwhile projects and initiatives.

And it is still one of the most meaningful. It allowed the students of Grand Manan, one of three small islands served by the foundation, to purchase a 1980 automobile, strip it to the frame and completely rebuild it into a functioning race car. Each year since, a new group of students gets its chance to do the same.

The club is now starting work building a car carrier (a flatbed truck) to use to carry the car to special events. The car, dubbed Thumper, has been driven in races at an actual race track and once even made the ferry trip to the mainland to attend the community foundation’s annual general meeting. And, more importantly, it is keeping students engaged in their education.

The kids tell Ms. Thurber that there are always students with their noses pressed up against the window of the auto shop. Everyone wants to be involved. And they can be, but they must attend classes and keep their marks up – the school has even started a tutoring service to make sure that happens.

With continuing grants and support from the foundation, the school has been able to purchase a second vehicle and help more young people stay on the right path. And it has brought the community together, as people of all ages catch the students’ infectious enthusiasm.

A prime example of the way in which a small amount of money can make a big impact.

Skana Gee is Communications Coordinator with Community Foundations of Canada

High-impact investment program to build resilient communities in Vancouver

By Dorothy Bartoszewski

Vancity and Vancouver Foundation have launched the Resilient Capital program.

This high-impact investment program will help build resilient communities by making up to $15 million available for qualifying social enterprises. It also includes a new product for depositors who want to make a guaranteed fixed return on their money while backing social enterprises that are making a positive impact in the community.

Faye Wightman, CEO of Vancouver Foundation, says there are many philanthropists who want to go beyond simply donating money to good causes.

“The idea that they can now support local projects – with high social and environmental impact – while also making a return on their investment, is a perfect way to help them expand their support of the community,” she says.

In developing the Resilient Capital program, Vancity and Vancouver Foundation each provided $1.75 million in first-loss revenues. This $3.5 million commitment has already attracted an additional $6.85 million via long-term Vancity deposits made by 12 individuals and organizations:

• Vancity Community Foundation
• Tides Canada Foundation
• Illahie Foundation
• The Grain Workers Union
• PosAbilities
• Bealight Foundation
• Carol Newell
• Fraser Wilson
• Lundin Foundation
• The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation
• United Steel Works District Three
• an anonymous investor

There is now $10.35 million of capital available through this program. Vancity intends to build on this strong base with support from additional impact-focused depositors, potentially growing this patient capital program up to $15 million through additional five- to seven-year deposits.

The Resilient Capital program can help accelerate the growth and impact of emerging social enterprises and provide much-needed equity capital and loans, with flexible repayment terms. Resilient Capital Program investee enterprises include Save-on-Meats, Atira Property Management and Corporate Knights.

For more information about the Resilient Capital program and Resilient Capital term deposits, click here

Dorothy Bartoszewski is Communications Coordinator with Vancouver Foundation 

Identifying trends from five years of Greater Saint John’s Vital Signs

Sara Mudge

By Sara Mudge

This year The Greater Saint John Community Foundation published its 6th annual check-up and 5th Vital Signs report.

Being at the mid-point of a 10-year commitment to Vital Signs, we decided to take a look back on data reported in past reports and identify trends that have emerged. Here are some of the highlights:

-          The overall poverty rate in the Saint John CMA has declined from 23% to 20.6%

-          Violent crime has remained fairly constant, averaging 2,120 incidents per year

-          The obesity rate has remained constant: 24.9% in 2005 and 24.2% in 2010

-          The percentage of population with post-secondary education has risen slightly from 45.1% to 46.3%

-          The rental vacancy rate has declined from 5.1% to 3.4%

-          The unemployment rate has remained constant: 7.1% in 2005 and 7.6% in 2010

-          The youth unemployment rate has risen slightly from 12.4% in 2005 and 13.7% in 2010

-          The number of tax filers making charitable donations has decreased from 25.3% to 22.9%

-          Household spending in arts and culture has remained constant, averaging $940 per household

-          Household compost rates have increased from 59% to 70%

The GSJCF has been using Vital Signs data to influence our granting and has created a $30,000 Anniversary Grant, awarded annually to those organizations that help address Vital Signs priorities.

Past projects include the creation of a school where teenage mothers can obtain their high school diploma, the expansion of a homeless shelter to include 42 additional beds, a new playground in a poverty-stricken neighbourhood, a physical activity program for children, a youth-oriented environmental program to improve the health and integrity of the harbour and estuaries, the production of a musical to commemorate Saint John’s 225th Anniversary, and the creation of a teen pregnancy prevention program.

Sara Mudge is Secretary for The Greater Saint John Community Foundation

Waterloo Region’s Vital Signs prompts discussion, action on mental health issues

By Rosemary Smith

What are the people in Waterloo Region most concerned about? Where do we need to improve and what are we doing well? Where should we, as a community, devote time and energy if we want to ensure that our community is a healthy, vital place to live, work, play, and raise a family?

Some of those answers can be found in Waterloo Region’s Vital Signs®, a report released jointly by The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation (KWCF) and the Cambridge & North Dumfries Community Foundation (CNDCF).

The report provides a quality-of-life snapshot about the region and helps spark discussion and inspire action from our residents and stakeholders in our cities and townships. On October 25th, our two foundations invited interested community members to a Community Impact Discussion to learn about the future plans for the Waterloo Region’s Vital Signs report. We also used the opportunity to shine a light on one of the quality of life areas in the report – Health and Wellness – specifically mental health.

We shared some of the feedback we gleaned from our 2011 in-depth evaluation of the report, noting our renewed commitment to continuing the work of Waterloo Region’s Vital Signs. In the future, we will be delving deeper into the priority areas outlined in the report.

In addition, guest presenters led a discussion about mental health in our community. They provided data and information and identified local initiatives making a difference in the community.

However, the highlight of the event was the story of Johanna, as shared by her mother. Since the age of 19, Johanna struggled with mental health and addiction problems. While sad, her impactful story helped to encourage the dispelling of myths and stigmas associated with mental health – a great example of Vital Signs at work!

Rosemary Smith is Chief Executive Officer of The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation 

Amazing support, response, feedback for Powell River’s first Vital Signs

By Jan Gisborne

We in the Powell River Community Foundation in BC were astonished by the positive reaction to our very first Vital Signs report this fall.

We kicked off the project this summer by conducting a community survey, and that quickly became one of the highlights of our effort. With a total of 685 surveys completed, from a total population of 20,000, we have high confidence the survey ratings truly reflect our community.

In addition to the Vital Signs research areas, we also added a twist: the survey had room for suggestions and feedback on 14 issues, to give us new insights about the community we live in. We received an outpouring of constructive comments in all of the report areas – quality of life, strengthening the local economy, the environment, safety and security, and so on. The enthusiasm, commitment and quality of the responses was simply amazing.

We hope and expect that community groups and elected officials will use the survey and the suggestions to develop innovative ideas to help build a stronger community. We did not expect the immediate reaction we got from local businesses. They have told us that they find the information incredibly useful to assist them in strategic planning for future business decisions and, of course, to guide their charitable giving.

This Vital Signs report has special importance for us, because it puts the spotlight on the Powell River area. Since we are a small community, research reports often lump our data together with neighbouring areas. But Powell River is a unique community geographically, and the residents need to evaluate its specific challenges. People read the Vital Signs and say, “Here is a report that I can relate to – that speaks about what is really happening in Powell River.”

And because we are a small community, we had to line up backing well in advance to be able to proceed. The support of local governments and businesses made this report not only possible but also a great success.

It’s exciting that our Vital Signs report is helping us accomplish our mission of giving leadership to the nonprofit and charitable community.

Jan Gisborne is a member of the Board of Directors of Powell River Community Foundation