with Oakville Community Foundation It's the little things ...
Spring 2013
IN TOUCH with Oakville Community Foundation
It’s the little things that make the impact - Growth in endowments – an interesting look Philanthropy, as so many of us consider, seems an ominous and sometimes unachievable idea. The word so often is associated with those who have considerable financial means. People think that starting an endowment fund is beyond their abilities financially. Yet let’s look back at 2012 and see where OCF's growth in endowments came from and you might be surprised. First off, to establish an endowment you need $2,500. (By the way, there are ways to doing this so that $2,500 can be done over time and not as a one-time-gift.) To establish a donor advised fund, you need an investment of $20,000. So now that you know this, where do you think we saw growth in 2012? In total, we had 11 new fundholders start an endowment – 3 of these began as donor-advised (20,000+) – and 8 new funds were established below this level (2,500 – 20,000). A sincere thanks to all those who started a fund and took that leap! But we don’t only want to look at NEW, we also want to recognize and thank our existing Fundholders who added to their fund – 53 in total added to their funds – this represents 46% of total funds in 2012. ( does not include the ‘new’ funds). *
Corporates Connecting with Community! A natural fit. When we consider all the elements that help make a community healthy and vibrant and that enhance our standard of living and quality of life, we can’t overlook businesses that choose to locate in the area and how they support the well-being of the community. Like so many charities in Oakville, OCF is so very fortunate to receive support from so many businesses. When we asked companies why they chose to support OCF, most said the key reasons was their interest in creating a healthy community. This is an interesting statement, as leaders in the not-for-profit sector Imagine Canada, did research on this same topic and discovered ‘across industry sectors, the motives for supporting charities are relatively consistent... citing a desire to create strong relationships with the community, build healthy communities... support causes that are consistent with their company’s own traditions and values.’ We are proud to work with so many community partners and we encourage you to consider supporting them when looking to purchase materials. See the complete list of sponsors on our website – visit About Us / Our Partners.
Volunteers of All Kinds
Spring Granting In Full Force
Each year we like to highlight the work of some of our volunteers. This issue, we’ve chosen three (3) distinctly different individuals who have given us their time, talents and leadership to support OCF in all our activities: James Fraser; Doug Brady; Gail Cosman. Our sincerest thanks to each of them for their help.
The groundhog predicted an early Spring… at the OCF we know that Spring is on the horizon when we put the Call for Applications out to the community for the Spring Granting Round.
To read the complete profile for these volunteers, please visit www.theocf.org James Fraser
Building on the successes of our two previous rounds, we are once again focusing on the three Vital Signs ®
outcome areas of poverty, volunteerism & charitable giving, and mental health. The Spring Round gives us the most flexibility on achieving a broad range of granting. To read the complete story on the Spring Granting activities, please visit www.theocf.org
Fall 2012 Granting Round
Doug Brady
Gail Cosman
Applications receiving full funding (26%) Applications receiving partial funding (11%) Applications funded by individual fundholders (46%) Applications not funded (17%)
Note from the CEO Supporting charitable giving comes in many ways and the Government just added one. It’s interesting that the Federal Government recently announced a new tax advantage for first-time donors providing greater tax incentives for their donations. This is a truly wonderful incentive but let’s read between the lines. Why give an incentive for first-time donors when according to Statistics Canada, nearly one quarter (23.4%) of tax filers claimed a donation in 2010, this up from preliminary figures of 23.1% for the prior year? It’s because and, as we’ve reported in the past, annual donations to charities are flat and in some places declining. There’s an ever increasing need so, any incentive to support charitable giving is good. At a time when we’ve heard it reported that a student was absent from school because her mother was using their shared pair of shoes to attend a job interview, the foregoing acts of philanthropy represent personal commitments to ensure that such needs are eradicated from our community. At the end of 2012, we were fortunate that eleven (11) new families chose to establish endowments with OCF. This brings us to a total of 116 family, business and agency funds. This is great news. We can’t however, be sedentary in our purpose. Let’s remember why OCF began... an idea that started 19 years ago by two benefactors, The Lawson Foundation and The De Maio Family all in an effort to support the well-being of our community. Incredible leadership still continues to lay the way to growth in support of charities and we want to continue this momentum. So if you’re thinking of establishing a fund with OCF, there are many ways of doing this to make a lasting impact. For example, did you know you can make significant gifts without reaching for your cheque book? Gifts of appreciated stock or other securities enable you to help us accomplish our mission with no impact on your cash flow during your lifetime. Other ways are when you remember OCF in your will. For example, we’ve been told by at least fourteen of our “family of foundations” that they have made provisions in their wills to add to their endowments, for even greater impact over time. And we know that more exist! These enduring acts of generosity and caring are critical elements to maintaining Oakville as one of the best communities in which to live in Canada. We thank all of you caring people and hope that you take great pride in your extraordinary acts of caring for others. We are proud to be a member of a growing movement in Canada, US and Europe. Today, Community Foundations are one of Canada’s largest grantmakers, contributing more than $154 million to thousands of charities across Canada. Let’s just reflect on what “Philanthropy” means according to Webster’s dictionary: "goodwill to fellow members of the human race; especially: active effort to promote human welfare" a: an act or gift done or made for humanitarian purposes b: an organization distributing or supported by funds set aside for humanitarian purposes
The Oakville Community Foundation Vision/Mission To be Oakville’s leader in creating caring partnerships to enrich lives. We will do this by being a hub for philanthropic leaders and by promoting, connecting and stewarding legacy resources.
Make your Wishes Clear
EVENTS – Dates to Remember
Are you considering a future gift to OCF in your will? If so, we’d like to ensure that your wishes are clear to us, so please let us know your intentions so that we are able to honour them at a future date.
All event details are available on our website: www.theocf.org
Now here’s something you may not be aware of in Canada. 56
Percentage of Canadians who have a will
92
Percentage of Canadians who have a will who donate regularly to charities
17
Percentage of Canadians who donate regularly who have named one charity in their will
8
Percentage of Canadians who have named at least one charity in their will
8 of 9
Canadians who do not tell a charity in advance about their bequest
20
Percentage of Canadians with a will who say they’d make a bequest to a trusted charity, if only they were asked
186
Total number of Community Foundations in Canada at the end of 2012
$154 Million
Amount that Community Foundations across Canada granted in 2012, making Community Foundations one of Canada’s largest grant-makers
15th Annual Marathon of Golf Tuesday, May 14th Please consider supporting one of our many amazing golfers. Visit www.theocf.org for a complete list of all our registered participants.
Annual General Meeting With Special Guest The Honourable Michael H. Wilson Wednesday, June 26 Former Canadian ambassador to the United States and federal Minister of Finance, currently Chancellor of the University of Toronto, he is a consumate volunteer and is widely respected as a tireless champion for mental health awareness and research. He was recently appointed to the governing council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Watch www.theocf.org for complete details.
We wish to thank our partners in supporting the vision and mission of the OCF For a complete list of all partners, please visit www.theocf.org
The Oakville Community Foundation (OCF) is a knowledge resource and a catalyst, bringing people and organizations together to build and strengthen community philanthropy. The OCF receives and pools charitable gifts for endowments that benefit and strengthen the community at large by supporting all charitable sectors.
The Oakville Community Foundation | 478 Morden Road, Suite 204 Oakville | 905 844 3562
IN TOUCH with Oakville Community Foundation
It’s the little things that make the impact - Growth in endowments – an interesting look Philanthropy, as so many of us consider, seems an ominous and sometimes unachievable idea. The word so often is associated with those who have considerable financial means. People think that starting an endowment fund is beyond their abilities financially. Yet let’s look back at 2012 and see where OCF's growth in endowments came from and you might be surprised. First off, to establish an endowment you need $2,500. (By the way, there are ways to doing this so that $2,500 can be done over time and not as a one-time-gift.) To establish a donor advised fund, you need an investment of $20,000. So now that you know this, where do you think we saw growth in 2012? In total, we had 11 new fundholders start an endowment – 3 of these began as donor-advised (20,000+) – and 8 new funds were established below this level (2,500 – 20,000). A sincere thanks to all those who started a fund and took that leap! But we don’t only want to look at NEW, we also want to recognize and thank our existing Fundholders who added to their fund – 53 in total added to their funds – this represents 46% of total funds in 2012. ( does not include the ‘new’ funds). *
Corporates Connecting with Community! A natural fit. When we consider all the elements that help make a community healthy and vibrant and that enhance our standard of living and quality of life, we can’t overlook businesses that choose to locate in the area and how they support the well-being of the community. Like so many charities in Oakville, OCF is so very fortunate to receive support from so many businesses. When we asked companies why they chose to support OCF, most said the key reasons was their interest in creating a healthy community. This is an interesting statement, as leaders in the not-for-profit sector Imagine Canada, did research on this same topic and discovered ‘across industry sectors, the motives for supporting charities are relatively consistent... citing a desire to create strong relationships with the community, build healthy communities... support causes that are consistent with their company’s own traditions and values.’ We are proud to work with so many community partners and we encourage you to consider supporting them when looking to purchase materials. See the complete list of sponsors on our website – visit About Us / Our Partners.
Volunteers of All Kinds
Spring Granting In Full Force
Each year we like to highlight the work of some of our volunteers. This issue, we’ve chosen three (3) distinctly different individuals who have given us their time, talents and leadership to support OCF in all our activities: James Fraser; Doug Brady; Gail Cosman. Our sincerest thanks to each of them for their help.
The groundhog predicted an early Spring… at the OCF we know that Spring is on the horizon when we put the Call for Applications out to the community for the Spring Granting Round.
To read the complete profile for these volunteers, please visit www.theocf.org James Fraser
Building on the successes of our two previous rounds, we are once again focusing on the three Vital Signs ®
outcome areas of poverty, volunteerism & charitable giving, and mental health. The Spring Round gives us the most flexibility on achieving a broad range of granting. To read the complete story on the Spring Granting activities, please visit www.theocf.org
Fall 2012 Granting Round
Doug Brady
Gail Cosman
Applications receiving full funding (26%) Applications receiving partial funding (11%) Applications funded by individual fundholders (46%) Applications not funded (17%)
Note from the CEO Supporting charitable giving comes in many ways and the Government just added one. It’s interesting that the Federal Government recently announced a new tax advantage for first-time donors providing greater tax incentives for their donations. This is a truly wonderful incentive but let’s read between the lines. Why give an incentive for first-time donors when according to Statistics Canada, nearly one quarter (23.4%) of tax filers claimed a donation in 2010, this up from preliminary figures of 23.1% for the prior year? It’s because and, as we’ve reported in the past, annual donations to charities are flat and in some places declining. There’s an ever increasing need so, any incentive to support charitable giving is good. At a time when we’ve heard it reported that a student was absent from school because her mother was using their shared pair of shoes to attend a job interview, the foregoing acts of philanthropy represent personal commitments to ensure that such needs are eradicated from our community. At the end of 2012, we were fortunate that eleven (11) new families chose to establish endowments with OCF. This brings us to a total of 116 family, business and agency funds. This is great news. We can’t however, be sedentary in our purpose. Let’s remember why OCF began... an idea that started 19 years ago by two benefactors, The Lawson Foundation and The De Maio Family all in an effort to support the well-being of our community. Incredible leadership still continues to lay the way to growth in support of charities and we want to continue this momentum. So if you’re thinking of establishing a fund with OCF, there are many ways of doing this to make a lasting impact. For example, did you know you can make significant gifts without reaching for your cheque book? Gifts of appreciated stock or other securities enable you to help us accomplish our mission with no impact on your cash flow during your lifetime. Other ways are when you remember OCF in your will. For example, we’ve been told by at least fourteen of our “family of foundations” that they have made provisions in their wills to add to their endowments, for even greater impact over time. And we know that more exist! These enduring acts of generosity and caring are critical elements to maintaining Oakville as one of the best communities in which to live in Canada. We thank all of you caring people and hope that you take great pride in your extraordinary acts of caring for others. We are proud to be a member of a growing movement in Canada, US and Europe. Today, Community Foundations are one of Canada’s largest grantmakers, contributing more than $154 million to thousands of charities across Canada. Let’s just reflect on what “Philanthropy” means according to Webster’s dictionary: "goodwill to fellow members of the human race; especially: active effort to promote human welfare" a: an act or gift done or made for humanitarian purposes b: an organization distributing or supported by funds set aside for humanitarian purposes
The Oakville Community Foundation Vision/Mission To be Oakville’s leader in creating caring partnerships to enrich lives. We will do this by being a hub for philanthropic leaders and by promoting, connecting and stewarding legacy resources.
Make your Wishes Clear
EVENTS – Dates to Remember
Are you considering a future gift to OCF in your will? If so, we’d like to ensure that your wishes are clear to us, so please let us know your intentions so that we are able to honour them at a future date.
All event details are available on our website: www.theocf.org
Now here’s something you may not be aware of in Canada. 56
Percentage of Canadians who have a will
92
Percentage of Canadians who have a will who donate regularly to charities
17
Percentage of Canadians who donate regularly who have named one charity in their will
8
Percentage of Canadians who have named at least one charity in their will
8 of 9
Canadians who do not tell a charity in advance about their bequest
20
Percentage of Canadians with a will who say they’d make a bequest to a trusted charity, if only they were asked
186
Total number of Community Foundations in Canada at the end of 2012
$154 Million
Amount that Community Foundations across Canada granted in 2012, making Community Foundations one of Canada’s largest grant-makers
15th Annual Marathon of Golf Tuesday, May 14th Please consider supporting one of our many amazing golfers. Visit www.theocf.org for a complete list of all our registered participants.
Annual General Meeting With Special Guest The Honourable Michael H. Wilson Wednesday, June 26 Former Canadian ambassador to the United States and federal Minister of Finance, currently Chancellor of the University of Toronto, he is a consumate volunteer and is widely respected as a tireless champion for mental health awareness and research. He was recently appointed to the governing council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Watch www.theocf.org for complete details.
We wish to thank our partners in supporting the vision and mission of the OCF For a complete list of all partners, please visit www.theocf.org
The Oakville Community Foundation (OCF) is a knowledge resource and a catalyst, bringing people and organizations together to build and strengthen community philanthropy. The OCF receives and pools charitable gifts for endowments that benefit and strengthen the community at large by supporting all charitable sectors.
The Oakville Community Foundation | 478 Morden Road, Suite 204 Oakville | 905 844 3562
