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April 23, 2018
HAPPY JAR
 
Several of our members were very happy to have been away on vacation - Karen Redman has just returned from a week in Ireland, Bill Proctor from a cruise on  the Danube River and Howard Pell form a six week stay in Spain.
 
Neil Swayze was pleased to have hosted their first Dine-A-Round event on Saturday.
BELL RINGER(S)
All members who were involved in any way with our recent In Vino Caritas event were named as the Bell Ringers for this week.
 
PRESIDENT'S WINE QUIZ
Question:  What is the RI Presidential Theme for the next Rotary Year?
Answer: Be The Inspiration!
 
CLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS
Martin Jones reminded members of two upcoming Youth events.  The annual Camp Enterprise will be next week at the University of Waterloo and on the Tuesday evening, May 1, there will be a Rotary meeting to which all local Rotarians are invited and encouraged to attend.  Our next Youth Forum at Kitchener Coty Hall is schedule for Wednesday, May 16.  There will be over 200 Grade 10 Civics students attending and all club members are welcome to come and listen to there great ideas.
 
Peter Gray (through President Dave) announced the details for our next Tree Planting event.  It will be on Wednesday, May 23 at the Huron Natural Area, 801 Trillium Drive, Kitchener.  We will be working with some grade 7 and 8 students.  Two time slots are available 9:00 to 12:00  or 1:00 to 2:30.
50/50 DRAW
Our pot is growing nicely and is now at $636 and none of Neil Swayze, Wayne Boehler, nor Jim Brown found the elusive Jack of Hearts.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Today's program featured Elizabeth Heald, President and CEO of the Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation.  Elizabeth was introduced by Paul Rostrup who had the pleasure of working with Elizabeth several years ago when they were both at the Scotiabank.
 
Elizabeth Heald was named President and CEO of the Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation in August 2017.  She has led the Foundation during a significant period of reorganization, modernization and rebranding with the purpose of leading the KWCF into a new era of strategy, innovation and agility.  Through this transition Elizabeth has been a calm hand at the wheel, continuing The Foundations' legacy as one of the philanthropic leaders in Waterloo Region.
 
Elizabeth was born and raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario and regularly returns to the great white north to visit family and friends.  After attending and graduating from the University of Guelph, she has spent the last 30 years living in Waterloo Region and currently resides in Kitchener with her husband Warren and daughter Madison.
 
In addition to her degree from the University of Guelph, Elizabeth continued her education by completing her Personal Financial Planning Diploma and the Leadership Program at the Ivey School of Business.
 
A well-know and experienced senior leader in both the corporate world and the not-for -profit sector, Elizabeth spent over 25 years in a range of diverse leadership roles with Scotiabank, culminating in her position of Director and Head of Scotia Private Client Group.  In that position, Elizabeth led a team that stewarded affluent client fund-holders for the district that included Waterloo-Region, Guelph, Orangeville, Owen Sound and area, managing a multi-million dollar growth plan.
 
After experiencing a personal tragedy, Elizabeth focused on helping others avoid similar misfortune.  In May2014, she co-founded and launched a national charity, Kawasaki Disease Canada, which has become a leader in educating healthcare professionals and the public about Kawasaki disease, providing support for individual and family members afflicted by the disease, and advancing research.
 
In addition to her work with Kawasaki Disease Canada, Elizabeth has volunteered for a number of organizations in Waterloo Region including St. Mary's General Hospital. Foundation, the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Rick Hansen Wheels in Motion, and in various Scotiabank sponsored roles for the Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation, United Way and KidsAbility.
Elizabeth's presentation included both a video and a PowerPoint presentation.  She has been kind and has shared with us her speaking notes:
 
Good Afternoon, it’s my pleasure to be your guest today
 
When I took on the role as CEO of the Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation, I told myself I wasn’t going to be the type of leader tethered to her desk.  I wanted to be out in the community, meeting with other community leaders – the people making a real difference in our Region.  So I always enjoy having the opportunity to attend these events and share the work the KWCF is doing in our community.
 
I’ve had the opportunity to meet some of you, in the past so I know how strong an organization that the Rotary Club of Downtown Kitchener is.  The work that this club does is integral to Kitchener remaining a strong and caring community.  That work benefits so many and you should all be proud of the difference that your club is making.  Your dedication, passion and drive to give back to this Region is truly inspiring and I thank you for your community service.
 
Before I get into some background about our organization and where the KWCF is heading, I wanted to briefly provide you some background on who I am and how my experiences, both personal and professional, have lead me to my current role.
 
While a role with a private sector Bank and a not-for-profit sector Foundation might seem considerably different on the surface, they are more similar than one might think.
 
My guiding principles that are relevant then and now:
o   Be passionate about what you do.
o   Build strong relationships founded on authenticity.
o   Stay open minded to try new things, be flexible, and not afraid to take risks.
 
Since being welcomed into The Foundation last August, I have thoroughly enjoyed familiarizing myself with the key people and important issues that make The Foundation a pillar in this community.  It really is an exciting organization that is doing important work.  I am so glad that I have the privilege to lead this organization and I am happy to provide all of you with a sense of what we do.
 
What is a Community Foundation?
For starters and for the sake of brevity, instead of saying Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation, I will use the acronym KWCF.
 
The KWCF and the Community Foundation movement has well established roots in community building, leadership, and philanthropy.  All of these are at the heart of the work of The KWCF.
 
Some basic information about The KWCF:
o   As the video indicated, the KWCF began operations in 1984
o   We have a volunteer Board of Directors – you saw them at the end of the video - comprised of eleven (11) generous and active community leaders.
o   Our organizations currently has eight (8) staff members.
As mandated by Revenue Canada, a community foundation must grant out a minimum of 3.5% of its total assets in a given year.
o   The Foundation currently has in excess of $100 million in assets under management.
o   We currently administer 157 Funds, many of them named to honour the legacy of those whose generosity made them possible.
o   The KWCF provides fund-holders with the opportunity to continue making an impact on their community in perpetuity through our endowed funds.
o   Setting up a fund requires approximately 2 years of returns if it passes the minimum threshold for granting.
o   Once the fund has matured over 2 years, it typically grants 4% of the annual return on investment.
o   There are numerous types of Funds that a Fund-holder can hold that allow anywhere from significant involvement in decision making to little or no active involvement in the fund. It is their choice.
o   44% of our funds, as of the end of 2017, are what is referred to as Donor Advised Funds.
o   This is where the Fund holder, or a designated appointee, makes the decision during the year as to what areas, programs or organizations they would like their fund to support through the granting process.
o   The Foundation also has the Community Fund, which makes up 25% of our asset base.
o   This is the only fund that The KWCF has direct control over the distribution of the grants.
o   We rely on the expertise of our volunteer grants committee to make funding recommendations for the Community Fund grants, which in 2017 totaled over $725,000.
o   We also have additional granting committees, including our Barn-raising grants committee and, perhaps of particular interest to you, our Youth In Recreation grants committee.
 
With respect to grants;
o   The KWCF has granted over $45 million to the community since its inception.
o   This includes over $3.2 million alone in 2017.
o   We are able to grant funding to numerous vital community organizations because of the essential efforts of our volunteer Investment Committee.
o   They work with a team of fund managers to make decisions on how best to invest The Foundations assets in order to fully maximize the returns that are then used to grant out to the community. 
o   Last year, The Foundation was able to generate a return on investment of 9.2%, with approximately 4% of that going back into the community by way of grants.
o   Without the immense generosity and support of our donors and fund-holders, none of this work would be possible.
o   The KWCF is simply the shepherd of this good work.
o   The Foundation is able to support the many worthy organizations and causes through our grants because of the spirit of philanthropy and compassion that is a hallmark of this wonderful community.
o   For 2018, we are looking at making some significant changes to the way we do granting.
o   This includes:
-  expanding our Community Granting to have both Spring and Fall Intakes;
eliminating the sector specific granting streams and;
-  creating a more streamlined application
o   Our goal is to be more strategic with the grant streams that we control and continue to build and foster the dynamic partnerships that will collaboratively solve the issues that exist in the Region.
 
So why do people choose Community Foundations?  The KWCF enables people, companies and organizations to do more good.  We connect people who care to causes that matter.  We do this by making it easy for fund holders to give or invest money and for charities to receive money.
 
It’s a unique organization because fund holders get the chance to have their donation give back forever.  That also builds a legacy for people and organizations.
 
The KWCF is a leading community-building organization in Waterloo Region, focused on collaborating with partners to identify and meet the current and future needs of our communities, by enabling social capital and developing creative forward-thinking innovative solutions
 
From my experience, both looking in from the outside and now being on the inside, Community Foundations are often a community’s best kept secret.  We create caring communities where everyone thrives by making it easy to do more good.  And we are not alone in this journey.  The KWCF is one of 191 Community Foundations in the movement across Canada.
 
The movement is not just restricted to Canada either.   In February, I had the privilege of travelling to Mexico City to take part in the North American Community Foundations Summit.  The purpose was to discuss the United Nations Sustainable Development goals, or SDG’s as we call them.
 
In particular, it was to discuss how we, as North American Community Foundations, could come together to tackle the goals collaboratively, which is the central tenet of the 17th SDG.
 
Moving Forward:
So, where is your Community Foundation heading?  As the video indicated, The KWCF is in a period of transition.  We are adapting to a changing landscape, in the not-for profit sector as well as in society in general.  This means we need to be strategic, innovative and agile.  We strongly believe that we should all be working together.  One of the first steps in that process was the recent re-branding we undertook in March.
 
Our mission and our vision involves working collaboratively to build a caring community where it is easy for people to give back and do more good. 
 
So what are we doing differently?
o   One interesting development for The Foundation over the past year has been our inclusion in The Wellbeing Waterloo Region Initiative.
o   Wellbeing Waterloo Region is a community-led initiative working together across sectors to improve wellbeing of residents.
o   Community wellbeing is shaped by a wide variety of conditions and systems, in which individuals and communities are born, grow, work, live and play.
o   Working collaboratively with The Region of Waterloo, The local LHIN, the United Way and other community organizations, The KWCF has taken on a significant role in this process since its inception in 2016 and will continue to play a key role moving forward.
o   As an example of the leadership efforts, Wellbeing Waterloo Region has recently launched a community wide wellbeing survey which will help to inform future priorities and direct where change is needed most in our community
o   This is a very ambitious and important endeavor and one that will require a great deal of dedication, collaboration, and leadership from all involved.
o   We are expecting Wellbeing Waterloo Region to play a central role in the future development of Regional programs from the perspective of both local government and community organizations.
 
Impact Investing:
Given that we are The Community Foundation located within the “Silicon Valley of the North”, innovation presents a tremendous opportunity for us and one that we are working tirelessly to seize upon.
o   One of the early Innovative strategies the Foundation has embraced has been Impact Investing.
o   For those unfamiliar with Impact Investing, which is sometimes referred to as social finance or social investment
o    It is the process whereby private capital is invested into organizations with the intention of generating measurable social and environmental impacts, while ensuring financial returns on existing assets.
o   The Foundation’s foray into Impact Investing was born out of a desire by our Board to maximize the social returns and community impacts of its investments.
o   In 2017, we were proud to support two affordable housing projects with a pair of local organizations.
o   There is a third loan put in place in 2018 and we will continue to expand our work in Impact Investing.
 
Closing:
Thank you. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to speak with such a dedicated and important group.
Thank you David and to Paul, for inviting me.
 
 
Read more...
Speakers
Apr 23, 2018
The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation
Apr 30, 2018
Canadian Blood Services
May 07, 2018
#EmergencyPreparednessWeek - Individual and family preparedness during times of emergencies.
May 14, 2018
Caborca Report
May 21, 2018
Victoria Day
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Gary Parker
April 2
 
Brandon Town
April 10
 
Carl Zehr
April 13
 
Russ St. Louis
April 19
 
Ernie Ginsler
April 28
 
Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
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