When it comes to direct routes from Hamilton to Toronto, swimming isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind. But for Loren King, it made a good cause a great one.
The Wilfrid Laurier University political science professor is passionate about protecting the Great Lakes. In 2016, Loren took a major step towards that goal by partnering with HCF and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper to establish a fund that supports research, artistic expression and community engagement to protect these waters. That summer, he also swam across Lake Ontario to raise public awareness and underline the importance of the Great Lakes as a heritage that needs protecting.
“It’s hard to overstate the importance of the Great Lakes to Canada. They are a vital part of who we are, and millions of us depend on their waters,” says Loren. “HCF helped us imagine, then establish our fund, and they are a continuing source of inspiration and support.”
Hamilton Community Foundation is pleased to be home to the Great Lakes Trust Fund that ensures a lasting source of support for Loren’s passion.
Excerpt from 2019 Fall Legacy newsletter
When it comes to building relationships with the most vulnerable in our community, lived experience can make all the difference.
The Hamilton Social Medicine Response Team (HAMSMaRT) is a mobile interdisciplinary health outreach service that launched in 2016 with the support of HCF. Since then, the service has provided health care to more than 400 people in Hamilton who struggle with homelessness, addiction and mental illness. The innovative program offers care where patients feel most comfortable, whether that’s at home, in a shelter, on a street corner or at a coffee shop.
This year, a grant from The Milne McGrath Fund at HCF is making an already successful program even better by funding a peer support worker.
Peers are part of the community HAMSMaRT wants to reach. They provide a bridge between marginalized community members and the health-care team, since even the most motivated patients often face barriers, such as precarious housing, that make it hard to stay connected. The peers’ lived experience grants them a level of credibility and trust that takes a longer time to build for traditional care workers.
HAMSMaRT learned the power of informal peer support when it joined Keeping Six, a community-based organization founded in response to the opioid crisis. Keeping Six members with lived experience of drug use connected HAMSMaRT to patients who had been poorly served by the traditional medical community, resulting in successful referrals and treatment.
Now that the peer support role is official, informal connections have been formalized, making relationships with patients more sustainable. “It takes less time for patients to feel comfortable,” says HAMSMaRT co-founder Dr. Tim O’Shea. “Communication is more open and we’re able to deal with their health issues more effectively.”
Excerpt from Fall 2019 Legacy newsletter
Friendly Streets initiative builds community from the ground up
Ask what the phrase “friendly street” means and responses will vary, from safe and accessible to tree-lined and socially vibrant. “A friendly street belongs to everyone,” says Elise Desjardins, one of two co-ordinators of the Friendly Streets Hamilton project. “It’s a space where people want to be.”
Few would describe the streets within a one- kilometre radius of the Hamilton General Hospital in this way, but that’s exactly what Friendly Streets wants to change. Its goals are to improve the journey to the hospital for patients, employees and visitors, as well as the experience of living in the area.
The program, which is jointly run by Environment Hamilton and Cycle Hamilton, started by engaging hospital and neighbourhood partners in 2017 and has continued with support from HCF’s Environment Endowment Fund.
A remarkable amount has been accomplished in a short time, including a Council motion to create a “quiet zone” around the hospital, approval of a new traffic signal on Victoria north of Barton, tree planting, recommendations for wayfinding signage for cyclists, traffic calming, pedestrian accessibility, transformation of an alley into a mobility link, and discussions about changes to bus and truck routes.
“Friendly Streets didn’t come in with a set agenda and just do community consultation as a formality,” says Rachel Braithwaite, a Wellington Street resident and executive director of the Barton Village BIA. “They asked: ‘Community, what do you want?’ And then ran with it.”
Now, Rachel looks forward to a day when she doesn’t have to walk her six-year-old to school beside tanker trucks, and she’s become active in the effort to make it happen. “Sometimes when you see others step up, it encourages you to do the same,” she says.
The leadership shown by the Friendly Streets Community Stakeholder Group, which includes senior hospital administrators, has been a highlight for project co-ordinator, Beatrice Ekoko. “They recognize that a patient’s journey begins long before the hospital doors,” she says. “They’ve become champions.”
“This is a vision of what mobility can be in Hamilton,” Elise concludes. Beatrice adds, “We all have a right to a friendly street.”
Excerpt from 2019 annual report
Giving circle crystallizes impact through HCF
The Phantom Moms know a lot about the value of organized sports for kids. The 10 mothers spent more than a decade shuttling their sons to hockey practices, games and tournaments, then sitting together in cold arenas, starting when the boys were age six. “It was our social life in those days,” says Julie Boateng, the mom the others call the “glue” of the group.
With their sons now in their twenties, the women remain friends and continue to have coffee together once a month. Having witnessed the power of hockey to give their boys physical skills, fitness, confidence, leadership, teamwork and other life advantages, they wanted to provide those opportunities to kids who couldn’t afford to participate. For the last several years, informally, they’ve been pooling a donation to give to arenas or skate clubs for kids who needed the help. “We really wanted to give back,” says Julie, “because we saw how valuable the sport experience is for children.”
Recently, the group took steps to formalize their giving and work through Hamilton Community Foundation to gradually build a fund that will go on forever. It will support access to all sports, not just hockey, and a portion will also meet Hamilton’s most urgent needs through HCF’s Community Fund. With this new approach, their donations are receipted for tax purposes, Julie has been freed from the responsibility of organizing everything, and the community foundation is helping them make the strongest impact with their giving. The Phantom Moms hope that over time their children may also get involved in the fund.
“With this fund, we can leave a legacy,” says Julie. “I hope others can learn from our experience how simple it can be for everyday people like us to make a lasting difference.”
Excerpt from 2019 Annual Report
New fund helps put mission into action
Jane Allison started her consulting business, Dovetail Community, in 2017 with the goal of helping corporations and others find ways of aligning their business objectives with their desire to be good corporate citizens.
“Corporate social responsibility is where profit meets purpose,” she says about the sweet spot where the values of an enterprise, its employees and its owners dovetail perfectly with its engagement in, and contribution to, the community. Some examples include companies that focus their hiring on at-risk youth to create a skilled workforce, include volunteerism as part of job performance and many other unique strategies that advance their business goals while strengthening the community.
As she described and refined Dovetail’s mission, Jane realized that she wanted to live those ideas herself—“walk the talk” as she puts it—even as a small start-up firm. Being familiar with Hamilton Community Foundation through her career at The Hamilton Spectator, Jane talked to HCF about creating a fund and directing a portion of each of her corporate billings into it. While the fund grows, it resides in the Community Fund; but ultimately it will become a donor-advised fund focused on mental wellness, kindness, body confidence and other issues Jane is passionate about.
She says establishing the fund is the fulfillment of a dream. The process of “really digging deep” into what she wanted to support was challenging and enormously satisfying. “You really think about what you stand for,” she says. To see her fund grow with small, regular additions to the capital from her business and personal philanthropy —along with the “miracle of invested earnings” and the expertise of HCF—pleases her immensely.
“It’s very empowering to realize that you can have an impact without having millions of dollars,” she says. “You just have to start.”
Excerpt from 2019 Annual Report
Publisher ensures a legacy of giving
Hamilton Community Foundation is honoured to continue lifelong newspaperman Roger Brabant’s philanthropic legacy, as the successor organization to The Brabant Foundation.
Born in 1928, Roger G. Brabant entered the newspaper business as a young man with the Timmins Daily News in 1943. After newspaper stops in London, where he met his first wife Blanche, and the Niagara Peninsula, he purchased the Stoney Creek News in 1960.
This ultimately led to an office and production facility on Queenston Road in Stoney Creek. Additional Hamilton area weekly mastheads soon followed: Ancaster News, Dundas Star News, Mountain News, Real Estate News and Flamborough News. Following Blanche’s death in 1984, Roger continued to operate the growing weekly chain until 1987 at which time he sold to Southam Newspapers.
“Roger was schooled by Thomson Newspapers, where every nickel spent had to be exactly accounted for,” says his friend and executor, Bill Farrar. “So he ran a very tight ship. The cost-sensitive atmosphere that permeated Brabant Newspapers was respected by the staff and contributed to the spirit of camaraderie among them. Over the years, Brabant Newspapers provided welcome employment for many Hamilton region residents.”
Roger Brabant believed that his newspapers should be the “Good News Papers.” He felt that there was quite enough newspaper reporting of crime and other human failings. He wanted his organization to report only uplifting local news.
After he sold his newspapers, he felt a very strong desire to “give something back” to the Hamilton community in recognition of the success he had enjoyed within its boundaries. He founded The Brabant Foundation in 1987 with a significant portion of the proceeds from the sale of his business. In 1989, Roger married Lois Hill and together they collaborated on granting The Brabant Foundation funds to local Hamilton charities such as hospitals, food banks, churches and social assistance organizations until his death in 2017. To ensure a continuing legacy, Roger designated Hamilton Community Foundation as the successor to his foundation.
Roger chose Hamilton Community Foundation as the vehicle to carry on The Brabant Foundation’s work because he was satisfied that the community foundation was in the best position to continue to deliver his ‘good news,’ now in the form of financial assistance, to the Hamilton area,” says Farrar.
Excerpt from 2019 Annual Report
Three-year Grad Track program builds resilience in middle-school kids
Somewhere in Hamilton, a Grade 8 student is researching the high-school courses she needs to become an electrician. Another plans to study translation at university so he can help others the same way he helps his mom every day. A third is connecting with film and theatre professionals to learn about a career in set design.
These anecdotes may not seem overly remarkable—until you understand that these middle-school students didn’t enter Grade 6 with big dreams for their future. So what is prompting them to imagine something more?
The answer is Grad Track, Hamilton Community Foundation’s three-year pilot program to help two groups of middle school students—one in each of Hamilton’s school boards—discover what they’re good at (and enjoy) and develop the learning skills they need to stay on track toward futures they’ve chosen for themselves.
Grad Track is part of ABACUS, HCF’s initiative to put more students on the path to post-secondary education, including trades and apprenticeships. Grad Track reaches out to middle-school students who could benefit from ABACUS programming but who are not as likely to show up for traditional
extra-curricular activities. The program combines one-on-one mentoring, enrichment opportunities, goal setting, peer interaction and parent involvement to encourage each student’s social, emotional, cognitive and academic growth.
Jen Pearson is Grad Track’s learning coach. Over the past three years she has seen each of the 40 students almost every day, by turns playing the roles of mentor, caring adult and supportive friend. She has helped students learn to trust, cope with uncertainty, recover from setbacks and identify potential careers.
“Back in Grade 6, a third of them wanted to be YouTubers,” Jen says. “Two years later, they’re talking about being vet techs, civil engineers, firefighters or journalists—careers that match their interests and personalities.”
Formal evaluations also show promise. Students are more responsible, resilient, kind and collaborative after two years in Grad Track. They’re better advocates for themselves and they can talk about how short-term actions could have an impact on their long-term goals. As one student says, “When you make mistakes it teaches you how to fix them.”
Resilience is probably the most important thing students learn. “I can’t say: yes, this kid is on a clear and steady path to go to post-secondary,” Jen says. “These kids live in a complex world and anything could happen. What Grad Track does, is help instill an ability to overcome the odds.”
Jen will stay with the Grad Track students through their transition to Grade 9 this year, helping them connect with mentors and resources in their new schools.
HCF will apply what is being learned to shape ABACUS’s future directions. Time will tell whether Grad Track has made a difference: an evaluation initially funded by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario is planned to follow the students beyond Grade 8, with the potential to track indicators such as high-school attendance, grades and post-secondary enrollment.
Jen already knows that the interpersonal component of Grad Track has made a difference. “Kids won’t show up unless they trust you. Parents won’t get involved unless they know your name.
“Programs alone don’t change people,” she says. “It’s the relationships that do.”
Excerpt from 2019 Annual Report
National initiative draws on local knowledge
Green Shield Canada (GSC)—the country’s only national not-for-profit health and dental benefits provider—is partnering with HCF to create a new model of corporate philanthropy that draws on the unique knowledge of local community foundations.
Through GSC’s new Six 4 Six community granting initiative, the company is investing $1 million in health care in each of six Canadian communities and is working with HCF to facilitate the design, implementation and evaluation of the entire program nationally. The approach aligns well with Green Shield Canada CEO Zahid Salman’s overall vision for the organization. “Access to better health for all Canadians is the core of our corporate mission. We are confident that our philanthropic partnership with Hamilton Community Foundation advances that goal and will leverage services for Canadians in the critical areas of oral and mental health.”
In Hamilton, GSC’s $1 million investment includes $780,000 for granting to local priorities and a permanently endowed fund for continuing impact. Locally, oral health is an urgent—and mostly overlooked—need. More than 185,000 Hamiltonians have no dental insurance, for example. The Six 4 Six investment is already improving life for hundreds of them through grants which enhance the City’s Dental Health Bus, provide dentures for low-income seniors, and fund a pilot project to help people on Ontario Works resolve oral health issues that are preventing them from gaining employment.
“We want our giving to have more focus and align with our corporate strategy of creating shared value,” says GSC Board Chair Sherry Peister. “Because of the expertise and relationships community foundations have, they can help us reach deeper into local communities to address the most urgent priorities, and then evaluate and measure the impact we are having.”
The partnership has been a learning process. “There is a lot of trust and transparency as we work out this new model,” says Sherry. “The community foundation has been wonderful to deal with.”
“GSC is values-driven; investing in the community is in their DNA,” says Matt Goodman, HCF’s VP Grants & Community Initiatives. “But they are also evidence-driven. Working with our community partners, HCF can provide the data about local needs and interventions that work. It’s an exciting, effective model.”
Excerpt from 2019 Annual Report
Musical connects newcomer students to Indigenous ways of learning
In Denise Montgomery’s Grade 6 music class at Hess Street School, students are learning about pitch, volume and pacing. They’re also learning about the symbolic importance of Indigenous instruments, the role of women in Métis communities, how to pronounce words in Michif and the proper way to ask for an Elder’s help.
The Song-Bird and the Healing Waters is an innovative musical production facilitated by the Métis Women’s Circle. Dr. Carole Leclair, a Red River Métis and a Circle member, has helped the students learn a song. “The play is about the healing energy in the natural world and how to care for it,” Carole tells the 21 students who stand in a circle around her. “The song has sounds, not words. That way, everyone can sing about caring for the earth, whatever language they speak.”
Carole believes strongly in the power of the project to build a bridge between Indigenous cultural values and Hess Street students, who come from more than 30 countries. “Newcomer students are sometimes confused by expectations around integration,” she says. “They respond very positively when I talk about the comfort and affection Indigenous people have for our heritages—that we can take part in the Canadian mainstream and still cherish our values.”
Students perform a variety of roles in the production. Some are singers and drummers. Others will work with a Métis sound engineer to record nature sounds and incorporate them into the score. Then there are the actors, who will learn from renowned storyteller, Aaron Bell, how to embody their animal characters. Others will learn about the interconnection between music, nature and animals from acclaimed Ojibwe flute player and artist, Rene Meshake.
Denise, the music teacher, is Métis-Cree-Dene and also a member of the Women’s Circle. She adapted the traditional Indigenous tale into the musical. “I wanted people to see the beauty of our culture and the importance of taking care of Mother Earth,” she says. The students are paying attention. “Canada is a country of diversity and we need to acknowledge the traditions and culture of the people who were here first,” says the Grade 8 student who narrates the play. “It’s not like a regular play,” says a Grade 6 student. “This is actually important. If we keep polluting the world, there will be no world to live in.”
Excerpt from 2019 Annual Report
Bus service connects rural seniors to more than shopping
The five-seat minibus stops outside Linda Wildhagen’s Waterdown home, and the driver gets out to help her gingerly make her way down a slippery driveway. She’s hardly settled in her seat before she’s enveloped in the warm chatter. How are the grandchildren? How has she been surviving the recent ice storms? Did she know ground beef was on sale?
The rural seniors’ grocery bus, which runs twice a month in Flamborough and Ancaster and once a month in Glanbrook, is ostensibly a low-cost, door-to-door transportation service for ambulatory seniors who can’t easily get to the store without depending on friends and family for a ride. In reality though, the $7 round trip is about much more.
“It’s a social occasion,” Linda acknowledges. “Most of us are on our own. Because of the bus, we know about each other’s families. We send birthday cards. We go to other social events together.”
Flamborough Connects is the lead partner on the project, with assistance from Glanbrook Community Services and Ancaster Community Services. Initial funding came from the Ministry of Transportation. Support from Hamilton Community Foundation has allowed the project to continue while the three agencies collaborate on a long-term sustainability plan. The service is popular in each of the communities, and some weeks there’s a waiting list.
A primary goal is reaching seniors at risk of social isolation. One in five residents in Hamilton’s rural area is over 60 years old, says Amelia Steinbring, executive director of Flamborough Connects, and without the grocery bus, some of them don’t get out at all.
“Helping seniors stay in their homes and manage independently is a huge motivator for us to keep it going.”
For Linda, the bus represents freedom. But it’s also proof that people are paying attention. “When you’re elderly, you’re invisible,” she says. “This bus makes you feel special. We’re so grateful that there’s a community out there that cares about our age group.”
Excerpt from 2019 Annual Report
Donations to the Foundation are invested for the long term in public markets and in alternative investments. Investment income is then allocated annually to support granting, community leadership and operations. The summary and charts presented here provide both a financial snapshot and a history of recent activity that underlies the grants and community leadership activities represented in this annual report, made possible by remarkable donors.
Donations to the Foundation are from individuals, corporations and other charities. Donors may contribute to named endowment or flowthrough funds, to the Board-directed Community Fund, or to HCF’s community leadership projects.
The $35.1 million in donations this year is the second highest total in HCF’s history. Annual donations are influenced by the timing of the realization of donations in wills and significant one-time donations like the $27.7 million in donations of property and private equity. As illustrated in Chart 1, annual donations have ranged between $3.2 and $35.1 million over the past eight years. The five-year rolling average of donations ranges from $5.0 million to $13.3 million over the past eight years.
The five-year rolling average number of donations is 1,787 with 2019-20 at 1,853. The number of donations fluctuates based on “in memoriam” donations and the number and nature of events sponsored by donors to raise money for their funds.
Chart 1
Grants are made annually from both endowed and flowthrough funds. Because flowthrough fund balances are distributed in a shorter time period, granting from these funds can materially influence HCF’s total annual amount granted.
As illustrated in Chart 2, grants and community leadership project spending over the past eight years has ranged from $4.7 million to this year’s historic high of $11.5 million. Granting from endowment funds was reduced in 2013 as a result of the decline in investment returns in 2012 which a) lowered the asset base used for the granting calculation (currently four percent of the fund balances), and b) resulted in less income available to grant. Flowthrough granting and expenditures on community leadership projects has ranged from 22 to 56 percent of total granting in any given year and is dependent on the timing and nature of flowthrough and project activity. At 893, the number of grants for this year is 37 percent higher than the eight-year average.
Chart 2
Investments traded in active markets are reported at fair market value. Investments not actively traded are recorded at their cost less any impairment of their value.
To support our strategy of aligning our assets with our mission and to provide a more diverse and robust portfolio, HCF has committed to investing in alternative asset classes including loans to charities and not-for-profits, private debt, real estate, infrastructure and private equity. These alternatives are consistent with the Foundation’s long-term investment horizon and liquidity requirements. Since these investments are not actively traded, they are valued at cost in the investments. These alternatives total $25.8 million.
HCF invests according to policy guidelines established by the Board of Directors. Two committees of the Board oversee investments to ensure compliance with the policy:
As an endowment builder, HCF’s policy focuses on long-term investing and is supported by reserve accounts that are currently at their policy maximum.
The investment policy sets out a total portfolio target asset mix, as well as a range around these targets. The public market investment managers have mandates within this targeted asset mix and use their discretion to invest the portfolios within this range. Chart 3 reflects the current and target asset mix. Note: $25 million of private equity relates to a fund established by a donor and is not part of the asset mix or the consolidated portfolio results.
Chart 3
Two long-term portfolios are invested in the public markets with Jarislowsky Fraser, and Connor, Clark & Lunn. Chart 4 compares those portfolios against benchmarks as follows:
Benchmarks reflect the performance of each market index based on HCF’s specific target asset mix. Comparing actual results to the benchmark measures the value added by investment managers compared to the average market performance. HCF’s investment policy target is a long-term investment return in the 6.5 to 7.5 percent range.
Chart 4
The effect of the global pandemic has materially affected investment returns, resulting in a -8.4 percent public market return for the year. The seven-year annualized return at 6.8 percent is within the targeted investment policy range and is 1.2 percent higher than the 5.6 percent benchmark. As noted in the financial highlights, the current 10-year annualized return of 7.0 percent is in the target range and is higher than the benchmark by 1.2 percent.
Impact investments enable donations to endowed funds to drive positive change beyond granting, because they represent investments of capital that deliver financial returns coupled with positive social and/or environmental outcomes. In addition, these investments provide a pool uncorrelated to the public markets which, in turn, buffers the portfolio from the volatility currently experienced.
More than 15 percent of our long-term assets are in impact investments. Chart 5 illustrates HCF’s impact investing progress over the past five years, with $25 million currently placed or outstanding and another $15 million committed. This brings the total commitment to $40 million, up from $34 million last year. Impact investments cover areas including affordable housing, arts, environment and sustainable development.
Chart 5
Local loans since inception total $9.7 million with $7.1 million outstanding at year end. Chart 6 shows the impact areas our loans have supported. Since the loan program’s 2012 inception, $2.6 million in loan principal has been repaid and recycled as new loans. In addition, the interest from these loans supports HCF granting.
Chart 6
IRP is a Government of Canada program being delivered nationally by partners including Community Foundations of Canada. As the first phase in the government’s long-term investment in social finance, the IRP’s goal is to make social-purpose organizations “investment ready” so they can make a difference in new and innovative ways through their participation in the social finance market. HCF has partnered with community foundations in London and Niagara, and the McMaster Innovation Park to manage the program regionally on behalf of Community Foundations of Canada. The first request for proposals for funding in January created enormous interest nationally and garnered 65 submissions to our regional partnership. Approved funding is expected to be released in June 2020. As an additional benefit, the IRP brought a growing number of potential opportunities for local loans to HCF’s attention.
These investments include private equity, private debt and real estate investments. Many of these investments are long term in nature, are maintained at cost and do not have a regular income stream. As these investments are maintained at cost, their results include interest income and realized gains, but not unrealized gains. Results for these investments are closely monitored and are reported when realized. Chart 7 identifies the investment areas, with $18.0 million placed and a total commitment of $33 million across 21 investments.
Chart 7
Operating expenses for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020 total $2.5 million and were 2.5 percent higher than last year. Staffing costs related to the Foundation’s 22 employees represent 70 percent of HCF operating costs.
In addition to breaking out cost by type, operating costs are allocated to each of the Foundation’s operating areas: grants administration, community and philanthropic leadership, community relations and knowledge dissemination, development activities, and administration and governance. Examples of community and philanthropic leadership include convening around the city’s critical issues and fostering the growth of philanthropy by sharing staff time and knowledge to support other charities. Charts 8 and 9 illustrate these costs by operating area and by expense type.
Charts 8 and 9
The Foundation’s annual development expenses are not necessarily attributable to the donations received in that year. The nature of donations to the Foundation can result in costs preceding the receipt of the donation by several years (for example, donations through wills). As a result, consistent with the community foundation sector, operating costs are evaluated by a ratio of total operating expenses to average total assets. Ratios fall within a range depending on the size and stage of the community foundation’s development.
Management considers the ratio of 1.26 percent (1.25 percent in 2019), as illustrated in Chart 10, to be within an acceptable range for a foundation of HCF’s size, stage and level of community leadership, compared against benchmarks established in the community foundation sector. We continue to monitor both the actual results and the benchmarks on an ongoing basis.
Chart 10
Hamilton Community Foundation’s total assets of $201 million at March 31, 2020 include balances of HCF funds and funds held on behalf of others at $1.7 million.
Hamilton Community Foundation’s fund balances, illustrated in Chart 11, represent accumulated donations plus the net investment earnings on these donations, minus granting and operating costs. Funds include both endowed and flowthrough funds. Endowed funds are held permanently and grant from investment earnings. Flowthrough funds are fully distributed as grants over a pre-determined term.
Chart 11
The fund balances have grown 55 percent to $198 million at the year ended March 31, 2020 from $128 million in 2013. Donations of $35.1 million included $4.4 million in flowthrough donations that were largely distributed as grants in the year and, as a result, do not remain in the fund balances at year end. This results in a modest total funds balance growth of 4.8 per cent for the year. The number of funds has grown 19 percent to 377 from 318 in 2013.
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