Our commitments to community are unwavering

To say we live in challenging times would be an understatement. They are deeply troubling and uncertain. As the leader of Hamilton Community Foundation, a philanthropic organization that has been inextricably connected to and embedded in community for over 70 years, I have a responsibility to let community know where HCF stands amidst all the uncertainty and instability in which we now find ourselves.

In 2022, HCF refreshed its values to centre our organization in Equity, Reconciliation, Courage, Relevance, Accountability and Collaboration. While all are essential to HCF’s identity and mission, two of these stand out as a bellwether of HCF’s trajectory – Equity and Reconciliation.

Hamilton Community Foundation is committed to Equity and Truth and Reconciliation. Period.

This will not change, regardless of the current political, social, economic or cultural contexts. To the communities who face systemic and day-to-day prejudice and oppression, to the communities who are marginalized, who are denied access to services and economic prosperity, who face precarious employment or job loss due to US tariffs, those who face an unjust world – we see you, we hear you, we stand with you, especially in this increasingly polarized world.

To say that four months ago, the world was just, equitable or committed to Reconciliation would be inaccurate. Moving towards a more just society has always been a fight and what is now clearly the past international order was often performative or indifferent to the plight or call for justice for so many people. Just ask Indigenous, racialized, queer, disabled or working-class communities. Ask people around the world or right here in Canada who have been denied the right to self-determination. However, given what is unfolding south of the border, and in democracies across the world — including Canada — the fight for justice and economic inclusion has become that much more urgent.

The proof is all around us. The rollbacks on equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives; increased permissibility of racism and xenophobia and normalizing of fascist and Nazi ideology; the growing traction of open claims that colonialism was/is positive; the 180-degree turn that many tech giants have made as they fire 40,000 fact checkers, abandon commitments to truth and integrity, scrap diversity initiatives and reverse AI principles and policies centred on doing no harm. None of this is new, and one doesn’t have to look very far to see how this has bubbled up over the past decade, and again, many equity-deserving and working-class communities may see this as business as usual.

HCF has a formal risk management assessment process where we identify issues that could affect our community and how we carry out our mission. Last year we classified the risk of “social trends that run counter to our mission, vision and values” at the highest level.  We are talking about those who seek to subvert and undermine human rights, propagate and promote hate, espouse white supremacist and misogynistic ideologies and reverse hard-fought battles centred on human rights. Lest we forget that in November, masked men held a mass deportation demonstration handing out white supremacist and racist materials in front of Jackson Square right here in Hamilton. Our community is not immune to these societal trends. All this to say, that HCF cannot and will not shrink away from its commitment to its values or its commitment to community. We will stay steadfast in our pursuit of an equitable and just society. We are stronger in diversity and reciprocity, and we will need resolve and partners to continue in the work ahead. Let’s hold each other up, have each other’s backs, and show up even when it’s hard, inconvenient or costs us. Especially when it costs us, because this work costs.

In solidarity,

Rudi Wallace is President & CEO of Hamilton Community Foundation; a charitable organization that has been driving positive change by connecting people, ideas and resources since 1954.