On September 1, 1922, Doctors J.K. McGregor and F. B. Mowbray who had been practicing surgeons, joined together with four other doctors to form the McGregor-Mowby Clinic at 250 Main Street East in Hamilton.
Dr. Mowbray died in 1931 and the Clinic became the McGregor Clinic. The primary motivation was to have a number of doctors working together with laboratory and radiology facilities and to better serve the patients in various fields of medicine.
In 1946, Dr. McGregor died and the staff doctors bought the Clinic from his Estate and established a group practice with an elected Board of Governors. It was incorporated as a non-profit corporation, called the McGregor Clinic. Two members of the Board were non-medical community representative and a number of senior executives from industry and the University helped guide the policies of the Clinic.
Many members of the Clinic staff became leaders in various medical fields – in hospital, community and national associations.
The McGregor Clinic was a referral resource for this part of Ontario for many years. Its role however, gradually diminished with the changing medical scene and the arrival of the medical faculty at McMaster in which most of the staff participated.
On January 31, 1981, the Clinic closed and surrendered its Charter. The residual funds were donated to the Foundation to establish a Fund to assist research and education in the health sciences, including medicine, dentistry and nursing.
The McGregor Clinic gift of some $115,000 a number of years ago generated the idea for an expanded pool of resources for community health. When the Clinic closed in 1981, its members donated the proceeds from the sale of their building to the Foundation to establish a fund to seed health care research and education projects with potential to improve quality of life in the community.
This Fund forms part of the Community Health Education and Research Fund.
The McCallum, McBride Fund was placed under the umbrella of Hamilton Community Foundation this year, with its current directors forming the Fund Advisory Committee of the new donor advised fund. Originally incorporated in 1966 as The McBride Foundation, it has made grants totaling more than $200,000 over the years in the areas of the environment, and abused women and children. Grants are also made annually to help local agencies provide Christmas gifts and holiday food baskets. The fund will continue to grant in those fields.
The McBride Foundation was originally established by Peggy McBride, the granddaughter of the founder of Robinson’s, Hamilton’s long-time department store. She left her estate to her foundation when she died in 1978. The McBride Foundation was managed until recently by Peggy McBride’s lawyer, Doug McCallum, with a Board of Directors of knowledgeable community volunteers. Doug remembers encouraging Peggy to create a foundation with her estate. “I liked Peggy very much,” he says, “and life threw her some challenges. She was a generous spirit.”
Over the years, The McBride Foundation has grown, thanks to additional financial contributions from friends of the foundation. To honour Doug McCallum’s key role
in its development, the Advisory Committee has chosen to rename the fund McCallum, McBride.
“Doug McCallum has been the heart and soul of this foundation over the years,” says Carole Capling, the current Chair of the Fund Advisory Committee (pictured with Doug). “And we’re delighted that Doug and Mary’s son, John, has now come onboard too.”
Hamilton Community Foundation will take over administration and investment responsibilities for the fund, while the Fund Advisory Committee retains involvement in the grantmaking decisions. The McCallum, McBride Fund is one of several foundations for which HCF has been chosen as “successor.”
Excerpt from 2002-2003 Annual Report
In 1900, a young entrepreneur from London Ontario, described by his contemporaries as a “born merchant with an alert sense of promotion”, took over a Hamilton department store and renamed it G.W. Robinson – so began a retail success story. The flagship store on James Street South at King Street West is now a parking lot, but the family’s legacy lives on in its substantial support of the Hamilton Community Foundation.
Away from his demanding business life, Mr. Robinson enjoyed many leisure pursuits through his memberships at such clubs as The Thistle, the Hamilton, the Caledon Mountain Trout and the Hamilton Golf and Country Clubs. As well, he belonged to the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, the Scottish Rite and Barton Lodge.
Mr. Robinson and his wife Esther, had a daughter, Kathleen Lenore and a son, Lieutenant George Victor, who died in 1916 during the First World War. In 1917, Kathleen, also known as Kitty, married Robert Pickard McBride. Their match was a balance of Robert’s gregarious, open personality and Kathleen’s quiet reserve.
Robert Pickard McBride was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1911 and later appointed Queen’s Council and practiced corporate commercial law at the firm Lees, Hobson and Co. until 1924, when he left to establish the law firm of Peat & McBride. Later he became a senior partner in the firm of McBride, Hickey, Green & McCallum. The firm lives on today under the name of Ross & McBride.
Robert’s community involvement included a fraternal affiliation with the Barton Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, as well as memberships in the Murton Lodge of Perfection, the Hamilton Club and the Hamilton Golf and Country Club. He was also a lieutenant in the Reserve Battalion of the Royal Hamilton Regiment.
Mr. McBride also served as one of The Hamilton Community Foundation’s earliest Directors, being elected to the Board of Directors in 1958. He was also a long-time member of the Board of Hamilton Sanatorium.
Miss Melba Johnston, who worked with Mr. McBride as a secretary for over 40 years, recalls her boss as a gentleman who was well-liked by all in the office. “I could not have worked for a better man. Kathleen was an excellent woman who was generous wherever it was needed.”
The McBrides’ acts of generosity, both public and private, were done with an eye to the good their money could do for those in need. To that end, the family bequeathed the residue of its estate to the Foundation and is invested in the community in which it was created for the benefit of future generations.
Robert P. McBride and Kathleen Robinson McBride’s legacy to their community lives beyond their own lifetimes.
Excerpts from 1986-1987, 1988-1989 and 1992-1993 Annual Reports
Many people in Hamilton remember Robinson’s, the department store that graced James Street South for nearly 100 years. The store is now gone but the legacy left by G.W. Robinson, through his daughter Kathleen McBride, will be felt in Hamilton for many years to come.
When the last member of the McBride family passed away in summer 2004, HCF became the final beneficiary of Kathleen’s estate. At $11.7 million, the gift is the largest ever unrestricted donation to the Foundation. Rather than leave directions on how the gift was to be used, Kathleen had decided, at the suggestion of her professional advisors Del Hickey and his son Tom, to trust HCF to direct the funds based on community needs and priorities.
“HCF appeared to be the perfect vehicle. Because we couldn’t predict what the community needs would be by the time the estate was settled, she made a gift with no restrictions on it,” estate lawyer Tom Hickey recalls. “Kathleen McBride was very community minded and always supported major community endeavours – quietly and behind the scenes. She wanted her estate to go to charity and trusted HCF to use it wisely.”
In a similar vein, the estate of Kathleen’s husband, Robert McBride, had earlier identified HCF as a capital beneficiary. After Robert’s death in 1965, Del and Tom Hickey managed the investment of the estate monies. When Kathleen passed away in 1986, a $1.2-million gift was made to HCF from Robert’s estate. A team headed by Tom Hickey then continued to manage the other estate funds.
The long stewardship of the McBride family estates, which has spanned Tom’s 35-year career, has been concluded with a gift that will help to meet the community’s most pressing needs for generations to come.
“Mrs. McBride was a patient and appreciative woman,” Tom says. “She had been brought up to be careful and responsible about her wealth. She was truly generous but never showy. She had no interest in a public profile.”
“People in this community who have a sense of obligation and gratitude can find at HCF an incredible breadth of community activities to support. Mrs. McBride’s gift will make a difference in Hamilton forever.”
Excerpt from 2004-2005 Annual Report
Sue & John Mayberry
John Mayberry was not even three months into his first job at Dofasco before he was asked to help out at a community fundraiser. This first intersection of his career path with community work left an indelible impression. It also set a pattern for the rest of his executive life – 36 years of which he spent in Hamilton.
“I spent many years at Dofasco and we always said we’d only be successful if we served our stakeholders, which included the community” says the 59-year-old today.
So when John retired from Dofasco, he did not retire his devotion to community causes. He and his wife Sue decided to create the Mayberry Family Fund at the Hamilton Community Foundation. And to ensure theirs is a legacy of balance between hard work and good works, he appointed his three grown children – Michael, 35; Jeffrey, 32; and Jo-Anne, 30 – advisors of the donor-advised fund.
“I got a lot of mentoring at work on giving and supporting the community. I was a little concerned that our kids would go through life and not get that opportunity. We started the fund with the condition that my kids would be involved each year to review community needs and decide where the money will go,” he says. The Mayberry family opted to dedicate their family fund to projects geared to providing positive experiences for youth at risk up to age 14. They’ll take their cues from the expertise available at HCF in order to identify where the community’s greatest needs are and will annually decide how the money will be used.
John is a fan of how donor-advised funds allow families such as his to create a stable, long-term source of income for worthwhile community programs. “This isn’t an earth-shattering gift,” he says humbly. “It fills a void and it serves the purpose.”
HCF doesn’t underestimate the power of such a gift. Thanks to forward thinkers like John and Sue Mayberry, and countless other donors, Hamilton Community Foundation can take a long view on the needs of the community, helping to build the capacity of our community to meet its needs both now and in the future. And a family fund means that the Mayberry’s four young grandchildren will grow up while their family’s donation creates a lasting legacy of good in Hamilton.
Excerpt from the 2003-2004 Hamilton Community Foundation Annual Report
D’Arcy Argue Counsell Martin, Q.C., L.L.D. a founding Director of The Hamilton Foundation passed away in June 1992, at the age of 93. Argue Martin prepared a Private Member’s Bill to establish The Hamilton Foundation and served as its first President from 1954 to 1956 and as honourary counsel for many years thereafter, in addition to advising clients of the opportunities for philanthropy offered by the Foundation.
Mr. Martin, himself set up two permanent funds in memory of his father, D’Arcy Richard Charles Martin, K.C., and his wife, Margaret Ellen Howard Martin.
A former City alderman, M.P.P. for Hamilton West, Chairman of the Board of the Hamilton Harbour Commission, Chancellor of McMaster University and respected lawyer for nearly 70 years, Argue Martin was honoured with a civic award in November 1991 and inducted into the Hamilton Gallery of Distinction.
He will be remembered as one of Hamilton’s most distinguished and influential citizens
Excerpt from 1991-1992 Annual Report
Ray Lowes
He had a dream that wouldn’t fade, and a vision that had to be shared. With development encroaching ever further on the precious habitats of the Niagara Escarpment, he sought to create a nature trail that would span some 800 km, from Queenston Heights in Niagara to Tobermory at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula.
Ray Lowes was a Stelco metallurgist by trade but also an avid amateur naturalist when he launched the Bruce Trail 40 years ago.
He founded the Bruce Trail Association and, with help from numerous volunteers, blazed Canada’s longest footpath, providing the only public access to the magnificent Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. He was active on all fronts, from paperwork to public speaking to physical path clearing.
“He was always a visionary, a trailblazer in every sense of the word”, Al Ernest of the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club says.
The Bruce Trail opened in 1967, but Ray’s legacy was far from complete. In 1992, he established the Ray Lowes Environmental Fund at Hamilton Community Foundation to support environmental causes in perpetuity, and he added to the fund over the years. At first, Ray guided the fund himself, but in later years he asked the Foundation to make grant decisions on his behalf.
“Ray had an outstanding personal commitment to the environment, and he inspired others to share that commitment through his conservation work, and through his philanthropy,” says Carolyn Milne. “Our community owes him a great deal.”
Excerpt from 1989-1990 Annual Report
As busy as Bob and Helen Lofthouse were in their careers, family and myriad community activities, they never lost sight of the needs of their community.
Bob and Helen met while serving in the medical branch of Canada’s naval service during World War II. They made Hamilton their home in the 1950s and raised four daughters here.
Bob was an orthopedic surgeon at the Hamilton General Hospital for 37 years, and the head of Orthopedics for 22 years. He was the first surgeon in Hamilton to focus exclusively on orthopedic surgery as a specialty, and served as president of the Canadian Orthopedic Association. During the polio outbreak of the 1950s, he established a free clinic for children crippled by polio and gave hundreds of hours of his own time.
In 1996, Bob and Helen purchased a life insurance policy for HCF in order to leave a legacy to their adopted “hometown.” More than just donors, they were connected to the Foundation through Bob’s involvement on the Board of Directors from 1993 to 1998. He also helped create the Community Health, Education and Research Fund committed to fostering innovative research and education in community health. The Lofthouses’ insurance policy gift will go to HCF’s Administration Endowment Fund, which helps support the operations of the Foundation.
Today, both Helen and Bob are in their late 80s and they look back with satisfaction at the decision they made to support their community for generations to come. Helen says simply, “The Community Foundation is a great cause.”
Excerpt from Fall 2005 Newsletter
Born in Ohio, Helena Lemon and her husband Arthur lived for many years in Toronto and then moved to Waterdown. A compassionate person, Helena was deeply moved when she learned about domestic violence through an acquaintance who worked with foster children. In 1993, the Foundation received a bequest from Mrs. Lemon’s estate to set up a fund for the welfare of children and abused women. Ever since, The Arthur and Helen Lemon Fund has been helping to support organizations such as Martha House and Phoenix Place as they respond to the needs of battered women and their children.
Excerpt from 1993-1994 Annual Report
During Mabel Dickson Leadley’s 30 years of teaching at Wentworth Street Public School, up to her retirement in 1953, she successfully campaigned for pension benefits for women teachers, never dreaming that she herself would become the oldest superannuated public school teacher in Ontario.
The sister of football star, Frank “Pep” Leadlay, she had many interests, including Big Sisters, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Women’s Canadian Club and the English speaking Union.
Excerpt from 1986-1987 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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