The challenges of mental illness were a central concern for Marjorie Clark and they are a continuing passion of her husband Hugh. “Ignorance about mental illness and the stigma surrounding it are still real problems,” says Hugh. The Clark family has supported various mental health organizations financially in Hamilton for many years, and both Hugh and Marge were committed volunteers with the Family Association for the Hamilton Program for Schizophrenia.
“Marge was a tremendous support to me and to my son Steve in dealing with schizophrenia,” says Hugh. “She would agree about the need for this fund.”
Established after Marge’s death in 2007, the Marjorie Hawkins Clark Fund will focus on community support for people with mental health issues. Initially, it will target two critical areas: employment and peer support. As he pondered the best way to direct the fund, Hugh sought help from Hamilton Community Foundation, with which he has had a long affiliation. The Foundation, in turn, reached out to experts in the mental health field. Together, they matched best practices with Hugh’s goals and refined the focus of the fund.
“The Foundation helped me get the best advice,” says Hugh. “Mental health is a complex issue. While there have been advances in treatment and medication, community support is still sorely lacking. Unemployment, isolation, affordable housing, public education – these are all areas that desperately need attention. This fund in Marge’s memory will tackle some of them. I’m confident it will make a difference.”
Marjorie Dell grew up in Hamilton’s North End, the youngest of eight children. Her father died when she was just four years old. The extended Dell family is a close one, and organizing annual family reunions was one of Marge’s delights. Marge herself lost her husband at a young age and raised two sons, Bob and Ted, on her own. She and Hugh married in 1988. Hugh has three children.
“When we got together, it was a second marriage for both of us,” says Hugh. “Marge was a wonderful person who had her feet on the ground. Her focus was family and community. She kept things simple. It’s those fond memories that sustain me now.”
Excerpt from 2007-2008 Annual Report
The granddaughter of Adam Clark, founder of the long-established (1874) local construction company and daughter of William J. and Frances Elizabeth Hunter, Miss Douglas Clark lived most of her life at the corner of Queen and Aberdeen. She volunteered with mentally handicapped children and was active in the Big Sister Association. Being very musical, she was also involved with The Duet Club and the Hamilton Philharmonic.
Excerpt from 1989-1990 Annual Report
Hugh and Alan Clark
The Clark brothers, Hugh and Alan, share a strong conviction that their personal good fortune is to be shared with the community in which their family business flourished. To that end, they formed Willahome, a Foundation established 21 years ago with proceeds from the sale of Adam Clark Company Limited – an industrial construction company originally established as a plumbing and heating firm by their great-grandfather in 1874.
Over the years, numerous organizations have received support from Willahome – the name represents the initials of their family members. The Foundation, which started with $100,000 in capital, has grown to a fund worth nearly $1 million.
As the fund and grant requests increased, the brothers found the administration of their Foundation increasingly time-consuming. They decided to turn its management over to the Hamilton Community Foundation. “For several reasons, it was natural to merge with the Community Foundation,” said Alan, explaining, “We trust the Foundation. Hugh has been on its Board, our friends have been involved with it, and we have an aunt who gave money in the past.” Hugh and Alan will continue their relationship with the community through the Hamilton Community Foundation by their advice on the grants made from the renamed Clark Family Fund. “Alan and I have like minds,” explains Hugh. “We share a concern for the social service field, young people, education and the arts. We have always leaned toward organizations or causes that have difficulty in raising funds.” Alan notes that the government can’t support all health and social programs. “The public must step up and take a swing at supporting them. Everyone has a role and responsibility in creating a strong community.”
Excerpt from 1999-2000 Annual Report
NOTE: next application deadline is February 1, 2023. Apply online here
One of the Foundation’s largest funds, the Chaney-Ensign Bursary Fund provides educational bursaries to students who demonstrate serious financial need and who have completed their high school requirements in publicly-funded secondary schools located in the City of Hamilton.
Students must be in attendance at an approved college or university in Canada or, for specialized programs, in the United States. If warranted by continuing need and satisfactory progress, the award may be repeated in subsequent years. This bursary fund is generally intended to assist students enrolled in full-time undergraduate studies, although part-time or postgraduate studies may be considered.
This Fund is supported from the generous estate gifts of Genevieve A. Chaney (d. 1975) and Cordelia C. Ensign (d. 1971), twin sisters who had been teachers and residents in both New York State and Hamilton, Ontario.
The intent of this bursary fund is to support students, graduating from secondary schools in the City of Hamilton most likely to benefit from higher education either in the United States or Canada, but who otherwise would be unable to financially afford the same.
Excerpt from 2009-2010 Annual Report
Jane and Stewart Capell
Jane and Stewart Capell want to help someone live their dream. “We want to help someone pursue their passion – whether that passion is an environmental concern, fulfilling a void of humanity, or seeking knowledge and education. The focus is broad. We want to help someone achieve their greater purpose, whatever that may be,” Jane explains.
To accomplish their goal, the Capells make monthly donations to the “Dream Weaver Fund” which they established in 2001 at Hamilton Community Foundation. Jane is a financial planner and understands both the need for giving and the advantages of giving through the community foundation. “We all need to simplify our lives and the Foundation helps us do just that. I appreciate the monthly donations taken directly from my account and the single contribution receipt at tax time. You can have confidence that your gift is directed to your area of concern in the community and is having a positive impact. It’s a rewarding feeling. I challenge others to experience it.”
Excerpt from 2001-2002 Annual Report
Alice Cannon and her late husband Donald began a custom of annual giving to the Community Fund and their children continue the family tradition.
HCF’s Community Fund has the flexibility to support the community’s top priorities. That’s why donors like Alice Cannon have chosen to contribute to it for so many years.
“My husband and I made our first donation to the Community Fund when the children were young adults,” says Alice, who at 91 is one of HCF’s longest-standing contributors. “A friend recommended Hamilton Community Foundation and we’ve supported it ever since.” Over the years, those contributions have built up and the Donald and Alice Cannon Fund is now a named fund within the Community Fund.
The Community Fund makes it possible for anyone to have a lasting impact with a gift of any size. New donations are pooled with permanent gifts from previous years. HCF’s Board of Directors then uses the fund’s investment income to support strategic priorities across Hamilton – like poverty reduction, the environment, youth and citizen engagement, and neighbourhood revitalization – while leaving the bulk of the principal to generate future grants.
That combination of permanence and breadth appeals to contributor Janet Cannon, Alice and Donald’s daughter. “My brothers and I like the idea that the fund meets a broad range of community needs, from the arts to poverty, education and health, year after year. My father dedicated his life to many of those causes as a lawyer and as a community volunteer, so it feels like we’re continuing his legacy.”
“Thanks to the foresight and generosity of past and current donors, the Community Fund is a powerful tool,” says CEO Terry Cooke. “It allows the Foundation to be strategic on key challenges – today and in the future.”
Excerpt from 2011-2012 Annual Report
When Josephine Bliss approached the Foundation in 1989 to create a fund in memory of her parents, it was consistent with the way she lived her life – considerate, intelligent and meticulous.
“The whole family was committed to Hamilton. For them, there was no alternative to the city, ” recalled Geoffrey Mitchell, a friend and colleague from Miss Bliss’ days in research at the MacLean Hunter in Toronto.” Jo was close to her parents. When they were terminally ill, she moved back to Hamilton and commuted to Toronto at 5:30 each morning. She had a vivacious personality and a lot of friends wherever she went. She showed great courage in her own fatal illness and never complained, “Mr. Mitchell added. Although her parents hoped she would join the insurance agency they founded in 1944, Miss Bliss decided to attend university and pursue her own goals. After graduation, she began a career in research which first involved complex analysis of consumer magazines published by MacLean Hunter, then consumer products research at Nestle and readership studies for Chatelaine and Southam Business publications. Her talent for organization and thoroughness was evident in every assignment she took on,” Mr. Mitchell noted.
Josephine was a talented photographer, pianist, animal and bird lover as well as a volunteer with several organizations including the Foundation where she assisted with many site visits of grant applicants.
To commemorate the family’s devotion to the Hamilton community, Miss Bliss established the Dorothy and Frank Bliss Fund, leaving the residue of her estate to the Foundation.
This fund forms part of the Community Health Education and Research Fund.
Excerpt from 1995-1996 Annual Report
Noting that HCF is “our local specialist in building and holding endowment funds,” The Art Gallery of Hamilton entrusted the management of its endowment fund to Hamilton Community Foundation in 2002. HCF is pleased to partner with one of Hamilton’s cultural treasures and an institution that is essential to the economy and revitalization of our City’s core.
As the Building a Legacy Endowment Fund grows, it will help to ensure the Gallery’s financial health in the years ahead. Ongoing operating funds – the resources that sustain all non-profit organizations – are often the most difficult to raise and an endowment fund is an important step toward financial sustainability. Hamilton Community Foundation now holds agency endowment funds for nine local organizations.
Louise Dompierre, President and CEO of the Art Gallery of Hamilton, says that “over the years, Hamilton Community Foundation has built a very strong reputation and a high level of credibility. We have confidence in their management of the Gallery’s fund. It’s a very beneficial partnership for us and for our supporters – the Gallery doesn’t have to manage the fund, which after all is not our core business, and donors can be assisted by Hamilton Community Foundation to make contributions that work well for them. It really is a win-win arrangement.”
Excerpt from 2002-2003 Annual Report
Hamilton lost a remarkable citizen recently – one whose name will never make the front page, but whose generosity will have an impact on her community forever.
This friend of the Foundation – we’ll call her Ruth – was a woman of modest means: an elementary school teacher who grew up in Hamilton’s north end during the Depression. Unmarried, she chose to live modestly throughout her life and gave herself very little despite being a shrewd investor. But she did indulge her passion for gardening, her love of Aboriginal art, and her desire to give back to the community.
HCF first came to know her when she began making gifts to the Hamilton Spectator Summer Camp Fund in the early 1980s. It gave her immense pleasure to know that a child would benefit from the camp experience thanks to her annual donation. With her lifelong interest in the welfare of children, as both a school teacher and a swim coach, Ruth was one of the first donors to HCF’s Ontario Endowment for Children and Youth in Recreation Fund and a regular contributor to the Community Fund.
But her gifts were always anonymous.
Late in life, Ruth developed MS and she faced those new physical challenges with good spirit, creativity and determination, continuing to swim regularly and even finding a way to enjoy gardening when unable to kneel. She kept her mind active with crosswords and she was masterful at knitting. It was always a pleasure to spend time with her, surrounded by her beautiful paintings, sculptures and masks.
Her sudden death in 2009 saddened us all. But the fund established in 2010 with a bequest from her estate – directed to the needs of children – will honour her remarkable spirit in perpetuity.
Ruth was an intensely private person and we know that her preference was to remain anonymous in an article like this. It is a fundamental HCF value to respect that wish for privacy.
Excerpt from 2010-2011 Annual Report
Caroline Stoakes was born on July 9, 1914 in Nottingham, England. She attended university on a scholarship before working at Boot’s Chemists. During the Second World War, Caroline met Harry Alvey, a Hamilton lad stationed in England with the Royal Canadian Air Force. They married there in 1944 and returned to Canada, living first in Galt and later in Hamilton. Caroline and Harry traveled extensively during their 55-year marriage – from Hawaii, China and Africa, to Australia, Greece and Turkey.
Caroline had a keen interest in history, geography and current affairs. She read voraciously and enjoyed opera and classical music. A lifetime member of the Red Cross, she also volunteered with the Salvation Army. She was a faithful annual donor to the Hamilton Community Foundation Spectator Summer Camp Fund for children. When she died in May of 2001, Caroline left a generous bequest to Hamilton Community Foundation, along with gifts to the War Amps, the Salvation Army and Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Excerpt from 2001-2002 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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