More than 300 children in Hamilton’s lower city are receiving a new, carefully selected, age-appropriate book addressed to them in the mail every month until they turn five, courtesy of Imagination Library.
The program, which is designed to improve early literacy rates, was founded by Dolly Parton in 1995. It came to Canada in 2006 and has been run by the Eva Rothwell Centre in Hamilton since 2017.
“Children who are read to from a young age develop bigger vocabularies, become better readers and are more likely to succeed in school,” says Sam Campanella, the centre’s executive director. “We aim to provide books to families who may not otherwise have the means to access them at home.”
Thanks in part to funding from HCF, the program plans to expand to 355 children by this summer, including those on a 200-child waitlist.
Excerpt from 2023 Spring Legacy newsletter
A mutual love for nature connected Ted and Karin Bossence. Their fund at HCF is an expression of this passion and their belief that the natural environment should be available for future generations to enjoy.
The Ted and Karin Bossence Fund supports protecting the natural environment with a focus on Hamilton, Halton and Niagara regions. A portion of their granting is directed to the Community Fund, which allows HCF to help address the most urgent needs in Hamilton and undertake its community leadership initiatives.
The Bossences met in the 1980s through the Halton Outdoor Club (then called The Halton Cross Country Ski Club) and connected because of a mutual love of hiking and cross-country skiing.
Though the couple live in Burlington, Ted thinks of himself as a Hamiltonian, having worked as a chartered accountant and lived in the city for 37 years, enjoying the natural environment of the west mountain from childhood. Hamilton Community Foundation’s fund size and efficiency were both appealing factors for the Bossences.
“We really have developed a love of nature throughout our life and want to see nature preserved rather than paved over,” says Ted.
Excerpt from Spring 2023 Legacy newsletter
Compassion, trust and action are a winning combination.
Last winter, Karen Turkstra read a Hamilton Spectator article about a snowstorm that had left many unhoused people struggling to stay warm. The story highlighted the first-hand experiences of those directly affected, as well as those of frontline service providers including the Hamilton Social Medicine Response Team (HAMSMaRT), an organization that provides health services to vulnerable residents. Moved by what she read, Karen contacted Marcie McIlveen, outreach co-ordinator at HAMSMaRT, and made a donation. That same day, supplies were being delivered to the people who needed them.
“This was a really incredible experience to have met a person of such dedication and knowledge and to have had an immediate impact on the problem,” says Karen. “It did not solve the problem, but hopefully satisfied an immediate and urgent need.”
But it didn’t end there. After a meeting between Karen, HAMSMaRT and HCF staff, Karen and her husband Peter made a grant from their HCF fund to support HAMSMaRT’s longer-term sustainability. The couple put no parameters on the grant’s use, nor did they request any kind of reporting, deciding instead to trust those doing the work.
“In this case, we believed that leaving it to the professionals and people on the ground was best,” says Karen. “They know where the funds are needed the most.”
Excerpt from 2022 Fall Legacy newsletter
There’s a saying that pets leave paw prints on our hearts.
Unfortunately, the times when the companionship of animals is most beneficial can also be the times when some owners find it most difficult to afford their care.
PAWS (Progressive Animal Welfare Services) is a volunteer-run organization that facilitates access to medically necessary veterinary care and removes barriers to social services for Ontarians with animal companions. Clients include those who are unhoused, fleeing violence, receiving government assistance and experiencing a health crisis. In response to a sharp increase in applications locally, HCF is supporting the PAWS Essential Medical Fund for Hamilton through the Vera & Percy Tomlinson Fund that includes a focus on animal welfare.
The program provides subsidies for vaccinations, neuters and spays, prescriptions, vet-recommended diagnostic tests and emergency procedures. Applicants must meet certain criteria, and payment goes directly to the vet clinic. It is also well-timed, given the Hamilton Spectator’s recent report that high inflation is prompting more families to give up their animal companions.
Excerpt from 2022 Fall Legacy newsletter
Red Beti Theatre is helping the next generation of producers find both their voices and their audience.
Hamilton’s only Indigenous, Black and People of Colour (IBPOC) theatre, Red Beti commissions and presents live performances created and written by Canadian IBPOC women. One of those women is Narika Reddy. In 2021, HCF provided a grant from the Alfred and Joan Robertshaw Fund for the theatre’s mentorship program, which saw this up-and-coming producer build her skills in project management, technical production, budgeting, grant writing, contract development and negotiation.
Under the guidance of artistic producer Claire Burns, Narika helped three playwrights develop their scripts and organized a staged reading of the pieces at the inaugural Decolonize Your Ears online festival—all during a global pandemic.
As Narika shared in a blog on the theatre’s website, “The challenges we faced were definitely out of the ordinary. I left with more knowledge in terms of adapting original ideas to newer ones, which would later serve our audience, sponsors and partners more efficiently.”
Excerpt from 2022 Fall Legacy newsletter
This fall, local organizations are receiving grants that touch three key areas of community need.
One granting stream helps support children’s healthy development through a “whole child approach” that recognizes a student’s overall development — not just their academic achievement — is especially important on their post-pandemic return to school. A second grant focus is on meeting basic needs — food, transportation, shelter — for people experiencing marginalization. Not all the grants fund programs directly.
A third granting focus was on building the capacity of local organizations who work to meet the needs of equity-deserving groups including racialized people, newcomers, people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ and Indigenous people. These grants (see below) help build sustainability so the organizations can more effectively advance their missions, and include support for board, leadership and volunteer development.
Priorities for the three granting streams were refined through community consultation, research and understanding the changing community landscape. The funding came from HCF’s “field of interest” funds, where donors may identify an area of interest, but trust HCF to determine the best use of the grants. This process was assisted through an open call to the community, which also prioritized small-to-mid-sized organizations whose resources to fundraise may be less.
“Unrestricted funds like these allow HCF to help with the most critical local issues,” says Rudi Wallace, Vice-President, Grants and Community Initiatives. “Open calls also provide information that enhances our own knowledge about local needs and emerging strategies that can be shared across the community, including with donors.”
In total, 21 organizations were funded through these grants; a complete list is available here.
Hamilton Community Foundation has a goal to increase the capacity and health of equity-deserving organizations and communities to address systemic barriers, through funding and non-financial supports such as convening, advocacy and relationship-building. Here are three recent grants that work toward that goal:
Somali Community in Hamilton
Established in 2004, Somali Community in Hamilton (SCH) provides services to the significant number of Somalian immigrants who now call Hamilton home. These services include youth programs, legal advocacy, elders programs and employment assistance. The Foundation’s conversations with SCH resulted in a successful application for volunteer training on grant proposal writing. It also includes a “grantmaking 101” workshop to help provide long-term sustainability.
Rafiki Hamilton Rafiki
Hamilton serves the city’s Congolese community and other local Francophone Africans. A capacity-building grant from HCF is supporting Rafiki with charitable incorporation, leadership development for staff, and volunteer support.
Munar Learning Centre
Munar Learning Centre serves Somali communities in Hamilton by creating bridges between Somali refugees, the education system and service providers. Munar is using the grant to strengthen its board recruitment planning, administrative policy development, a fundraising plan and its application for charitable status.
Excerpt from 2022 Fall Legacy newsletter
Come play in the dirt! That’s the invitation Hamilton’s kids received from the Children’s Garden, a resident-led project that has transformed a corner of Gage Park into a safe place where children of all ages can play freely outdoors, connect with nature and grow flowers, herbs and vegetables.
The garden opened earlier this summer with contributions from landscape architects, community volunteers and City of Hamilton staff.
Supported by a grant from HCF’s Environmental Endowment Fund, the garden hosts pop-up education sessions, planting events and field trips, as well as opportunities for spontaneous play. Children, their families, gardeners and community members take care of planting, maintenance and the harvest. An Indigenous-led section features the Three Sisters Garden and a medicine garden and is intended to be an inclusive space for strengthening Indigenous presence, health, community and knowledge sharing.
“Working together in a children’s garden helps instill togetherness and a common purpose,” say founders Juby Lee and Hazel Cho. “While children are learning a lifelong love of growing things, we can create community.”
Excerpt from 2022 Fall Legacy newsletter
Chris Farias and Jared Lenover celebrated their wedding by setting up a fund at HCF to support organizations making a difference for gay and lesbian youth.
“We weren’t exactly kids when we got married; we didn’t need toasters,” Chris says, so they encouraged friends to launch the fund with their gifts instead. That was in 2018 and they have not looked back.
Both grew up in rural Ontario and suffered from a lack of gay role models and visible representation. They hope they can change that for kids coming up now.
“How can we empower 2SLGBTQIA+ youth? Can we take down a barrier that is holding someone back?” says Jared about the impact they would like to see from their fund.
The Unicorn Fund (“mythology tells us there is no more powerful force than an unchained unicorn,” explains Chris) has grown faster than the couple anticipated. In a conscious strategy to link their values and work, their branding company builds a donation to the fund into every contract.
“We are unapologetically committed to this,” says Jared. “So we just tell clients in advance that part of their payment for work by our company, Unicorn Rebellion, will go to the fund at HCF to help 2SLGBTQIA+ kids. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.” In addition to corporate contributions, Chris is a born fundraiser. He maximizes opportunities on Facebook, drag performances and other speaking events to raise donations for The Unicorn Fund and other local charities.
The couple says Hamilton Community Foundation has been a great partner. “They are fantastic people, progressive and embracing of everyone,” says Chris. “As an organization, HCF has seriously put a focus on diversity and inclusion,” Jared adds. “They are doing the work. You need to, to be effective in Hamilton and reflect the whole community.”
“HCF has seriously put a focus on diversity and inclusion. They are doing the work.” – Jared Lenover
Jim Ray wishes he had found Hamilton Community Foundation sooner. After years of giving to causes they believe in, Jim and his wife Annette established a donor-advised fund at HCF. They now feel they can achieve even more with their resources.
Their fund at HCF offers them “huge flexibility and simplicity,” says Jim. The couple also appreciates the Foundation’s expertise identifying community needs. As they continue to support long-standing interests including the French parish, youth opportunities and the arts, Annette says HCF offers them “research and analysis and a perspective on community needs that we wouldn’t have on our own.” The Foundation has already matched them with new opportunities for impact, including exciting work with Indigenous communities.
HCF’s tax and financial expertise (“the mechanics”, as Jim calls it) is also a bonus. For example, donating stocks can provide tax advantages, increasing the value of the gift. “It’s real magic, but a bit complicated,” Jim says. “It’s not fair to expect the volunteer treasurer of a charitable organization to know the ins and outs of that. But the Foundation does, and by donating those shares to them, we can maximize our support to the organizations we want to help.”
The Dufresne-Ray Family Fund is an endowed fund, which means it will make a difference in perpetuity.
“Perpetuity is a long time,” says Jim with a smile. “The organizations we support right now may not be around decades in the future.” Their fund, however, is designed to continue to support the interests and priorities that Jim and Annette care so much about now — and eventually with added input from their children and grandkids.
“Our intentions will continue to be met over time,” says Annette. “That gives us comfort. And all the staff at the Foundation have been compassionate and meticulous. They’ve been a pleasure to deal with.”
“The Foundation offers a perspective on community needs that we wouldn’t have on our own.” – Annette Ray
Brad is a single dad who lives with his five children in an apartment in east Hamilton. His landlord refuses to spray for bugs, conducts illegal inspections and is making Brad pay for damage that predated his move-in. Now, the landlord is putting pressure on Brad to move. “I don’t want to,” Brad says. “He calls me the R-word. I’ve heard that word all my life. It makes me want to cry.”
Brad credits Civic Connections — a program that uses community outreach, tenant workshops and leadership development to increase the civic engagement of Hamilton’s low-income tenant community — with giving him the confidence to stay put.
HCF first funded Civic Connections in 2017. Subsequent grants have supported the program’s expansion in several neighbourhoods experiencing escalating pressures from gentrification, including those in east Hamilton and on the Mountain. In 2021, the program will continue in east Hamilton and expand to four new west Mountain neighbourhoods and one in the core, again with HCF support.
More than 60 people attended the tenant workshops in 2020, which were developed with the support of the Social Planning & Research Council of Hamilton and the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic, and held online due to the pandemic. Participants learned the basics of municipal government, practised presenting to city council and were informed of their rights and obligations, with special attention to evictions during COVID-19.
Elizabeth Ellis co-led the east Hamilton workshops. Like Brad, she had been bullied by her landlord to leave, eventually accepting a buy-out that wasn’t enough to cover her moving costs, let alone the rent increase at her new place. “Knowledge is power,” Elizabeth says. “We give people information so they can decide what’s right for their situation. The more people speak up, the more city hall will listen.”
The ultimate goal is constructive civic engagement. “An informed citizenry makes better decisions,” says Hamilton Community Legal Clinic staff lawyer, Ali Naraghi. “If the public knows their basic rights on any topic, it automatically de-escalates conflict down the road.”
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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