Greenestyle Fund fulfills a passion for philanthropy
Growing up in the southwest/Locke Street area of Hamilton, John Greene never imagined he would be part of transforming the city he loves. But as a contractor and as landlords, he and his wife Sue Stewart-Greene have rejuvenated a score of small multi-residential properties in the core over the last 30 years. The couple moved closer to downtown too, and feel a strong commitment to Hamilton. “I don’t want to be anywhere else,” says John, “except maybe for a few weeks vacation…”
Concerned about the growing homelessness problem — “the issue has gotten more and more evident all around us,” says Sue — they are hoping to be part of the solution and launched the Greenestyle Fund at Hamilton Community Foundation with a focus on affordable housing innovation, the arts, and other issues. Longtime supporters of First Unitarian Church on Dundurn, their fund’s goals also include social justice outreach led by that church.
John and Sue, who was Burlington’s first female firefighter, love bringing folks together. They are known for hosting large music events that introduce strangers to new friends. “It’s fun to connect people,” Sue says.
Referred by their accountant, the couple came to HCF because it is “solid, trusted, grounded in research,” says John. “It fits with our values” and the donor-advised fund option lets them “direct without having to manage.”
They have been deeply moved by setting up the fund. “After years of modest giving, we are now in a position to do more,” says John. “We are still learning and developing a plan, but we’ve been amazed at how great it feels to give back in this way.”
“Walking home from HCF after setting up the Greenestyle Fund,” adds Sue, “we just felt incredibly joyful.”
New family fund is a gift to Hamilton
Longtime Hamilton residents Irene and David Buckley have started a named fund — the Buckley Family Foundation — within the Community Fund at HCF.
Irene first learned about Hamilton Community Foundation through her volunteer and paid work with Big Sisters. David’s 35 years as a Rotarian also brought him into contact with the Foundation’s leaders. Since retiring from a successful business career in 1991, he and Irene have enjoyed travel, walking and tennis. Their three children have also had very productive careers and have reached retirement age.
“We were able to help them early in their lives, when they needed it,” says Irene, “and we have a comfortable life ourselves today.” Now entering their 90s, the Buckleys felt the time was right to endow a fund at HCF and have also made provisions for the Foundation in their wills.
David explains that good advice from a financial planner early on, along with careful management over the years by both of them, has left the couple with unexpected opportunities to support their philanthropic interests, which include children, music and medicine. “It makes sense now to gift more than we have been giving over the years to the causes we care about,” he says. Making a gift to HCF of long-held shares reduces the capital gains tax they would otherwise face, and contributing to the Community Fund enables them to help key local organizations.
They are confident that Hamilton Community Foundation provides support to organizations that are well vetted. “We have really good things in Hamilton, world-class programs,” says David. “They don’t get enough credit.” HCF’s Community Fund, including the Buckley Family Foundation, will help sustain those initiatives.
Milli Fund expands family’s philanthropic impact
The extraordinary entrepreneurs behind Hamilton’s iconic “Milli” women’s boutique, the Gould family, have a long tradition of philanthropy. Even in the early days of the store in the 1960s, founders Milli and Allen Gould provided support to the community in small, quiet ways. As the store flourished and the Milli brand took hold, Allen and Milli extended their philanthropy to a host of causes involving women, children, the Jewish community, and mental health. They left a tremendous legacy of generosity to Hamilton.
The next generation — Milli and Allen’s sons Mark and Ben and their families — has continued the tradition of giving back, managing a private foundation and other significant charitable endeavours. Recently, they established the Milli Fund at Hamilton Community Foundation.
“We’ve had our eye on HCF for quite some time,” says son Ben. “As entrepreneurs, we are interested in impact, efficiency, and effectiveness. The community foundation is impressive in its research, its understanding of community challenges, and its disciplined approach to addressing problems. We wanted to be more directly involved with that.”
The donor-advised Milli Fund endowed at HCF will focus on similar granting priorities to the Allen and Milli Gould Family Foundation. But Ben sees the HCF fund as an opportunity to benefit from the community foundation’s expertise. “We appreciate what HCF brings to the table,” he says. “Their skill in impact investing, their depth of knowledge, their enthusiasm for seeking solutions to Hamilton’s bigger problems — we have things to learn from the community foundation as we continue giving back to the community that is so supportive of the Milli brand.”
In this store, everything is free.
Barton Street’s Baby Depot Boutique on Barton Street is a one-stop shop for families struggling with the costs of supplies for a new baby. Last year, more than 150 families hard-hit by the pandemic and rising inflation were able to select all the diapers, gently used clothing and other essentials they needed during their baby’s first year.
Customers are referred by local social service agencies and shop by appointment. “It’s about dignity of choice,” says Stephanie Greenaway, program co-ordinator.
“We need to show our neighbours they are not alone,” says Maggie John, who founded The Baby Depot in 2013 and is excited by the transition from a hamper program to a shopping experience. “By choosing the clothing for their baby and picking the stroller, crib and toys, they feel encouraged in their role as caregivers to provide healthy and stable homes for their families.”
Excerpt from 2023 Spring Legacy newsletter
The GO Explore Nature Education Program connects urban Hamilton students to nature, often for the first time.
Run by the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club, the program combines in-class learning and two field trips: a neighbourhood walk that gives students the tools to find nature close to home, and a trip to the Sheelah Dunn Dooley Nature Sanctuary where they will use what they learned during the neighbourhood walk to look for plants and animals. Both excursions see students participating in stewardship activities, including garbage cleanup, managing invasive plants and planting native species.
The program aims to spark a passion for nature in students, turning them from learners into conservers.
“Students can’t develop a conservation ethic if they have no connection to nature,” says Jen Baker of the Naturalists’ Club. “The project shows them that nature is everywhere and they can help in a meaningful and practical way.”
Excerpt from 2023 Spring Legacy newsletter
Thanks to a new program in Hamilton, a senior has affordable housing after unknowingly losing his place on the waitlist. A newcomer finds a job where the owner speaks Arabic. A family receives furniture for their first home in Canada. And parents learn how to access government-funded medical supplies for their child.
The Sanad program is an initiative of Mishka Social Services. Supported by a grant from HCF, it connects Muslims, racialized families — and anyone needing help in Hamilton — to resources, shelter, funding and social services in a culturally informed way.
Sanad, which means “support” in Arabic, is about bridging gaps and eliminating barriers.
“These are families that some organizations consider complex, which can add delays,” says Omar Mahamed, team lead. “We offer an extra layer of support that requires cultural understanding.”
Support comes in many forms. Online workshops offer families a general roadmap to programs and services, while a community service worker addresses specific needs. Informal one-on-one conversations with workers at other social service agencies encourage cross-cultural understanding. Formal involvement with the Children’s Aid Society helps Muslim youth feel culturally and spiritually at home in foster care.
Sanad has helped 72 families since last year, with referrals coming from the community, agencies, schools and hospitals. They hope to help 48 more families currently on a waitlist. Services are available in several languages.
“People don’t like to come forward with their problems, but the stigma is being broken down,” Omar says. “Three people came up to me at the mosque the other day to tell me of families that needed help. We’re building trust.”
Excerpt from 2023 Spring Legacy newsletter
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
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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